First Up

When it was time for the third-year division to start, the referee waved for everyone competing to approach him. Pulling out his wand, he explained, "This will show you when and who you will be dueling during the tournament."

After the referee waved his wand, a glowing white tournament bracket formed in midair, all of our names had been randomly selected and matched against opponents.

There were ten names on the bracket, with four being in the Silver Spears and Relentless Wanderers. The remaining six were split between the Hidden Lotus and Dragon Fangs.

My stomach sank when I saw that my name was in the first match up. Apparently, the universe was conspiring against the Silver Spears. Both Adam and I were in the first two matches, which meant we both had to duel an extra round.

The only good news about this situation was that I wouldn't have to compete against Adam until the very last round, assuming both of us made it that far.

Because there were ten people in the bracket, the four people who were competing in the first two matches had to duel an extra round. This meant that if I didn't lose a single match, there were five duels between me and victory.

I had been hoping I would be a part of those who only had to win four duels. It also would have let me see some of the other fights so that I could get a sense of the skills from the other third years.

With this being my first time in the ring, I didn't know what to expect from the others. I'm guessing that at least one or two of them might have mastered the shield charm. Knowing the shield spell was something of a wall among duelers, there was a clear dividing line between those who knew the spell and those who didn't.

One of the main reasons why duels were so short during the first round was because if you got overwhelmed, it would force you to dodge and may put you in a position of vulnerability. But, once you master the shielding spell, it changes the whole game by creating many different avenues in a duel. It was one of the reasons why I was confident in challenging older opponents even though this was my first time in the ring.

Of course, just because someone knew the shield charm didn't mean they were completely protected from hostile magic. The strength of everyone's shield was different because the power of the shield was directly connected to the skills of the person who cast it.

Not to mention, strong spells have been known to break through shields. I learned last year that with enough concentration and skill, you could empower spells to be more powerful.

Giving the tournament bracket another look, I noticed that my opponent was a dark-hair kid named Jackson. I smirked when I saw he was in the Hidden Lotus. I was going to make it my mission to make sure no one from that club advanced.

As I entered the ring, Jackson sneered at me, "You're going to regret not knowing your limits." Nodding back towards his teammates, he added, "Michael bet that you wouldn't last ten moves against me, but I told him I would put you down in five."

I know I shouldn't let talk like that affect me, but I couldn't stop my eye from twitching in annoyance. Initially, I was just planning on beating him, but now I think he deserves something a little more embarrassing.

I got in the small starting ring and faced Jackson, who had a confident grin on his face. Did this idiot really think he was going to beat me? Oh, I am going to enjoy watching that stupid smirk fall off his face.

Soon, the referee shouted, "Begin."

Immediately I twisted my wrist, which activated my dueling holster, and my wand shot out of the small metal tube attached to my wrist. Even though I got my wand out first, I chose not to attack. It was time to teach this idiot a lesson.

Jackson was right behind me in getting his wand out. Once he had lined up a shot, he shouted, "Glacius Tria."

An intense blue-colored spell shot towards me, I immediately recognized the spells one of the glacier spells designed to encase an opponent in ice freezing them. Typically, It was taught in charms during year three, but since I already learned it and moved on to year four spells.

My mind raced with options, I knew the counterspell that would dispel it, but that wouldn't mesh with the message I wanted to send. I wanted to send a clear message to this jackass that I was beyond his skill, and he would regret looking down on me.

You see, with all my practice with Anna, I mastered the shielding charm. And during my training, I learned it was not just about being able to cast the spell or even time it correctly. I learned it was all about the angles.

As the spell raced towards me, without giving it much conscious thought, I mentally calculated the timing and angle that I needed. I couldn't tell you how I knew when it was time. It was an instinctive feeling I had built through countless hours of practice, and when I felt it was time, I shouted, "Protego."

Seconds before Jackson's spell hit me, a glowing shield appeared. Once the Freezing Spell hit the shield, it got reflected right back at Jackson.

Jackson's eyes widened in surprise. Whatever he had been expecting to happen, having his spell rebounding back at him wasn't what he imagined.

I smiled when I tracked the angle the spell was heading back on. I had nailed the perfect trajectory. Had it been too high, he could duck below the charm, and if it had been too low, he could jump over it. Now, his only options were to use the shield charm, which he probably couldn't use, or move out of the way of the rapidly returning spell.

Jackson scowled as he took the latter option, as he spun out of the circle. He shot another spell my way. I mentally thanked him as he had provided me with more ammunition to send his way.

After getting a sense of his skills, I knew I could have beat him the normal way, but I thought it was more humiliating to be knocked out using his own spells against him. That would teach the cost of deriding me.

As Jackson sent spell after spell at me, I simply reflected them back at him one by one. You would think his spells would lose momentum as after they hit my shield, but if anything, the spells seemed to pick up speed. Eventually, he made a mistake, and he was hit by his own Knockback Jinx, which promptly picked him up and tossed him flying out of the ring.

As he was flying out of the ring, I could see him glaring at me with murder on his mind. It was probably the most humiliating loss he had ever had, and it was against a younger wizard who had never been in the ring before.

As I turned my attention to the judges, I noticed that they seemed to be torn from being impressed and annoyed at my strategy. In the end, they awarded me thirty-one points total for the match, twenty-five points for winning, one point for the use of the shield charm, and an additional five points for winning the duel without taking a step from my starting ring. I could have racked up more points if I had used more spells, but I wasn't planning on getting to the international competition with points. I was here to win it all.

When the judges shot a big glowing 31 in the air, I could hear my family cheering loudly. As I walked back to my section, I noticed the other members of the Hidden Lotus glaring at me. It was one thing to win a match and another to humiliate someone like that.

As I glanced at the other teams, I couldn't help but feel a small amount of satisfaction when I noticed my fellow competitor's wary looks. Even Adam, my teammate on the Silver Spears, was carefully observing me. I think that he finally figured out that I was going to be his real competition in the match.

When I got back to my seat, I let out a relieved sigh, even though I was confident I would win, I was still covered in a nervous sweat. Thankfully, Jackson had annoyed me. It had helped take my mind off the idea of competing in front of everyone on the stage. Hopefully, my remaining duels would go as well as my first one. With one match down, only four more fights stood in between me and victory.

Unlike the previous division that had the losers compete immediately, because of the odd teams, they wouldn't have to fight until the standard matches got to the end of their bracket. What was annoying was after the second match, I was already back up to duel again, I had been hoping for more time to recover.

Next to me, Adam muttered, "Showing off like that may make you look impressive to others. But you just wasted a chance to pull ahead in points. Let me show you how it's done."

Up next was Adam and a blond-haired girl named Taylor from the Dragon Fangs. I leaned forward in anticipation. I knew Adam was going to be a problem, and I was looking forward to seeing how he handled himself.

A few minutes later, as I watched the judge shoot a large 49 into the sky, I couldn't help but be impressed and a little worried. Adam had won a decisive victory without being forced from the starting ring. I was also pretty sure he missed half of his spells on purpose. Every different spell you use in a match is worth a point, and he cycled through a large amount of them to maximize his available points.

Seeing how many points Adam got made me realize I screwed up. I should have done the same thing Adam did and maximized my overall points rather than send a message to that idiot.

What concerned me was if everyone else did the same thing, they would have an advantage in points. If I didn't take the first place, I might not make it to the international competition at this rate.

Adam shot me a smug look when he returned to our section. As I got up to compete in the next match, I mentally resolved to stretch out the next duel as long as I could to maximize my point total. Now that I thought about it, it was kinda lucky that I was chosen to have the extra duel.

This time, my opponent was a girl named Robin from the Dragon Fangs. I recognized her from being in Ravenclaw, and she obviously took great pride in being in our house as her hair was magically dyed to a deep midnight blue that had glowing strands of bronze sprinkled throughout her tightly woven braid.

As the match began, we both went for our wands. Like in my previous duel, I got mine out first, but unlike last time, I made the first move. Pointing my wand at Robin, I shouted, "Impedimenta."

I had chosen the Impediment Jinx due to its ability to slow an opponent down to a crawl. I figured it not only would it allow me to get off several more spells if she was moving like a snail, but it would also shield me from her retaliation.

I learned that no plan survives first contact with the enemy because half a second after I had got my spell off. She smirked and spun outside of her circle while chanting, "Lassus Fumus."

A cloud of thick white smoke poured out of her wand, enveloping her inside a cocoon of fog. For a moment, the mist seemed to slow. Then it resumed with a fury filling up her side of the ring.

For a half-second, my mind blanked, I was a little flustered. I had never even considered such a strategy, then a small voice in the back of my mind reminded me that I was in danger. While I couldn't currently see Robin's position, I was still in my starting circle, which let her know where to send spells.

As soon as the thought occurred to me, I hurled myself out of the circle. Moments after I got out of the way, a red beam of light shot out of the smoke and passed where I had been standing.

I swore, "Merlin's dirty underpants." Being forced from the circle had already cost me five points.

I moved towards the back of the ring, never stopping in one place. I figured if this was her strategy, she had probably had a spell to track me through the smoke.

I bet she was counting on a second year, not knowing how to proceed. But, informally for her, I had learned a spell to track during the previous year.

After ducking below a silver beam of light, I rested my wand on my palm and chanted, "Requiro Fortitudo."

My wand spun towards the right of the ring, not wanting to waste this chance, I shouted, "Rictusempra."

Even though it was a childish hex designed to tickle and induce laughter, I knew from experience that it was impossible to keep quiet if it hit you. I wanted Robin to laugh so that I could locate her position.

Unfortunately, I missed her because I heard her chant, and seconds later, I ducked beneath a blue beam. We went back and forth a couple of times before I noticed a worrying trend.

The smoke she had produced was starting to drift over. Soon it was filling up my side of the ring as well. As soon as I took a few breaths, I felt an intense struggle to keep my eyelids open. A few seconds later, I was almost ready to pass out.

That sneaky little rat, this wasn't normal smoke. It was some type of sleeping gas. As my thoughts started to slow, my mind went over options. Thankfully, after last year's excursion had left me trapped underground, I had gone a little overboard in my planning for future emergencies.

Along with filling my new magically enhanced bag with everything I could possibly need, I had endeavored to learn some spells that would improve my ability to survive in a life-threatening environment. Being trapped a mile beneath the earth taught me that it was better to be prepared for anything.

Before I lost consciousness, I muttered, "Saccus Caeli."

A bubble of air surrounded my head. The good old Bubble Head Charm, it was a spell that made you look like you stuck your head in a fishbowl, but all things considered, I'll take it.

Ok, it was time to stop playing nice, I had almost just been eliminated. The problem with most spells I knew was they didn't affect large areas. But, last year, I fiddled around with the Fire Charm a lot. I learned it was a very versatile spell.

Most people used it as it was intended, like a bolt of fire. But, I had learned that it was possible to keep a stream of fire pouring out of the wand. It took a lot of effort, but I had mastered it.

Since Roblin likes to fill up her opponent's side with sleeping gas, let's see how she likes it when I return the favor and fill her side of the ring with fire.

After using my wand to locate her relative position, I mustered all my remaining mental strength and let loose. "Incendio," I roared.

A thick jet of fire streamed out of my wand like water being shot from a fire hose. Not letting up for a moment, I poured more and more of my energy into the spell. The heat on my face was intense, but I knew as long as I kept it up, Robin would have it a lot worse.

I heard a scream, and a second later, the referee's magically enhanced voice shouted that Robin had left the ring, giving me victory.

I'm not sure what spell the referee used because moments later, the smoke vanished, revealing my fishbowl face to the arena.

On the other side of the arena, a singed and smoldering Robin was glaring at me through her version of the Bubble Head Charm. I smirked, her smoke screen was what allowed my spell to take her by surprise.

Had the whole arena been visible, she would have seen my fire spell coming. There are spells out there that can reduce fire to nothing more than a tickle, but because she didn't have time to react, she was forced to retreat from the ring quickly.

The only thing that slightly soured my victory was I only scored thirty-two points. Being forced from the starting ring had cost me five points. And I only used seven different spells throughout the duel, but considering how close to losing I came, it was better than nothing.

Exhausted and sticky from the match, I made my way back to my seat, eager to rest as long as I could before it was my turn to duel again. Thankfully, I had three duels to rest and recover from the sleeping fog that nearly made me pass out.

Zack leaned over and patted me on the back, "That was quick thinking with the Bubble-Head Charm. We were all taking bets on whether you figured it out on time."

As I shot Zack a glare, he held his hands up, "Don't look at me, I bet that you would figure it out and pull out a victory."

Turning back to the arena, I mulled over my opponents. Ignoring Jackson, I realized that I needed to be on my A-game, my fellow competitors weren't more powerful than me, but as Robin just demonstrated. It was entirely possible to bring down a more powerful opponent through guile.

Even though I tried to reign in my ego, I still struggled with treating my competitors as equals. I needed to remember that even though I was probably stronger than they were, they had experience on their side, and they could leverage that experience to bring me down.