'Want to join in?' Azriel asked Lyna, who leapt down from his head and walked over to the girls.
'Have fun,' she said as she sat down.
Azriel sighed while Frederick narrowed his eyes at him. It seemed his pride had been pricked by such a simple act.
"Shellwood-snake," Azriel said, eyeing the serpent from afar. "A fine specimen." For a moment, the boy was surprised.
"You know it?" He reassessed his opinion of Azriel and also his own position in the fight.
"I know many spirit creatures." Azriel straightened his posture, already predicting in his mind how the battle would unfold.
"Then you're a fool," Frederick said as he prepared. "You should know she's no ordinary familiar."
"That's what they all say." Azriel laughed.
"Ready?!" Ivan shouted, and both of them nodded.
"Begin!"
CRACK CRACK WOOSH
Frederick opened his hand and tossed seeds onto the ground, which quickly sprouted into thorny roots rushing toward Azriel.
SHING WOOSH WOOSH
Azriel dashed forward, drawing his sword and slicing through the roots as if they were tofu. Fred only snorted before throwing down even more seeds.
CRACK CRACK
A tree immediately grew beneath his feet, rising toward the skies, his snake slithering around his body and climbing down.
Azriel smiled as he saw his opponent above. Flowers bloomed rapidly, turning their buds toward him.
"Fire!" Fred commanded.
BANG BANG BANG
The buds shot streams of hot, sticky yellow substance.
WOOSH WOOSH
Azriel kept advancing, cutting through the projectiles, and quickly reached the trunk of the tree. With swift steps, he climbed upward.
The tree grew taller as he ascended, more flowers blooming and firing at him.
BANG BANG WOOSH WOOSH
He slashed through branches when suddenly two glowing eyes tracked him from behind the foliage.
SHIIIII WOOSH
The snake lunged with a hiss, aiming for Azriel's head. He dodged with a quick step back.
WOOSH WOOSH
He countered instantly, missing the snake by a hair as it retreated into the branches, searching for another opening.
"Damn it!"
BANG BANG WOOSH WOOSH
Azriel pressed on, slashing through more projectiles, while both the snake and Fred kept hidden in the thickening branches.
BANG BANG WOOSH WOOSH
He cut and cut, every fiber of his body slowly tiring, while the snake circled him tighter and tighter, readying for another strike.
'Can you see them?!' Azriel asked Lyna, who watched from afar.
'Yes!' She shared her vision with him, and for a moment, he spotted the snake right above him.
WOOSH SHIIII
"Got you!" He slashed upward, cutting along the serpent's side and forcing it to flee.
Gritting his teeth, Azriel leapt from branch to branch after it. The tree had grown even larger.
SHIIIIII
The snake, finally giving up on fleeing, turned suddenly and lunged at him, its jaws opening wide to swallow him whole.
WOOSH BOOM
Azriel sliced through its mouth, his blade tearing horizontally across its body. It slammed hard against the tree before slipping down and falling to the ground.
'Where's the master?' Lyna quickly sent him another vision, and once more Azriel climbed, cutting through the continuing barrage.
"Tsk." Fred realized Azriel was charging at him and tried to run, but it was useless. Azriel was far too fast.
BOOM BANG
At last, Azriel broke through, shattering the trunk beneath him and dropping easily onto his opponent, striking his head with the guard of his sword.
"That was a good warm-up." Azriel sighed before leaping down from the tree, carrying Frederick's body in his arms.
"Here, heal him and his spirit." The mages nodded to him. Fred's spirit had been badly damaged but would recover fully.
Once again, Azriel looked around at the crowd. All the youths there had stopped breathing, while he just laughed.
"You all get impressed way too easily, don't you?" He chuckled as the young spectators whispered among themselves.
Azriel quickly rejoined his group.
"I think I should've trained my body more," Ion suddenly told him. "You look way more imposing."
"It has its advantages, I'll admit." Azriel laughed as he sat down. "But there are also serious drawbacks."
Simon's ears immediately picked up on the conversation, and he looked at Azriel with interest.
"Like what?" Simon asked.
"Achievements," Azriel replied suddenly, crossing his legs. "To advance in rank, you need achievements along your chosen path to power."
"Those who train their minds earn them easily through reading books and practicing magic. But those who train their bodies… can only be taught by themselves."
"On top of that, training both mind and body requires achievements in both areas to advance." Azriel concluded, watching the two of them with shining eyes.
"Taught by yourself? How does that even work?" Simon asked, his thirst for knowledge growing, but Azriel just waved a hand dismissively.
"I don't know."
"..."
The two of them exchanged looks for a moment as Azriel laughed.
"I just swung the sword a bit, don't go thinking I'm some kind of master."
Ivan laughed again, wanting badly to go over and talk with them. He remembered the barbarians he had fought, and the many conversations he'd had with them about aura.
"Damn it, why do I have to be the judge of this cursed tournament?!" Ivan muttered to himself before calling the next names on the list.
"Next fight! Simon Conway versus Albert Duffy!"
Simon quickly stood and brushed the dirt off his clothes, a resolute look on his face.
"I'm going in!"
"Good luck!" the two of them said in unison as they watched him walk to the improvised arena. His opponent was already waiting.
Albert took a deep breath, adjusting his stance.
But Simon didn't pay him any attention. His mind drifted back to his previous fight.
His bones still remembered that feeling.
The feeling of standing face to face with death.
He took a deep breath, his eyes sharpening like a blade.
He remembered Azriel's words. Those lessons had seared themselves into his mind like hot steel.
The lesson of how to avoid death had become part of his very being.
He would never make that mistake again.
This time, he would succeed.
Before the fight even began, he summoned Mono and merged with her.
Black horns sprouted from his head.
His eyes turned completely black.
"I'm ready!" Simon declared, staring at his opponent who was trembling, a wet stain spreading down his pants.
"I-I s-s-surrender!" the boy stammered, fleeing.
"W-what?"
"Victory for Simon Conway!" Ivan shouted with a grin.