Elijah took a deep breath.
'Calm yourself,' he reminded himself, as he breathed in and out.
The arena of the Emporium stretched wide around him but his gaze was on who stood opposite, Azel was motionless.
Hands at his sides, posture relaxed, as though the duel was nothing more than a casual stroll.
The calm in his stance made Elijah's blood boil.
'Sword Saint's son or not… I am a second-year of Astralis Academy,' Elijah told himself, breathing through his nose to steady his nerves. 'I've faced monsters, I've bled in dungeons, I've trained under some of the fiercest professors alive. No pampered trainee can compare to that. Not even him.'
He was a bit doubtful about winning.
Still, he held to his thought.
'If I win here, Lorraine will finally see it. She'll stop rejecting me. She'll realize who deserves her.'
A pulse of light flickered from his storage ring.
The familiar weight of his weapons filled his grip as twin swords manifested in his hands.
