Chapter 52: Round One

  The thunderous cheering tapered off into a low buzz as the enthusiasm of the audience lost momentum.

  “Who are these people?”

  “Are they top seeds?”

  “Nope, read what it says on the stone column.”

  “The sixth and seventh seeds from the Lunarsol Tower and Arcane Academy, huh?”

  “Their names are Draven Floraxe and Damon Fletcher.”

  “So, that Damon Fletcher guy is one of our own?”

  “Yeah, we can cheer for that guy until Claire gets on stage.”

  “Well, it’s better that anyone from our Academies win.”

  “Go on, Damon, you can do it!”

  “It says he’s only in the mid stage. Everyone else in the tournament is at least late stage. How did he get a spot?”

  “Listen, the commentators are mentioning him now.”

  “Greetings, everyone, and welcome to the Crucible Convergence! My name is Wesley, and I am a Disciple from the Military Academy. With me here is the top Disciple of the Arcane Academy, who has won first place in the Convergence before, Disciple Alan!” A cheerful voice rang out, reaching the entire audience.

  On the east side of the Colosseum, there was a large terrace that hung over the arena itself. Atop this terrace, two men were seated at a large table holding four wide transparent screens made out of crystal, displaying each platform. They both had crystal orbs positioned in front of them.

  One of them was Alan, and the other was an average-sized man with a lean, muscular body. His shoulder length snow white hair attracted the attention of many onlookers, as it reflected the sunlight every time he turned his head.

  Placing his hand on the crystal orb in front of him, Alan spoke, his voice resounding over the entire arena. “Thank you for the introduction. You didn’t do half bad yourself, having come second. Now, you may be wondering how the tournament will play out. The first match will feature the sixth and seventh seeds of the participating associations.”

  “Now, don’t be too dissatisfied. Although they may be the lower seeds, they are the cream of the crop in their respective cohorts. I’m sure the battles will be entertaining! Oh, it looks like the battles are just about to begin. Please cheer for our very own Jackson from the Military Academy over on platform four! Now, the issue is the apprentice on platform two. He is the only mid stage Initiate in this tournament! Is this a joke from the Arcane Academy, or do you know more, Alan?”

  “I personally nominated him as a participant. If it were a joke, would I stake my own reputation on it? He is Damon Fletcher, but don’t look down on him just because he is of a lower realm. You may be wondering why I vouched for him, but you will know when you watch his fight in just a moment.”

  “Is that so? I’ll have to keep an eye on platform two then! Everyone, please focus your attention as the battles are about to begin!”

  The murmured discussions and yelling from the crowd and commentators did not register in Damon’s mind. He stood next to his opponent as they listened to the Adjudicator’s words.

  “The use of consumables may be forbidden, but you may use a single artifact. The duel will begin on my mark. It will continue until one of you forfeits or either one of your protective amulets is destroyed. They should be able to block a total of five attacks from an average late stage Initiate. Here are the amulets.”

  The Adjudicator handed over a small metal badge, glowing with a verdant sigil emblem, strung on a silver necklace. “Wear them around your necks. They won’t interfere with your movements and will provide an automatic barrier in response to any incoming attacks, given that you fail to dodge or block them yourself. I will intervene if I deem it necessary.”

  After hanging the amulet around his neck, Damon withdrew his bow and arrows. “Senior, does this set count as one artifact for the duel?”

  With a raised eyebrow, the Adjudicator replied, “Yes, a set like that counts as one.”

  Responding to the Adjudicator with a small bow, Damon turned around and walked over to his end of the platform. Once he arrived, he faced his opponent again, a confident smile on his face.

  Draven was a tall and skinny boy. His short, spiky black hair reminded Damon of the bandits he had previously defeated. I wonder what element he specializes in? No matter. I just need to win.

  Draven had a large smirk on his face, his chin raised high as he literally looked down at Damon from a distance. He pointed at Damon with a finger before pointing down with his thumb. Damon just chuckled in response.

  The Adjudicator retreated to the edge of the platform before yelling, “Begin!”

  Damon nocked an arrow on his bow, drawing it taut. Draven focused on defense, casting an earthen yellow barrier around himself, before stomping on the ground, causing a stone wall to rise several feet and block Damon’s view.

  Damon narrowed his eyes at the tactic, but the corner of his mouth tilted up in a cunning smile. His aim suddenly changed to the left, upon which he loosened the sleek, black arrow. It turned into a streak of darkness as it sped through the air, unable to be followed with normal sight. In less than a second, it pierced through the rock wall and crashed into the yellow barrier around Draven. The barrier barely lasted a moment before it was punctured as well.

  The amulet on Draven’s chest radiated intense green light as five small barriers emerged in the arrow’s path. However, they were broken through one by one, providing no resistance against the formidable prowess of the arrow. A screeching wail was emitted by the amulet as each barrier was destroyed, the light flashing madly.

  The Adjudicator appeared next to Draven just as the last green barrier was torn apart, grabbing at the arrow with his hand covered in a glowing red light. A thin wisp of smoke was discharged from his hand that was enclosed around the rapidly spinning arrow. Even as he clenched tight, the arrow continued to rotate for a few seconds before finally coming to a stop.

  Not enough time had passed for Draven to even understand what had happened. He stood there with his jaw hanging low, staring directly at the black arrowhead glinting with a dangerous light right in front of his eyes. His eyes were blank, yet also filled with terror, as he fell back due to his knees buckling. The amulet around his neck shattered apart, falling onto the pristine white tiles below in numerous small pieces.

  The audience seated on the east side of the Colosseum fell into a dead silence. This lasted a total of three seconds before they exploded into a deafening roar, alongside exuberant yelling and cheering.

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  “What was that?”

  “That was crazy!”

  “Is he an Auron from the Military Academy? Wait, it said he’s from the Arcane Academy.”

  “What’s his name again?”

  “Damon… Fletcher. He’s Damon Fletcher.”

  “Seventh seed? Mid stage? He is obviously stronger than the average late stage!”

  “Go, Damon, go! Show these clowns from the Towers what true strength is!”

  “Glory to the Assembly!”

  As the crowd at the eastern side erupted into a frenzy, the two commentators continued talking.

  “See, what did I tell you?” Alan smirked after he watched Damon show off his strength.

  “Wow, you were right! Damon Fletcher has defeated his opponent from the Lunarsol Tower, Draven, in a mere second! The battles on the other platforms are only just beginning to reach the climax, yet he has already claimed the first victory of the tournament!” Wesley yelled into his crystal orb excitedly.

  “The protective amulets are designed to take five attacks from a late stage Initiate, but that attack from Damon punched through the barriers as though they were mere cloth. It means his attacks are already on a level far above an average Initiate!” Wesley continued shouting, explaining the duel's abrupt outcome to the audience.

  Alan remained silent, just watching the other battles on the screens.

  Wesley glanced at Alan with a scowl before yelling into the orb once more.

  “Now, let’s place our attention on the other platforms! Specifically, platform four, where…”

  Back on platform two, the Adjudicator opened his glowing palm to inspect the arrow closely. Two shimmering golden runes flowed along its length. He glanced at Damon, who had put away his artifacts and was striding over with his hands clasped behind his back.

  “Is this… a dual enchantment?” He asked as he handed Damon back his arrow.

  “Yes, Senior. I have inscribed runes into all my artifacts myself.”

  “I see. I am impressed. I don’t sense any auric power emanating from your body, yet this is already the second time I’ve witnessed you use the bow in combat. You would achieve great feats if you joined the Military Academy… Do you have any thoughts on joining?”

  “No. Thank you for the offer, but I am satisfied with my current position.”

  With a small nod, the Adjudicator stopped talking to Damon and announced to the audience and the surrounding participants.

  “Bracket two, round one complete! Damon Fletcher is the victor!”

  The audience burst out into a boisterous ovation once more. The apprentices from the Towers sent wary glances toward Damon from the sides of the platform. One gaze was especially heavy with vigilance. It was Alexander Thorne, who was the first seed placed in bracket two.

  When Damon stepped down from the platform, he was greeted by Thomas. He gave Damon a light punch on the shoulder.

  “Hey, that was an impressive first-round performance! It’ll be hard to upstage you. The crowds are going to jeer at the higher seeds if we don’t show off from the start now!”

  “Well, you’re just going to have to go all out then!” Laughed Damon.

  “I guess so. Anyway, it’s him up next. You’re going to want to watch this one carefully.” Thomas responded as he pointed at the stage.

  Damon turned around and saw Alexander walk up, even as the Adjudicator worked on clearing the rubble created from the stone wall. Interestingly enough, the marble tiles where the wall had emerged from remained completely unscathed. He met eyes with Alexander, who looked at him with a complicated gaze. It was no longer the disregard he had received earlier. The depths of his eyes now contained an unsettled fluster.

  Within a private enclosed room on the western section of the Colosseum, a group of men and women were seated along a long table filled with an assortment of colorful delicacies and fragrant wines. The steaming dishes permeated the room with the aroma of spices and oils.

  “The match over on the east platform has already concluded. It seems your Academies have hidden a dark horse in the seventh seed, is that right, Zoltan?” A beautiful young woman wearing pure white robes asked in an amused tone.

  “Madam Agatha, I’m sure you’ve already heard of the small incident that occurred recently. We had to fill in some slots with random Initiates, one of them being that boy. He is only a mid stage as well. You can’t blame us just because he defeated the late stage Initiate from your Tower with a single attack.”

  Zoltan chuckled, his response eliciting some additional laughter from around the room. Agatha flushed slightly and turned her face away to look elsewhere instead. Inwardly, she was hurling profanities toward Zoltan.

  Looking back at the east platform, Zoltan’s gaze lingered on Damon. This was the boy his daughter had mentioned previously. He indeed had more to him than meets the eye. While he was lost in thought, someone else brought up Damon as a topic.

  “That boy is Damon Fletcher, correct? There’s actually a connection between him and our Tower. He had come and applied, but was rejected due to his failing the elemental affinities test.”

  Taking his eyes off Damon, Zoltan looked up at the speaker. It was Gabriel from the Arcane Tower of Argent Flame.

  “Is that so? I haven’t heard anything about that before. Unlike your Towers, our background checks aren’t as strict or extensive, so it’s only natural we don’t know every last detail. Besides, it looks like we picked up a treasure after you accidentally threw it away, so I’m not complaining!” Zoltan chortled.

  Gabriel smiled at Zoltan and looked back down at the arena, saying nothing else. His vision landed on Damon, who was happily chatting with Thomas over at platform two. For a second, a murderous light glimmered past his narrowed eyes, before he relaxed them. He now looked as mannered and friendly as ever.

  A pricking sensation stabbed at the back of Damon’s head, yet he continued conversing with Thomas for a while longer. After the conversation died off, he finally looked around casually. He didn’t spot anyone looking at him, especially as he had currently suppressed his Mindsense to just the immediate area. However, he was certain someone had been observing him.

  Unable to ascertain who it was, he turned around to have a look at the other platforms. Only once all the current matches were done would the next set of matches begin. At this moment, he finally heard the booming voices of the commentators for the first time. Have they been yelling like this from the start? I wonder if they mentioned me at all.

  “Did you see that? Now, that’s what I’m talking about! Jackson did a great job at displaying the strength of a spear! Although the apprentice from Violet Mist had great control over the nature element, the entangling roots were neither fast enough nor sturdy enough against the Auron! Even though he did not make as large a splash as Damon, Jackson is proving why the Assembly is the dominant power of the region!” Standing up with one fist raised high in the air, Wesley screamed in support of his fellow apprentice.

  “Yes, yes, Jackson did a fine job. The other matches contained no upsets like platform two. Aside from Damon, the winners were all the sixth seeds from their respective associations. Now, the first seeds are stepping onto the platforms.”

  “Yes, indeed! The first seeds are finally entering the stage! However, their opponents are the eighth seeds, so I don’t expect to see anything too drastic happening! On platform one, we have our very own Claire Dumont! On two, we have Alexander Thorne from Argent Flame. On the third, we have Erik Aurelius from Violet Mist. And the last one is Nox Vaelor from Lunarsol! Please give them a round of applause!”

  Claire, Alexander, Erik, and Nox all stepped onto their respective platforms under the thunderous applause and cheering of the audience. The crowd over on the north side, closest to Claire, was especially loud and excited. However, Claire did not seem to hear them. Even as she stood opposite her opponent, she only glared at one person. That was Nox. He looked back at her with a smirk, even going as far as waving at her while laughing.

  Erik did not participate in any mind games and just focused on his opponent, Anton. Alexander, on the other hand, did not seem to notice his opponent either. He was still looking at Damon, his eyes unblinking. Damon met his gaze, his chest swelling with boundless pride. This once mighty prince, with high levels of talent, now faced him as an equal.

  As Damon’s head filled with smugness, he smirked at Alexander. Suddenly, his face paled as he quickly turned away and grasped his forehead in his hand. Within his mind, the blood jewel embedded in the side of his Mind Node pulsated with a dense red light as it attempted to penetrate through once more. Thankfully, he discovered it in time and kept it at bay with his mental power.

  As cold sweat ran down his neck, he breathed a sigh of relief. He needed to be more careful. It was affecting his emotional state, and he had not noticed until it was almost too late.