Grey passed the round of 32 without a sweat; his opponent forfeited when they learned they were against Grey. He didn't mind, it was a good chance to rest, but the walking was annoying since he did nothing.
At that moment, Grey was waiting. With fewer participants, the rounds took less time. That meant that the round of 16 would take place on the same day.
From what he knew, the round of 16 was a competition, not a duel. Instead of a 1v1 against a random opponent, the audience and host chose the match-ups, and they would compete in a test.
They would measure their Mana in a test of endurance; they would engage in a battle of wits and intelligence, and they would fight against a monster.
An elven lady entered the room, and Grey looked her way. He had been first to go for the past 4 rounds, so he felt it should have been no different. However, she walked past him, ignoring his existence entirely.
'I'm not first for once? Good, I could use the rest.' Grey was still a little sore from the exercise, but between his natural heightened regeneration and Mana Body, he was mostly healed.
He laid back on his chair, closing his eyes.
A tut sounded out, clearly aimed at him. Someone didn't like his relaxed disposition, it seemed. He thought about dealing with it but decided against it. There was no point.
Soon, he drifted into sleep.
---
A pat on the shoulder awoke Grey, and he opened his eyes to the sight of the same elf lady from before tapping him on the shoulder.
"Is it my turn?" He asked, receiving a nod in return. "Okay."
He got off his chair, stretching his muscles, before walking to the door the lady directed him to.
For the fifth time, he was back in the room of weapons. He looked at them, contemplating about taking one, and finally chose to.
'It would be best if I'm fighting a Beast.' That was his reasoning.
He picked up a plain spear, measuring its balance. Finding it perfectly weighted, he swung it a few times.
'Not a bad weapon. I'd praise the maker, but I don't know who they are.'
Suddenly the door to the Arena popped open, meaning it was time for him to enter.
'Must have missed the announcement.' He walked through the door and entered the Arena.
He and his opponent met in the middle, shaking hands. For his enemy to have made it this far was impressive.
They waited for the announcer in silence under the cheers of the audience.
A minute passed amidst the clamor, and the host finally spoke.
"ALRIGHT FOLKS, IT'S TIME FOR THE MOST EXPECTED MATCH IN THE ROUND OF 16! ON THE LEFT, THE MAGIC SUPREME, GREY HEART! UNEXPECTEDLY, HE'S WIELDING A WEAPON! LET'S SEE IF HE'S AS GOOD WITH A BLADE AS WITH A SPELL!"
The host took a breath.
"AND ON THE RIGHT, WE HAVE THE BLADEMASTER, TYLER HAVEK, SON OF COUNT HAVEK! HIS BLADE IS LIKE LIGHTNING, BUT HOW WILL HIS MAGIC MEASURE UP?"
'Oh, the son of Havek. Is he Var's brother?'
The crowd went wild at his words, being the loudest when they saw Grey holding a spear.
"ONTO CHALLENGE 1!" The host announced. "AS YOU KNOW, MY LOVELY AUDIENCE, WE HAVE 2 TARGETS, AND OUR COMPETITORS HAVE TO USE A SINGLE SPELL UNTIL THEY RUN OUT! WE'LL BE TESTING EFFICIENCY, CONTROL AND CAPACITY! NOW, LET'S ROLL THE WHEEL!"
Suddenly, a massive hologram appeared in the air, with a giant wheel on it. Thousands of Spells sat on the wheel, causing it to be split into thousands of parts.
The wheel span, the tension high.
TICK! TICK! TICK!
It ticked at every section, adding to the drama and suspense.
TICK... TICK...TICK!
The wheel slowed, finally choosing their Spell.
"OH, AND IT'S DECIDED! SAGITTA! OUR COMPETITORS WILL BE SHOOTING ARROWS!"
The TV disappeared, and Grey and Tyler moved to their positions, 20 meters away from their targets.
The targets were large circular objects made of hay, painted red and white, just like an arrow target, but much larger.
On the announcer's count, they began.
"Lux Sagitta." Grey called out.
"Tenebris Sagitta." Tyler followed just behind.
The arrows shot forth, striking dead center before dissipating.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Soon enough, they had both shot 20 arrows. They showed no signs of stopping, but that was to be expected. There was no exertion when using Mana —you would just stop being able to cast the Spell. Of course, Mana depletion was entirely different.
Finally, arrow 28 struck the target, and Tyler stopped. Grey, however, kept going.
30.
40.
50.
100.
By arrow 150, the audience was bored, and Grey could tell. Barring their excitement at a prospect that was so talented, they were otherwise bored at seeing an arrow strike a target. At this point, it was not a competition, just a beatdown.
'I'll stop now.' Grey thought, shooting one last arrow.
It struck the target and dissipated, another one not following behind.
The host saw this and realized.
"ALL RIGHT LADIES AND GENTS! CHALLENGE 1 IS OVER!! THE SCORE:
TYLER HAVEK - 28 Arrows.
GREY HEART - 151 Arrows.
WE HAVE A CLEAR WINNER! POINT, GREY!"
WHOO!
The audience cheered, more at its ending than his winning.
"NOW, LET'S LOOK AT THE STATS!"
The massive holographic TV appeared in the air again, displaying a replay of their 'fight'.
Numbers appeared on either side of the screen, the left side was Grey's, and the right was Tyler's.
"GREY HEART:
EFFICIENCY - 34%.
CONTROL - 100% ACCURACY.
CAPACITY - 18, 490 MANA...
WAIT WHAT!"
The host screamed.
"I'M SORRY EVERYBODY, IT SEEMS THERE'S AN ERROR. JUST GIVE US A MINUTE."
However, before anybody could gossip, the King spoke.
"WAIT! There's no need; the number is correct."
'''HUH!''' Everybody gasped. 18,500 Mana was absurd for a 17-year-old, but they didn't doubt their King.
"I SEE! NEVER MIND, MY DEAR AUDIENCE, I WAS WRONG! UNFORTUNATELY, THERE'S NO NEED TO CONTINUE. LET'S MOVE ON TO CHALLENGE 2! THE INTELLIGENCE TEST!"
The targets magically disappeared, and 2 stands appeared by the center, red buzzers atop them.
Grey and Tyler moved to the center, standing in front of one and readying themselves for the test.
"OKAY LADIES AND GENTS! I WILL BE ASKING 5 QUESTIONS, AND THE ONE WHO GETS THE MOST RIGHT WINS! SIMPLE, RIGHT? WELL THEN, LET'S BEGIN!"
Everybody stilled, the cheering dimming to a murmur. Grey and Tyler tensed, ready to press their buzzer.
---
"I'm shocked. I thought that he wouldn't shock me anymore, but I was wrong." The King commented.
"Agreed. At this point, he's more of a monster than anyone else to have ever existed. He'll easily reach heights higher than anyone else." The Queen added.
The 'competition' was no competition. It was a one-sided beatdown. Tyler was overwhelmed with no way to fight back.
"But, we need to address one thing. That aura of his." The King said, shuddering. Grey's oppressive aura was enough to make him shiver.
At his words, both the Queen and Aurora thought back to the competition.
After winning the battle of intelligence 5-0, they moved on to the third challenge. Fighting a monster.
Tyler went first, going up against an F Rank DL-Panther. It took him a few minutes, but the elf masterfully dispatched the Beast. The creature stood little chance.
After Tyler, Grey went. He took a single thrust to kill the beast.
Grey's opponent was also an F Rank DL-Panther, to ensure fairness. The Beast exited its cage, spotting its prey.
It ran at Grey, and he was unmoved.
Reaching just a meter away, the panther readied itself to jump.
Suddenly, the air grew heavy, and the panther couldn't move. The panther looked at its food and realized —it wasn't prey, it was the predator.
Grey had unleashed his murderous intent, amplifying it with Mana. The feeling was overbearing, freezing the Beast in place.
Grey walked up to it, unafraid, and stabbed it in the head with his spear.
No superfluous movement, just a straight jab.
'Terrifying.' Aurora thought. Not just the aura, but his unflinching nature. When Tyler killed the Beast, he felt nauseous and had to be removed before anything happened, but Grey didn't feel anything.
At least, it looked that way. And that was correct; Grey felt nothing killing the panther.
Once he was done, and the stunned host announced his win, Grey left under the silent audience, the same way he entered.
He deposited the now clean spear —he wiped it on the panther's fur— back in its home, and entered the waiting room.
He walked out of the room, leaving the Arena, under the terrified gazes of the 7 other opponents.
"Monster." Some of them called out.
He ignored them, knowing they were just afraid of what they didn't understand, and strolled through the streets of the city.
He stopped at a bakery, grabbed a pastry, and headed back to the hotel.
'That was fun.' He said to Fallen Star.
- Yes, although you may have overdone it. - Fallen Star commented.
'Maybe, but I liked the look on their faces.'
- Weirdo. -