First round

People were walking aimlessly on that pleasant afternoon.

Malcom watched them from the window in the place where he lived. It was an average neighborhood that emphasized the benefits that he obtained by being a Marked.

He and his family were given a home and a monthly amount of money that would cover his basic expenses. Malcom watched the streets and saw people walking without worries enjoying the things that life had given them while he had to carry a load that he never chose.

Everyone said that being a Marked was an honor. Marked individuals were protecting the future. They were heroes who protected the entire civilization.

But the reality was always different.

For Marked individuals to continue existing, few very young children, as young as a day's old baby, were taken to serve as food for ancestral prisons. Their abilities are reduced their entire life for a few benefits.

Malcom hated being a Marked.

He released a heavy sigh. There was no point to continue thinking about things that would make him feel depressed. He might as well start moving to continue doing something about it.

He took his things and looked in the mirror, his strong expressions returned a smile, and he went out to the living room and saw his mother watching the projector.

"What are you looking at, Ma?" He asked curiously.

The lady turned her face to look at her son. Her brown skin shone in the sun, her hair tightly tied in a ponytail gave her a healthy appearance, and her smile lit up her beautiful face.

She turned her wheelchair towards his direction before answering, "The tournament positions will be announced soon. I want to see who you have to fight in the first round."

Malcom snorted before he approached to kiss her forehead. He looked at the screen, and the draw had begun.

The presenter announced those who had qualified for the tournament. He was one of the qualified ones, and there were several other young people who would also clash to show their potential, eventually allowing the current members of the Sacred Virtues to decide their next successors.

Malcom had qualified to participate, but he would never be chosen to be a successor because he was a Marked. He knew it.

A person with only 20% of his magic power would never manage to become a Virtue. That was the 'reality' that everyone had repeated to him since he decided to compete. There were other absolute beliefs that were never once broken.

'You will never be able to fight properly.'

That was the first absolute that he broke. He still fought and won.

'You will never qualify for the tournament of virtues. Only the best ones achieve it.'

Now he was part of the qualified contestants. Maybe if he kept eliminating the absolutes, they would take him into account for much more.

Malcom took her mother's chair and turned it over to put her in front of the projector. Both of them were silent as they listened to the presenter.

"Good afternoon, dear witnesses! Today is the draw for the distribution of the participants of the Virtues tournament! Thirty-two young people will face off to show off their skills and win the prize of one million rubies!"

Suddenly Malcom's mother sighed. "That is good money, son! If you win, you won't have any more problems," she said as she gave him a glance. Her tone was unclear if she was hopeful or resigned.

"We won't have any more problems, mom! If I win it, we can pay for a lot of things!" Malcom responded positively. He winked at her playfully, which made her smile.

She patted her son's hand before she then continued paying attention to the announcement.

"But that money is actually the least of the prizes because participating here will determine who will be the new successors of the definitive heroes that defend our nation! The legends who fought against the horsemen! The best mage in the world! The seven powerful Sacred Virtues!" The presenter spoke enthusiastically.

Malcom snorted at the idea that the current Virtues were heroes.

During the fight against the Horsemen hundreds of years ago, the Virtues were heroes who gave their lives to protect people, but now they were nothing more than clowns who use that name to do what they please.

"Well, without further ado, let's see how Group A looks like!" The presenter walked across the stage where that ceremony was being held, and placing a finger on a glass bowl, made thirty-two papers fly until one opened and rose to his hand.

The presenter took it, read it, and his smile spread so much that he showed all of his teeth.

"The first selected for the first fight in the first group is none other than the favorite, the woman that many say will be the champion, the goddess of fire, Skyler Sonfild!" He announced.

On a black screen, the photo of a young white girl with black hair and light eyes appeared.

"Is she the girl you say is invincible?" Malcom's mother asked with a frown.

"Yes. Whoever fights her on the first round is a poor bastard-" Malcom was not able to continue his words, at the moment he said that he felt a bad premonition.

'My luck wouldn't be that terrible,' Malcom assured himself as he watched the presenter walking back to the bowl and repeated the previous procedure. The host then mockingly smiled after he read the paper.

"Well, we have the opponent of the goddess!" He said, laughing more than necessary, "Hunter Malcom, the Materializer!"

His face appeared on the screen beside the adored Skyler. He would be the first to fight.

Malcom was startled before he shook his head and then forced a smile.

He let go of his mother's chair before he took his hat and yell, "I will come back later!"

His mother looked at him sadly as the young man left the apartment.

As Malcom walked out of the house, he could not help remember Skyler's face.

He had seen several of her fights and knew that she was invincible. She was the favorite, her perfect record without losses was intimidating, but he was going to win the tournament, whatever it takes. That meant that he needed to beat Skyler somehow.

Fighting Skyler was not completely bad news. In the preliminaries, one could still afford to lose a fight. That meant even if he lost to Skyler, it wouldn't be over for him. But that also meant that he needed to make sure to be victorious in his next fights.

He was still thinking about Skyler when he mounted a transporter.

"Where to, boss?" The driver asked.

The transporters were four-wheeled vehicles where four people could go comfortably. They were shaped like a cocoon, and the driver was at the tip of the cocoon where he directed the cart with his energy.

A panel used the magical energy of the driver to power the car and thus move it, and the driver directed it with his mind, another job that the Marked could not do because of the energy demand it had.

"At the northeast entrance on the edge of the city," Malcom replied with a clear voice.

"Right away, boss!" Then the transporter started to move.

Malcom was watching everything silently when he heard the voice of the driver say.

"Boss, excuse me, but do you know if they are done choosing the tournament fights?"

"Yes," Malcom answered, "Right now, they are being chosen."

Malcom could not see the driver's face since he was above the vehicle. He could only hear him when the driver activated the communicator.

"Do you know where Skyler will be?" The driver continued to ask.

"First fight."

"Uff! And who is the poor guy who will lose that fight?"

"A Malcom something. He seems to be a Materializer! They said he is Hunter or something like that," Malcom explained with a knowing smile.

"Oooooh, I know who he is!" The driver was enthusiastic as he continued to speak, "He tore Selina to pieces in the last league fight! I was so happy when that fight was over. I love when the show-offs lose! Too bad, I expected him to go to the main tournament."

The comment made Malcom's smile widen even further. He wasn't expecting that kind of reply.

"Who knows? Maybe he can beat Skyler too?"

"Maybe boss! But the difference between the idiot cat and Skyler is very big! I don't think he has a chance with the Goddess of Fire," the driver said with a complicated tone. It seemed like he was Skyler's genuine fan but also had some hopes for Malcom.

"So you think that there is so much difference between them?" Malcom asked curiously.

"Sure, boss! If you have seen them both fight, the difference was easy to notice. She is as strong as a class one mage. She is surely going to be the next virtue. Although the Hunter is clever, that is not enough. It takes a lot of power to stand a chance against Skyler."

"Maybe you're right. He should focus on the other two fights," Malcom said as if he was really considering that.

"It would be the smartest thing to do," The driver then stopped the transporter on the side of the road before yelling, "Boss, here we are!"

Malcom got out and then paid the driver with a five hundred ruby ​​bill.

"Keep the change, man," Malcom said with a smirk.

"Hey! Thank you very much, boss!" The driver smiled brightly.

"You're screwed! Your first fight is against Skyler. You are finished!" One of the guards at the door yelled as soon as he saw Malcom.

The driver stopped in surprise before he looked back towards Malcom that was walking away from him. The blue flames from his jacket revealed Malcom's identity.

"Hey, Boss!" The driver yelled with a smile.

"Yeah?" Malcom asked as he looked back at the driver.

"Can you win?"

Malcom smiled before he replied, "You will have to watch the match!"