It is already the second day since we arrived here, the day scheduled for the match to begin, everyone looks pumped and excited. After spending the previous day in the sages library trying to find an insight on what I am looking for I believe it is safe to say I have gotten closer to the answer thanks to the sages, I also found out I could get access to the library of the core sages at the end of the competition, now I just need to make it through the competition and not die halfway.
I look around to see if I could find familiar faces from our academy as I hear the horn blast signaling the match is about to start, I look up on the floating stage above the match arena and an old looking man staring down at us with a warm smile.
"Silence"
He said in a small voice, though I doubt anyone heard him or even if they did I doubt they would pay any attention, he tries two more times and he receives the same response every single time and I swear I see his brows twitch and then I feel it, an insurmountable amount of pressure and I hear that word again, like a loud drum this time
"Silence"
It works this time, I look around and see everyone sweating profusely, some were on their knees, others were sitting on the floor
"Sorry for that, but I need a little bit of your time and a large amount of your attention"
He says with that gentle smile gracing his face once again.
After he delivered his speech, the first match commenced. A match between our school and the other, a match between a pure elemental user and a pure martial artist, the audience were thrilled seeing as the question plagued the minds of most of them. The match ended in the favor of the martial artist due to the elementalist been an unexperienced elementalist with specialty in mist creation and manipulation, an extension of the water element and the martial artist been an experienced artist who not only relied on his sight.
The next match was between martial artists which ended quite fast, apparently, the senior was seasonal and junior was still green and could not hold his ground.
The day went by fast and the names of the winners were placed in the system to find another opponent, after that we were sent off to bed to prepare for the next day. On the next day, students from our school were pretty hyped to see some of the matches, one of the matches been a match between the rumored best martial art student and our Crystal Saint and the other match between the newbie who defeated the Crystal Saint and the rumored best flame elementalist, a lightning elementalist. I am also looking forward to Erastus' match but I cannot help but worry about my own match, as I prepare mentally, I hear Erastus' voice behind me
"calm down, do not freak"
"is the great Crystal Saint worried about little ol me ?"
I ask with a smile on my face as I turn to face him and his reaction is what I was hoping for, his straight face with the tip of his ears and nose flushed red, if one did not look closely, they would not notice. I turn back to the arena to concentrate on the match.
After a few matches, it is Erastus turn for one of his matches today. He climbs up and I see his opponent is almost twice his size, he looks up to stare at his opponent and I feel he is looking into his opponents eyes, I noticed he likes to do that a lot.
"I was a little bit scared when I heard I would be facing the best swordsman among the students, but I am faced with a little pale boy who looks like he just hit puberty, come let me help you shatter that little reputation of yours, swordsman"
I continue looking at Erastus and still he just stood there with an unamused look on his face and then his stance changed, with his left hand behind him and his right hand at a 90-angle to his body he made a sword materialize in his hand.
"Oh ho, seems you do not talk much, afraid you would cry if you open your mouth? nevermind, I would finish this fast and then send you off to cry as much as you want"
"Come then, fat buffoon"
I suppose the giant did not like to be called fat cause he charged with rage at Erastus who with a smile on his face stomped on the ground and said
"shromáždit a zpevnit"
Immediately the temperature dropped a few degrees and the giant's feet were trapped in solid ice, the giant roared and started pounding on the ice surrounding his feet
"What kind of a swordsman are you? you bring a sword and use magic instead, you have no honor or principle"
The giant shouted furiously at Erastus who was already advancing slowly like a predator watching a trapped prey
"I never said I was going to use my sword, it is your fault for thinking foolishly, fat buffoon "
Erastus who was already standing in front of the giant replied
"you are the fool if you think your little ice can hold me down, look at you now, unguarded standing so close to me"
The giant shouted pounding one last time at the ice and immediately shattering it to pieces
"shromažďovat, formovat a vázat"
The broken ice formed again but this time as chains binding the giant's hands and feets to the ice-covered ground, Erastus had said another spell which took effect immediately
The giant roared again and started trashing about trying to break the ice chains
"You coward, the only thing you can do is hide behind your spells, you have no. alls to face me without your precious little magic"
"Fine, let me play with you for a little bit. Rozptýlit"
Immediately the chains binding the giant and the ice on the floor disappeared and Erastus jumped back a few feets
"see, you are running already, keep running little ice boy and see if I do not catch you and smash your head in"
The giant charged and Erastus lunged forward also, dodging all of the giant's fists and kicks and making slashes of his own. And then, after several minutes
"I have played with you enough, do you not think so fat buffoon?"
Erastus jumped and shouted
"Ve velkém množství, shromažďovat, formovat a vázat"
The whole arena was filled with ice and numerous chains sprung up from the ice to bind the giant that was still looking at an airborne Erastus, forcing him to kneel
"Surrender"
Erastus said as he landed with his sword to the throat of the kneeling giant
"I would never do that, you cheated, I would never accept, release these chains at once else I would break them and kill you, release them if you dare"
"I think you have disgraced the martial art creed enough, do you not Miko? surrender and come here now"
We all turned to see a lean looking boy who looked no older than me, standing and staring at the giant who's name was Miko apparently and then with a huff, Miko surrendered and climb down the arena and the place erupted with shouts and chants for Erastus and I could not help but smile and chant with them. He came and immediately went to his seat and closed his eyes.
The next match between two elementalists came and passed but it did not get much uproar like the last and now it was my match, I could hear the murmur around me
"did you hear? the kid that is up now fought and won against the Crystal saint"
"that is impossible, the Crystal Saint is the strongest swordsman among the students, how would a newbie best him?"
"I heard it was not a sword match and the Saint went easy on him that was why he won"
"I heard the used a weird type of magic that placed the Saint in an illusion"
"where did you hear that from? every student in this school uses elemental magic, the school does not accept non-elementalists"
"I heard he was transferred from another school"
"that is also impossible, where do you get your news from, that are all absurd and rubbish, the school Dean is very strict and he does not allow anyone who does not pass the entrance exam to enroll so how would he have transferred?"
I turn to them and with a smile
"you are all right so please wish me luck, thank you"
I rush up to the arena where my opponent is already waiting for me. I recognize him, the 2nd year class head and best lightning elementalist, Jacob Riveltson.
As I got to the arena and with a smirk he turned to me and said
"Yo newbie, just because Eros went easy on you does not mean I would not go easy on you so get ready and do not blame me after the match for not warning you, and try to keep up"
As soon as he said that his hair stood on end and sparks flashed around him causing the hairs on my body to stand and I knew the match had begun and so I started my plan, like I did with Erastus, trap him in an illusion where he sees what he wants to see and then win, it seems pretty easy