Kian Goldmaul POV

  It is the second day of the tournament.

  We just arrived. It is 9:54 a.m.

  After waiting for six minutes, we get brought in.

  "The same rules as yesterday. The matches are as follows," the old guy says.

  "First match is Rhaelor Grymon Altheryn versus Crispin Beaumont."

  "Second match is Kian Goldmaul versus Thibault Marchand."

  "In ten minutes, the first match is going to start."

  After ten minutes, they are already in the VR and the match countdown has started.

  As the countdown starts, Rhaelor unsheathes his sword and prepares in a rushing position.

  Crispin prepares his arrow, aiming at Rhaelor.

  As the countdown reaches zero, Rhaelor rushes from the right side toward Crispin.

  Crispin, predicting that Rhaelor will try to move diagonally, does not shoot the arrow immediately.

  After seeing him rushing toward him from his left side, he shoots at the direction Rhaelor will likely take before starting to run away.

  Rhaelor barely dodges the arrow, making him pause momentarily before continuing to rush.

  Crispin uses fire magic on the ground toward Rhaelor's path, forcing him to divert.

  Rhaelor uses light magic toward Crispin as Crispin was about to shoot, blinding him momentarily.

  Seeing the light, Crispin rushes back without hesitation while throwing a water ball toward the direction the light came from.

  Rhaelor already moved to the side after using the light magic, fearing Crispin might still shoot the arrow or do something else, resulting in him dodging the water ball.

  He closes the distance to five meters before Crispin regains his full sight and continues running.

  Rhaelor, knowing he is a bit slower and might have less running stamina, withdraws his knife.

  He uses wood magic in front of Crispin, making him jump.

  Seeing him jump, he does not hesitate and throws the knife, hitting his lower waist on the left side, slowing him down.

  Crispin drops the bow and unsheathes his sword, looking at Rhaelor.

  After the distance is only two meters, both of them start circling each other while being on guard.

  Rhaelor rushes in first, slashing toward Crispin's right side of the hips.

  Crispin blocks that, but it makes his injury bleed more.

  Rhaelor continues attacking from the angles that would force him to move his hips and waist, making him bleed more while taking extreme defensive measures to not get hit.

  After a while, Crispin slows down. Rhaelor takes the opportunity and stabs his right shoulder, making him drop the sword, then cuts his head, ending the match in two minutes and twelve seconds.

  "First match result: Rhaelor Grymon Altheryn wins!"

  Both of them look extremely exhausted, barely even breathing.

  They get healed, removing their exhaustion.

  I get in the VR, and moments later, I am back in the field.

  Hmm.

  Spear. And from what I saw yesterday, he knows how to use a knife and martial arts.

  I will keep my distance for now.

  I withdraw an arrow from the quiver and settle it on the bowstring

  As the countdown reaches zero, I start running instead of shooting him.

  I noticed from yesterday the VR suit simulates weight, meaning him running toward me with the spear will tire him more than me.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Let me exhaust him a little before shooting him.

  As I run, I keep an eye on him.

  As we run, he notices my plan and stops.

  As he stops, I immediately turn around, shooting an arrow at him without hesitation.

  He barely dodges it, and it cuts his cheek.

  Knowing stopping would result in him being targeted and falling into a disadvantage he continues chasing me.

  Next time he stops is likely a feint, and he would probably throw his spear or knife at me during that.

  I reach for my quiver and withdraw an arrow while running and settle it on my bowstring.

  When he stops, I will not stop and will continue creating distance. For now, we are only eighteen meters apart.

  With that mindset, I continue running while keeping an eye on him.

  And like I thought, he stopped. But I continued running, turning the distance to twenty-five meters.

  He hesitated on whether to chase me or not, and I turned around the moment he started running, shooting the arrow and hitting his stomach.

  After doing that, I do not try to run anymore and shoot him again, which cuts his arm.

  I continue shooting, hitting him another time on his shoulder and cutting him in his leg.

  As we are ten meters apart, he throws his spear at me. But because of his injuries, the throw preparation was slow, making it easy for me to predict it and dodge it.

  I shoot another arrow before dropping the bow and unsheathe my sword.

  The arrow hits his right arm, making getting his sword difficult.

  At the distance of five meters, he was able to unsheathe his sword, and at two meters, I throw a stab at him with my sword tip, forcing him to block. But because of the injury, his strength is less than mine.

  I deflect his sword out of the way and cut his hand before stabbing his neck, ending the fight in two minutes and thirty-two seconds.

  "Second match result: Kian Goldmaul wins!"

  I get healed, recovering my stamina.

  "Alright, you two. In ten minutes, you both are going to fight. Prepare yourselves," the old guy says. "I do not want to prolong the tournament any longer."

  "Oh, and you are not allowed to strategize this incoming fight with your parents," he adds at the end.

  Not like I asked Thaddeus anything. I went in fully by myself, as there was no reason to ask him how to fight kids, that would be bullying.

  But it is a bit annoying. I cannot use magic effectively in the VR, forcing me to just use my weapons, or I would have ended the fight with Thibault faster. The VR does not let me shape my magic as I wish.

  After ten minutes, I return to the flat field.

  I cannot use the same tactic as with Thibault. Although I am confident I have more stamina.

  And plus, if I keep running, it will be boring.

  Let’s just shoot at him and let him close the distance. When he reaches five meters, I will throw the bow at him and take the sword.

  I unsheathe the sword and insert it in the ground.

  I take an arrow from the quiver and prepare.

  As the countdown hits zero, I shoot the arrow toward the direction Rhaelor dodged from.

  The arrow misses him as he predicated it and dodged.

  Not caring, I shoot another arrow as he is ten meters away now.

  This time, the arrow cuts his shoulder, making him pause momentarily at eight meters.

  Taking the opportunity, I shoot an arrow as he starts running again, hitting his chest as he is six meters away.

  I throw the bow at him like I planned and pick the sword up.

  The bow hits his head as he was not expecting that.

  I close the distance and slash his arm, which he dodges and counterattacks with a stab.

  I deflect it with my flat and continue with a slash toward the neck, forcing him to step back.

  As he steps back, I suddenly take my knife and throw it at his leg, hitting his thigh, making him stumble a little.

  Taking the opportunity, I sever his left arm as he stepped back and by bad reflex he raised his left arm.

  Hmm. He is good for his age, but would obviously fall into a disadvantage against me, as I am more confident in close combat than the archer he fought before.

  I follow in with an upper slash toward him.

  He blocks, but with one arm, and me keeping the pressure on, making it hard for him to focus on other movements.

  Taking the opportunity, I kick his knee, making him lose his grip, and cut him in the middle of his head from the top.

  Ending the fight in less than a minute.

  He is better than the others I fought, but my distance advantage is too much for him, and coupled with my equal or superior swordsmanship.

  "Last match result: Kian Goldmaul wins!"

  I remove the VR.

  I walk to Thaddeus as he heals me before talking.

  "Hahaha, good job, kid. Beating a regional king's son like that is good!"

  After saying that, he looks at who I assume is Rhaelor's father, the regional king, with a smug smile.

  No matter how many times I see it, Thaddeus is quite childish in some stuff.

  No wonder he and my father became friends.

  "Come with me, Kian, Nicolas. I will not leave until I anger that guy red," he says, smiling while walking toward the regional king.

  "Here you are, Orhan," Thaddeus says to him. "Didn’t you brag saying your son will win the tournament for his age group of eleven? It seems like your prophecy is false," he says, unable to hold his smile back.

  Orhan glares at Thaddeus. "Hmph. Who would have guessed your son is good at both archery and swordsmanship," he says, even though he does not want to admit it.

  "Anyway, we are leaving. I have stuff to do." Orhan says.

  "Oh, come on. I have not even started." Thaddeus says, smiling.

  Orhan ignores him and starts walking away.

  Rhaelor approaches me before following his father. "How are you good in both archery and swordsmanship?" he asks, genuinely curious.

  "Uhh... I had a good talent for archery since I was a kid and did not have to train much, so I focused on the sword more." I say.

  "Oh," he responds, believing me.

  "You are probably going to the academy like me, so I hope I see you there." he says before saying goodbye and following his father.

  "From which region are they?" I ask Thaddeus.

  "East." he replies.

  After over an hour, it is Nicolas's fight.

  In the semi-finals, he fought a swordsman like him.

  They were about equal in swordsmanship, but Nicolas was superior in magic and martial arts, making him win but not without getting hit himself.

  In the finals, it was a bit faster, as the other party was weaker than the one from the semi-final Nicolas fought.

  He was magic-focused. His magic was superior than Nicolas's, but it seems that at his age of thirteen, there are not many types of offensive magics that are taught.

  It seems they focus on the foundation more than magic in the academy, although they teach offensive magic that other academies are not allowed to.

  He wins it too, becoming the champion like me.

  Thaddeus is obviously grinning from ear to ear because his children won both age groups.

  Chapter End