Tournament (2).

The battles continued, and the three of them managed to defeat their opponents with relative ease. Some were harder, some were easier to beat. But in the end, they all shared the same fate.

That was until Allan met his match. At this point the tournament didn't have sufficient opponents to accommodate the initial purpose of the tournament, and was now mostly for parents to see their children's progress.

---

Allan's opponent was a boy named Ivan. He was a person of soft character and fierce fighting spirit. He wielded a saber, which he swung with surprising speed and precision.

Ivan managed to create a form of lighting-essence, which usually was impractical for lower-level melee fighters. It took an impractical amount of concentration to create and control. Ivan's essence flow had a rating of C, which meant that it either had an impractical shape or low soul-essence output.

In his case it was the latter. His essence flow had a shape resembling a root, or bolt of lighting. It was considered to be an excellent shape, as it allowed for high concentration on low outputs. This also lowered the amount of concentration required to keep the ability active.

The match ended with Ivan winning. He managed to sneak in a small bolt when Allan made a mistake and let both of his weapons be parried. The lighting bolt would have hit Allan squarely in his chest if his index hadn't activated.

The referee announced Ivan as the victor. Both bowed to each other, and returned to their seats.

Allan wasn't beaten down or angry, he had a smile on his face. Today was the day he learned to never underestimate his opponent. He had thought that since Ivan didn't show any abilities during the early phases of the match and didn't stick out during the lessons, that he was a weak character with little to no control of his ability.

He couldn't have been more wrong.

Ivan was a talented individual and was very familiar with the concept of timing. He had waited to show his ability till the start of the tournament due to his father's advice.

Returning to the bench, he started talking about his match with his friends.

---

''You really got beaten this time... Such a waste of talent!'' Spencer said in a mocking tone.

''Really though, how did he beat you?'' This time it was Edwin talking.

''Not telling you.'' Allan said, with a mischievous smile on his face.

---

It had turned afternoon and both Allan and Spencer had been defeated. Edwin was still going, showing signs of fatigue. It was still fair game, since his opponents were in the same situation.

The opponent he was facing now was a girl named Jenna, she was a childhood friend of his. Their parents used to be part of the same hunting party. In the end there was a pretty grave conflict between her father and his, so they moved away to another part of the village. They rarely saw each other, and even when they did the encounters would end up rather awkward.

She was well versed in the arts of fighting, as she was taught by her father, even adopting the same weapon. Edwin's father had a more off-hands kind of approach, allowing Edwin to walk his own path. Though if Edwin were to ask for advice, he would naturally still give it. This was just one of the many facets of their differences.

Jenna used a mace and a buckler, a classic combination of their time. It was both excellent against soft and hard-shelled opponents, also providing excellent maneuverability in closed spaces.

Their battle had been pretty balanced so far, with both attacking and defending at times. That was until Jenna decided to use her main ability. She backed away and close her eyes for a moment, focusing on her essence. Soon the air around her started to heat up as an orange glow surrounded her mace.

She lunged at Edwin and attacked.

Fearing that his wooden blade might shatter he jumped away, once again, stomping on the ground. Noticing the spot, she avoided it while continuing her pursuit.

The game of cat and mouse continued, with Edwin facing narrow encounters from time to time. He tried to attack, but her shield always came in at the right time. It was not easy to land an attack while dodging a mace, and while having to face a shield.

That was until an idea popped into Edwin's mind.