The fifth match ends and the break arrives. I meet up with my family at the cafeteria for lunch to find Aiden.
"Aiden! How have you been?" My mother asks.
"I've been good, Ma'am and Mister, Hello," Aiden replies.
He exchanges glances with me and my father picks it up.
"Ah...let's go find some seat, let them catch up on one another," Dad says and drags my family away.
...
"What's up?" I ask.
"I should be asking that. You've gotten unbelievably strong haven't you?" Aiden says.
"Well, I need to be at this level to enter the top three."
I detect a cluster of energy around his lower energy core.
"You entered the first stage!"
Aiden nods. "Yeah...ahem..." He looks around and whispers to my ear. "Where the fuck did you get this technique? It's mind-blowing! This thing can change and overwrite many of our current fundamentals! The effectiveness is through the roof!"
"Haha...I got it through sheer luck."
"Did you burn it? The technique booklet or whatever."
I nod.
"Oh, good. Let's not teach this to anyone else. It's too dangerous, if any evil experts found out, we might be extracted for information," Aiden says.
"Yeah..."
Should I tell him about other cultivators?
"Anyways, there are even further levels to this technique?" Aiden says.
"Mhm," I reply.
"And the proportion of energy required increases."
"Mhm."
"Damn." Aiden furrows his brow.
...
What reaction is that?
"Anyways, I am not here for that. To spice things up, the organisers have altered upcoming rounds to a team battle rather than duels. Looks like they planned to tell all influential parties but left you out."
I know about this, it happened previously when their main target was Mina. A commoner attempting to be the fiancee of a prince, both standing on the opposite side of the river. But my presence becomes the "easier target" for the nobles and the diversion.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"You are not asking to join me, right?" I ask.
"Uh..." Aiden cuts eye contact and scratches his hair.
"Do you even have the prince's permission?"
"I do."
Oh?
...
"Be honest, can you beat Irina?" I say to Aiden.
"No." He blurts.
"Then no, they will throw her at me and probably Mina too."
"Ugh..." Aiden couldn't refute it. He only recently achieved Elite Swordsmanship. "Well, at least I can be bait. Every little effort counts!"
"How about you direct those efforts into training?"
"Wow, fucking harsh ain't it?" Aiden sulks, his accent becomes sharper, as if mocking me.
"Woah! When did your skin grow thicker?" I pull my sleeve up.
He backs up with his arms raised. "Alright alright. Go to your family and rest."
"Hm? You are not joining us?"
"Yeah, the bastard asked me to make him tea after conveying the information."
"Casually committing treason huh..." I say.
"Who cares? I'm his retainer, I can call him whatever I want."
Aiden walks away and bids farewell. "Good luck."
=================
"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, I hope everyone had a fulfilling break. Now, it is time to dive back into action! We've got something special in store to spice up the upcoming battles; A change of rules to elevate the competition. From now on, duos are allowed to participate in each round!"
"WOAH!!" the audience gasp at the implementation. This has never happened in previous tournaments.
"The tournament shall resume with new chapters of challenges and triumphs! For our first battle, we witness the returning clash of social boundaries. From the west gate, hailing from common ranks, we have the solo sensation, an individual whose skill has dazzled us all, let's give a roaring welcome to Loi Krist!"
Blazing sun high up, I walk onto the battlefield.
"And at the east gate, we have a dynamic duo, aristocrats known for unparalleled ice prowess. Please join me in welcoming the formidable siblings, Irina Nelson and Clifton Nelson!"
A pair of aristocratic siblings step into the spotlight, their striking features capturing the attention of all eyes laying on them. Their lustrous, flowing white hair and piercing blue eyes complement each other, framing chiselled and regal visages. The brother, tall and statuesque, wears hair to his shoulder with a small ponytail. Both wield a sword with a blue blade.
As expected, I am pitted against Irina and her brother. I've never interacted with Irina in both lives. At first, I was a huge fan of her and it turned into a core dark memory. Fucking embarrassing.
Both sides draw their weapons.
"I apologize for this," Irina says.
"Likewise," I reply.
*Ding!*
The bell commences the battle.
Irina charges towards me like a bull, an intensive snowflake aura covers her sword, leaving cold in her path. Clifton taps the ground with his sword and ice spreads rapidly throughout the arena. I stomp the ground, erupting the ice into fragments of mist.
Irina jumps through the mist and slams her blade on mine.
*WHOOSH!!*
A blizzard bursts from the clash, freezing gust bombards the arena. A barrier immediately erects to protect spectators.
What an intense aura! I barely held on with mine.
A furious whirlpool of blue and white aura engulfs us. I direct her sword away and duck when Clifton's sword flies overhead. With impressive manoeuvrability and flexibility, a thrust from my feet flicks my body up to a spinning disc, slashing a shallow cut into Clifton's abdomen.
"Arck?!"
He attempts to jump away. I make use of the elevated fragments of ice and boost myself towards Clifton.
!
In the nick of time, a crescent aura swoops in and throws me away.
"Hah! Huff huff..." Clifton catches himself as Irina joins him.
"What...kind of movements are those?" Irina says.
"I don't know. It felt like fighting a slithery snake." Clifton replies.
I feel great. At this rate, I might even contend for the king of agility. My body feels incredibly light and my stamina improved by leaps and bounds.
I regret to say, my peak strength in my first life was disgracefully weak; It could not hold a candle to my current strength.
At that moment, a newfound fire ignited within me. My blood boils with excitement.