As Aurelius strolled away from the sword mastery class grounds, his senses were suddenly hijacked by a familiar grumbling in his stomach, demanding attention. The hour or so of training had left him famished, yet simultaneously coated in a layer of sweat, a sticky discomfort clinging to his every pore. His immediate priority was satiating his hunger, but not before he attended to his personal hygiene.

Determined to rid himself of the clammy residue, Aurelius discreetly navigated his way back to his dormitory. Finally reaching the familiar comfort of his living quarters, he wasted no time cleaning himself in a bath.

With renewed vigor, Aurelius made his way to the cafeteria. The clock displayed a late hour, nearing half past 1, and the once bustling dining hall had transformed into a more serene and inviting space. Approaching the food counter, he filled his plate with a satisfying meal and scanned the hall.

To his surprise, he spotted Valen sitting alone at a nearby table. Aurelius walked over and took a seat next to him. Valen looked up from his book and greeted him with a smile.

"Hey Aurelius, what took you so long?"

"The Sword Mastery class ran longer than expected, and I wanted to freshen up with a bath before coming here," Aurelius responded.

Valen nodded understandingly. "Ah, I see. Training can be quite intense, especially when you're learning new skills. How was the class? Did you enjoy it?"

Aurelius took a bite of his food, savoring the flavors before replying. "It was intense, but I liked it. Instructor Donovan is strict, but he knows what he's doing. He pushed us hard and taught us some new techniques today. It's challenging, but I can already feel myself improving."

Valen's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Oh, you have Instructor Donovan?"

Aurelius looked at Valen while chewing. "Yeah, I do. Why? Is he famous or something?"

"More like infamous," Valen responded, chuckling.

"He's known for being tough and demanding," Valen continued. "But those who have trained under him have also achieved great results. He has a reputation for pushing his students to their limits and beyond. If you can impress Instructor Donovan, it's a sign that you have real potential."

Aurelius listened intently, nodding his head. "That makes sense."

"What are you planning to do for the rest of the day? Do you have any work to do?" Valen asked.

"No, not really - first day and everything. I was planning to head to the colosseum actually, maybe participate in the Tournament of Elites," Aurelius mused.

"Already?" Valen asked, surprised.

"What do you mean?" Aurelius responded.

"Well, first of all, it's literally your first day of school here. Secondly, even some of the regular students wait a couple of weeks or so because, by that time, many of the more skilled opponents have already advanced to higher tiers. And thirdly, you just came from the swordsman class. Aren't you tired?" Valen asked, hurrying through his words.

"Hmm," Aurelius pondered aloud. "Well, I do have some free time, so I don't see why not. And I'm not particularly exhausted."

"I mean, you do you, bro. I was going to go to the library, but I kinda want to watch this now. Just so you know, I'll have the life mage on standby when things go wrong and you need healing," Valen said, eliciting an eye roll from Aurelius.

Once Aurelius finished eating, they left the cafeteria and headed north towards the colosseums. Seizing the opportunity, Aurelius decided to ask Valen some questions.

"So, I know that you said you haven't participated in a duel before, but have you at least watched one? What's it like?" Aurelius questioned, curious to hear Valen's perspective.

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Valen thought for a moment before responding. "I've seen a few duels, yeah. It's quite the experience. When it comes to the lower tier fights, the stands aren't usually packed with spectators. But as you progress to the higher tiers, that's when the atmosphere truly becomes electric."

"The higher tier fights draw a larger crowd. Some people even come from outside the academy to witness the most skilled fighters in action. The energy in the colosseums is palpable as the anticipation builds up," Valen explained, a hint of enthusiasm in his voice.

Aurelius nodded, envisioning the scene in his mind. Aurelius had mixed feelings about the crowd. On the one hand, who couldn’t deny the glory and excitement of having potentially thousands of spectators roaring around him. On the other hand, Aurelius had to be realistic considering his predicament. The more spectators, the higher the chance something would go wrong.

"I've already told you about how the Tournament of Elites works, but in regards to the actual duels, here's how you win," Valen started, fixing his gaze on Aurelius. “In an academy duel or the Tournaments of Elites, there are two primary ways to win a duel or a round. The first, and most obvious, is by the opponent surrendering."

Aurelius nodded, as he had presumed so.

"You surrender by calling it out to the judge that is overseeing your duel. This first way is most common in duels between mages. Once a mage runs out of mana, there is really little left they can do, and so they surrender. By the way, that reminds me. Do you even know how to fight a mage yet?" Valen asked, staring at Aurelius incredulously.

Aurelius just shrugged his shoulders. "No, not yet," he replied, causing Valen to roll his eyes.

"Well, anyways," Valen continued, “the second method of winning a duel is based on strikes. Strikes are counted when an attack lands with sufficient force on the opponent's body, and usually the judge is the determiner of this. The first opponent to land three strikes on the opponent's body wins. It's a test of accuracy, speed, and precision."

"Interesting," Aurelius mused. "How does it work for a mage though? For example, what if the mage threw a fireball at the face of an opponent?"

"Ah, it's actually quite similar to normal sword strikes," Valen explained. "For mages, the strikes are determined by the effectiveness of their spells. When a mage successfully casts a spell that hits the opponent and causes a significant impact, it's counted as a strike. So, a well-executed fireball that lands on the opponent's armor with force would be considered a strike."

"However, in regards to your question about the fireball to the face, that's where it gets a bit complicated," Valen began. "As you would expect, in a duel, especially the more heated ones, it becomes really hard for combatants to pull their punches, so to speak. This is one of the criticisms of the current dueling system at the academy. People think it's unrealistic because, compared to an actual battle, you are not trying to kill or incapacitate your victims, but instead, you are trying to land more strikes. Unfortunately, there aren't many viable solutions to address this issue without the competition descending into death duels."

"For the most part, however, the lifemages on standby are good at reversing most devastating blows. For example, if a participant accidentally cuts off the opponent's arm, some of the nearby lifemages are powerful enough to reattach or even regrow the arm within a certain time span. Most of the time, the academy tries to prevent these scenarios through a normally rare event called judge intervention."

"The judges that oversee the matches are strong enough and can, through spells, runes, or enchantments, halt most attacks or duels in a matter of seconds. For the most part, this is effective enough in preventing incapacitation or even death. However, it doesn't work all the time, and there have been famous cases where one participant has killed another participant either by accident or on purpose."

“Jeez,” Aurelius said, thinking over the new information Valen had just told him. “You should have told me that before we started walking to sign up.”

Valen laughed. "It usually never happens in bronze rank duels, so you should be fine for now."

Aurelius chuckled nervously, hoping Valen was right. As they continued to walk to the North Quad, the colosseums came into view. The colosseums were massive structures, each one designated for different ranks and categories of duels. Aurelius felt a surge of anticipation mixed with a touch of nervousness as he approached the entrance.

The bronze rank colosseum was less grand compared to the higher-tier arenas, but it still held an air of significance.

"You should enter through the front," Valen started, nodding towards a double-door entrance. "That's where you sign up for your duel. From what I've heard, you can choose your weapon and armor there, or even select the specific weapons that you brought and stored in the armory. Then you'll be placed in a line, waiting for your turn in the duel. They’ll try to randomize the line, so you probably won't know who you're fighting until the match starts. I, however, will enter through the spectator doors over there," Valen finished, pointing at the doors towards the rear of the colosseum.

"Okay, sounds good. Thanks for the information," Aurelius said.

"No problem, good luck. Don't embarrass yourself out there. I'll be watching," Valen said, parting ways with a smirk.