Within the grand arena, on one of the battle playgrounds, a boy with black hair and crimson eyes let out a yawn as he waited for his assigned opponent who was running late.
Alden had arrived a few minutes early but honestly, he didn't really mind, if anything, he was excited for the battle.
After all, his opponent was none other than Ryou, the mysterious boy who was far stronger than he let on and had defeated Zephyr effortlessly before.
Alden wanted to see how much he could push him.
He didn't have to wait long as a presence suddenly appeared behind him and even Alden, whose senses were sharpened by his Spirit Domain, failed to notice it.
Hmm… that's strange.
It was as if the boy had erged from the shadows.
It reminded him of sothing similar to what he did when using Shadow Steps but the technique Ryou used seed far more advanced.
Does he have a shadow elent too…?
Alden slowly turned to face the abyssal black eyes of Ryou as he stared back at him lifelessly.
"Hey there…"
Alden waved casually but there was no response. He didn't really mind as a slow smirk appeared on his face.
The referee glanced at both of them before giving a firm nod. "Both participants have arrived… the battle will begin shortly."
His voice echoed throughout the arena.
As the tournant was nearing its end, there were barely few other matches ongoing. Among them, most were between second- and third-year students but even so, because Ryou had arrived late, the other matches were almost over.
The referee continued.
"Please stand in front of each other."
Alden stepped forward and Ryou did the sa and only now could Alden feel it clearly.
This bastard… he was at Expert Rank.
No wonder Zephyr lost so easily.
He made a quick ntal note as the referee continued repeating the sa rules Alden had heard countless tis before.
Soon, the referee was done reciting the rules.
He looked at Alden and Ryou one last ti before announcing,
"You may begin."
For a few monts, neither of them moved or at least that's how it seed to others watching the match.
The crowd felt puzzled as to why they weren't moving but within the arena, sothing else was happening entirely.
Alden saw Ryou lunge at him with a sword but didn't move in the slightest until the very last mont and even as the blade ca crashing down toward his neck, he let out a small smile because he had seen through it.
The one attacking him was an illusion, the sa kind Ryou had used to defeat Zephyr but unfortunately for him, Alden was immune to such tricks because of his [Voidheart] skill.
The sword passed through Alden's body without causing any harm as he looked at the surprised Ryou standing at the far edge of the arena.
"Seriously, if that was your best trick, I am utterly disappointed."
He muttered in a sly tone.
"I an, illusions? Co on. Did you really think I couldn't see through sothing that trivial…?"
No matter how arrogant the words seed, Alden's current goal was to rage-bait him into going all out as he wanted to test his strength against a powerful Expert Rank and Ryou seed like the perfect guinea pig for that.
Ryou didn't respond, but his eyes narrowed slightly.
He had expected Alden to resist the illusion and perhaps break out of it with so effort, but the boy had completely nullified it as if it had never affected him at all.
Not to ntion, the strength Alden displayed was rely at the peak of Adept Rank, while Ryou himself was an Interdiate Expert Rank so it didn't make any sense.
Still, he wasn't one to be arrogant.
His gaze shifted slightly toward the audience stands, where he could see a girl with bright crimson hair and bright orange eyes cheering for him… his young miss was watching the match.
His expression turned serious.
I can't lose.
"Fine… I will get serious." He muttered, looking at Alden.
"That's better." Alden smiled wildly as he finally unsheathed his sword, sothing he hadn't done in a single match throughout the entire tournant.
Its sharp edge glinted dangerously.
Let's see if you can push to my limits… Ryou.
—
anwhile, in an arena just a short distance away from Alden's, a blonde boy was locked in battle against one of the top students of his own academy.
The boy was none other than Cedric.
His crimson eyes glowed with a faint green hue as the wind embraced him like one of its own. His opponent was none other than the Elven Princess, soone he had co to know quite well.
"You are trying awfully hard to win, Cedric." The elven princess, Lana, muttered, her voice laced with mischief.
"What can I say? There's soone I need to have a sincere talk with… and I feel eting him and fighting against him would give that chance," Cedric replied as his body moved.
A vine erupted at the spot where he had stood just monts ago.
"You know, won don't like such obsessive guys." She pouted slightly as her spirits attacked Cedric relentlessly.
He dodged gracefully while cutting down whatever he couldn't evade.
"I don't care about what other won think… as long as you don't think bad about ." The words made Lana pause, her control slipping for just a mont.
"You… what are you saying…?!" A faint blush rose to her pale cheeks, but before she could react, Cedric was already in front of her, his sword resting lightly against her neck.
"You know, you aren't the only one who can tease." He said confidently, a soft chuckle escaping him.
"Tsk. And here I thought you were a simple guy but you are just another liar." She pouted again.
Cedric rely smiled as the referee announced his victory.
"Who said I lied, though…?" He whispered softly, shaking his head as he watched the elven princess stomp out of the arena in frustration.
Once she was out of his sight, his gaze shifted toward another arena where a monstrous battle was unfolding.
It was the battle of his half-brother, Alden.
But unlike how he would have felt a few months ago, he felt neither jealousy nor inferiority, if anything, he felt pride and excitent.
He knew he wouldn't be able to defeat his brother.
But…
He wasn't going to give up because the only way to apologise was through sincerity and he was going to show that sincerity through giving his all in battle.
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