Round of 16

|Alistair|

The anticipation was palpable as the preliminary round drew to a close yesterday, signaling the start of the actual tournament. Despite some fierce competition, I was able to secure second place with a score of 91 points, just four points behind the top seed, Gary. As a result, I had earned the second seed in the tournament and was set to face Gary in the finals.

While I was confident in my abilities, there was little doubt in my mind that Gary would make it to the finals, even though formidable opponents would stand in his way.

As I made my way to the stadium, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness at Arthur's absence. He had chosen to stay with his family for the duration of the tournament, a decision that was allowed by the Director for all sixteen participants.

The stadium was buzzing with excitement as I arrived backstage, where the other competitors were already gathered, with the exception of Arthur.

True to form, Arthur arrived fashionably late, eliciting good-natured jibes about his sleeping habits. I couldn't help but notice that he didn't bring Sylvie with him, a wise decision given that he was set to compete.

The Director appeared on stage with a flourish, her warm smile lighting up the arena as she introduced the tournament, "Welcome, one and all, to the most highly anticipated magical tournament of the year! The sixteen talented mages standing before you have proven their worth in the preliminary round, possessing both a pure mana core and exceptional magical abilities. Today, they will engage in a single-elimination tournament, where only one victor will be crowned. The tournament has been seeded according to each participant's placement in the previous round."

The display artifact shimmered to life, revealing the tournament bracket that would guide the day's events.

'So Arthur can face Gary in the semi-finals,' I noted, 'And I will face Lancelot there likely as well.'

The Director's voice boomed through the stadium, "Welcome all of the participants and cheer for their success in the first round of fighting!"

We ascended the steps to the stage, and I forced a smile and waved at the audience, even though my heart was pounding with nerves.

The crowd erupted into cheers as they saw Tessia and me, recognizing us as the princess and prince of Elenoir.

"Now, I request all the participants to step out of the stage and only Gary Whiteborn and Lilia Helstea to remain as they will be starting us off here!" the Director announced.

Gary and Lilia stepped forward, ready to begin their match. Despite Lilia's fear of fighting Gary, I had no doubt that he would come out on top. But Lilia had made it this past the preliminary round, and that was an impressive feat in itself.

"Let the match commence!"

As I watched the match unfold, I couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for Lilia's bravery in the face of such a daunting opponent.

Gary and Lilia faced each other with determination etched on their faces. Lilia wielded her wand with a steady hand, conjuring up water projectiles and sending them flying towards Gary. But he stood unflinching, watching as the water droplets approached him before flicking his hand and blasting them with lightning.

The crowd gasped at his incredible display of power, but Gary's expression remained cold and detached.

Lilia tried to catch him off guard with a protective water shield, but Gary was too quick. He charged towards her with lightning surging through his body, his fist slamming into her shield and shattering it to pieces.

Lilia stumbled backwards, panting heavily as she tried to conjure up another spell. But Gary was already upon her, his fist raised to strike.

"I surrender," Lilia gasped, falling to her knees in defeat. Gary's fist stopped just short of her face, and he stepped back without a word.

The crowd erupted into cheers, amazed at Gary's dominance in the first round of the tournament. But I knew that I would have to face him soon, and I couldn't help but feel a twinge of apprehension at the thought.

Next up was my chance to fight Clive Graves. He was a ranged augmenter who used a bow, but his skill with the weapon was far below that of Kathyln.

Clive's core was only at the dark orange stage, which was impressive for his age, but it was two core colours behind mine. As we faced each other, I could tell Clive had already resigned himself to his fate.

Despite this, he held his metal bow with determination, hoping to hold out just a bit against me.

The match began with Clive quickly shooting metal arrows sped up with his wind magic. However, their power and speed were child's play for me. I simply deflected them with my hand, knocking them out of the air with ease.

Although Clive's footwork was good, he continuously moved randomly using wind magic and still managed to be accurate with his archery, it was easy enough for me to predict his path using my eyes.

Using my plant magic, I encased him with vines, and released him after he gave up control of his mana and stopped struggling.

As I descended from the stage, the crowd erupted into cheers, and I couldn't help but feel grateful for their support.

|Rachel|

The preliminary matches were predictably one-sided, with the Paladins and Lucas dominating their opponents. The point difference between eighth and ninth place was a staggering 15 points, which reflected the large gap in skill level.

The next two matches were equally uneventful, with Alistair and Arthur handily defeating their opponents, Curtis and Doradrea.

Finally, it was my turn to face Kai Crestless, a character I held a deep grudge against for his nefarious schemes. Beating him in a fair fight would be satisfying, to say the least.

The battle began with Kai expertly manipulating metal strings to attack me. However, I was no slouch when it came to using mana strings. I countered his attacks by creating my own mana strings using a combination of Undine's and my water magic, resulting in a ferocious battle of blue and silver on the stage.

However, the match became more of a battle of endurance and mana reserves than a display of skill. Fortunately, my superior mana core gave me the edge I needed to overpower Kai. I tied him up with my mana strings before pushing him off the stage, securing my victory.

The crowd erupted into cheers as I descended from the stage, feeling a sense of satisfaction at having defeated one of my greatest enemies.

Lancelot looked at me curiously after my victory over Kai, "Did you have to use such a complicated method to defeat him? It seemed like you could have beaten him more easily."

I responded with a grin, "Maybe, but I wanted to experiment with mana strings. It's always better to test out new techniques in battle rather than in real-life situations where the stakes are higher."

Lancelot nodded, convinced with my lie.

The next match was between Kathyln and Feyrith.

Kathyln walked up the steps with the poise of a princess, her expression unchanged as if this was a regular occurrence for her. Feyrith, on the other hand, was determined to test his limits.

As the match began, Feyrith wielded his wand and cast "Water Serpent," summoning a giant snake made of water. He quickly followed with "Flood Domain," causing a pool of water to rise up to their knees on the stage. The water serpent dove into the surrounding layer of water, seeking to attack Kathyln.

I couldn't help but think, 'Not bad, but it's not nearly enough.'

In response, Kathyln cast [Ice Age], instantly freezing the pool of water. Pulling back her bow, she shot arrows at Feyrith, who quickly conjured a protective spell, displaying no signs of panic despite his domain spell being neutralised so quickly.

The protective spell offered little resistance, and the arrows sliced through it with ease, though Feyrith managed to dodge them by a hair's breadth. Meanwhile, the Water Serpent leapt at Kathyln, but a wall of ice stopped it in its tracks. Unfazed, she continued to shoot at Feyrith with deadly accuracy.

The protective spell finally shattered, and the arrow struck Feyrith in the chest, knocking the wind out of him as he surrendered.

The anticipation was high as Tessia and Theodore stepped onto the stage. Theodore was known for his incredible gravity magic and had earned quite the reputation for crushing opponents in duels, but Tessia was a force to be reckoned with.

Although Theodore was strong, Tessia had a significant advantage over him, with a core color higher, better swordsmanship, and superior mana manipulation skills.

The fight began with Theodore using his gravity magic to reduce his weight and attack Tessia with lightning-fast punches. However, Tessia was more than prepared for his assault, and vines quickly erupted from the stage, blocking Theodore's strikes with ease.

It wasn't long before Theodore was completely ensnared by Tessia's plant magic, struggling to break free from her grasp. With no chance of winning, Theodore had no choice but to surrender, making Tessia the clear victor of the match.

As the audience erupted into cheers, Tessia stepped off the stage, ready to face whoever would come next in the tournament.

The final match of the first round pitted Claire against Lucas, the most evenly matched of all the duels.

Lucas stood across from Claire, his arrogance evident in the sneer on his face. In contrast, Claire exuded a sense of calm readiness, her eyes focused and her body poised for action.

"The final match of the first round will now commence!" announced the Director.

Without wasting any time, Lucas activated a protective orange dome around himself.

Claire charged towards him, but her attack was quickly met with Lucas' Inferno's Cage. Dozens of fire blasts rained down on her from all directions, but she moved with the grace of a seasoned warrior, evading and counterattacking with her rapier.

I knew that this battle of endurance would be tough for Claire to win. Lucas had a higher core color than her and a larger mana pool, giving him the advantage.

In the end, Claire's defeat came swiftly, and Lucas emerged victorious.

With that, only the first-year students advanced to the quarterfinals of the Xyrus Academy Tournament.

"The first round of the Tournament has come to an end! The quarterfinals will begin tomorrow!" declared the Director.