Tom P.O.V.

I woke up much earlier than normal and I couldn’t help but be a bit anxious. Today was the day of the duel and no matter how many other matches I may have seen with the commoner tournaments that started I was still a little antsy about my own match.

Unlike me Fluffy seemed to not care at all as he was sleeping without a care in the world laid up next to our bed. I took extra care not to wake Kate up as I got out of bed, flicked Fluffys ear and headed downstairs.

The outcome of the duel was almost a foregone conclusion and both sides knew it. My opponent had made quite a few attempts to call off the match once he learned that not only was he not going to be facing Ajax but that the level forty-two shadow cat was going to stand opposite him in the ring.

With the amount of gossip the event had generated however Ajax had let my grandparents handle the negotiations about calling the whole thing off. Needless to say a deal wasn’t struck so I will be going ahead with the fight.

I made sure to do my research into my opponent and despite him being only a few months older than me he had three levels on me. He clearly wasn’t good enough to get into the academy but those three levels, equipment and any stat potions he may have drunk would give him a massive advantage. The only issue being that he didn’t have a bond and there was no way for him to deal with Fluffy.

“Are you nervous?” Ajax asked as I took a seat at the table.

I’m not sure how he managed to keep such a tight training schedule, between his classes at the Academy, curse mana training and alchemy he still took time to care for the flowers and trees surrounding the beehives.

“A little. I know the match heavily favors me but I can’t help it.” I admitted.

“I know just how you feel.” Ajax said. “My own tournament is going to start in about a week, I shouldn’t have any problems with anyone from the 6th year but I am already anxious about it.”

Even the strongest 6th years were at best level forty-five, Ajax had been delving and fighting level sixties so there was no real pressure on him from them but everything could change because of an enchanted item.

“You’re already awake!” Aurora said as she entered followed by Elija.

Ajax and myself seemed to be the slowest to warm up to our grandparents, my mother seemed happy to have her own parents back in her life and Judy and dad had been worn down with the amount of help they provided, going even as far as to get dad set up with a section in their own shop for his smithing works.

As for the reason Ajax and myself were slower to adapt it simply came from the reduced exposure. With Ajax constantly training and me doing my job as a guard we simply didn’t have the time to spend with them, even Kate had gotten closer to them than I had and I was her connection to them.

“Here you are Fluffy, it took us a while to find a concentrated shadow core but we got one in time.” Aurora said as she brought out a small black crystal that seemed to be sucking in the light around it.

“What is that?” Ajax and I both asked as we noticed Fluffy’s eyes lock on to the gem.

“You could call it a natural potion for a beast.” Elija explained.

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“Beasts can take potions?” Ajax seemed very interested at this development.

“Yes and no.” Aurora explained. “Unlike humanoids beasts aren’t quite as adaptable and their bodies are much more rigid as a result. “

“A humanoid can receive an extra 10% of their stats in potions.” Ajax said, something that was well known. “A beast can only get 5%?”

“No, quite the opposite.” Aurora answered. “A beast can get close to 20% by the time they reach adulthood.”

“Then how are they not as adaptable?” I asked.

“Because they need to constantly build their way up to it.” she continued. “Unlike us humans who can take the potions at any point after we gain our stats a beast would have to constantly get them as they grow.”

“Despite only being one year old this little guy is already entering his juvenile phase.” Elija jumped in. “he received his newborn treasure from the cores he got from his mother as well as that bear and fish Ajax killed. Sadly he didn’t have a chance to receive his boost as a child, but this crystal should take care of his juvenile phase.”

“What about all the cores we fed him?” I asked surprised.

“A steady diet of cores would be enough for their regular growth, the supplement needs to not only be of a higher density than their current phase but it also needs to be elementally similar.” Aurora said. “This crystal is the equivalent of a level one hundred core and heavily shadow infused.”

“As long as he gets his adult supplement in the next ten years and his peak one in the next half a century he should still end up with over 15% of his stats as a bonus, but it will be very expensive.” Elija said as they watched Fluffy swallow the crystal.

It took a moment where we all watched before all of us could see small wisps of shadow start to emanate from Fluffy. I would have been worried if I hadn’t been able to feel his contentment through our bond, that and the loud pur he emanated as I scratched his ears.

The next few hours were a blur for me as everyone woke up, I got geared up and we all headed towards one of the fancier arenas. Being watched by what had to be at least two thousand people was nerve racking, even more so was the expensive look of the armor my opponent wore.

“I expect you both know the rules.” the barrier mage that will be refereeing the duel said. “I will be here to intervene should any lethal blows be made. That said don’t rely on me fully and defend yourselves at all times, not only that but should I intervene on your behalf I will hear no argument about you having lost the duel.”

I simply nodded at the words. The reluctant look my opponent had as he kept glancing at Fluffy was doing wonders for me and helped me calm down as we both started walking towards our starting spots.

“Ready?” the mage shouted. “Begin.”

Fluffy dashed towards my opponent at the signal, but despite the level advantage he wasn’t the one to make the first move. My opponent pulled a crossbow, a heavily enchanted one at that from what my [Detect mana] was saying and fired the first attack of the match.

My training paid off as I raised my shield cleanly placing it in the arrows path. What was unexpected was the strength of the pushed my shield aside, merely deflected off the metal before breaking through my shoulder pad and embedding itself in my shoulder.

It took a moment for me to realize what happened but after than the pain came in clear as I felt it spread like wildfire from the point of impact. Thankfully, despite the arrow having gone all the way through, its shaft was still lodged in my shoulder and kept my bleeding to a minimum.

Whatever that crossbow was, it had to be pushing the boundaries of what could be used by someone of our level. This was perfectly shown as firing that single shot was enough to throw my opponent cleanly off his feet and into a backwards roll, the crossbow loose from his grip and dropped on the sand of the arena.

With my main arm injured I wouldn’t be able to use a bow and arrow as I hoped to help Fluffy, so once my bond got close enough that I was sure another long range attack wouldn’t come towards me I dropped my shield along with my bow and quiver and brought out the a short one handed spear as I made my approach.

Fluffy was quick to make the difference in power between them obvious. His regular swipes creating long dents almost cutting right through his enchanted amor and that was just the beginning. Taking advantage of the fact that he wasn’t paying much attention to me once I started to approach I uncorked a flask at my belt and tossed it high into the air above us after dropping a small ball inside.

My aim was far from good considering the arrow sticking out from my shoulder but as the large black cloud exploded above us and started rising higher it created a large shadow around both Fluffy and my opponent.

Fluffy had been jumping through shadow ever since he was a cub, what had once been uncoordinated playful games turned into thrashing ambushes from an unexpected angle. By the time I had made it in range for my spear to play any part in the battle Fluffy had already jumped three times each resulting in a slash that drew blood.

My spear thrust once I got close enough didn’t achieve much as he took a solid stance and knocked it aside with a shield of his own. But that moment of paying attention to me was all Fluffy needed to jump on his back clamping his jaws down on his shoulder, his teeth going straight through the enchanted metal and tearing a chunk out as he launched himself off my opponent's back.

The match ended on the next attack as a barrier came to life stopping Fluffy from repeating his bite on my opponent's undefended neck, a gap left open by him clutching his now shredded shoulder.

“The match is over.” the mage announced.

As much as I wanted to celebrate at that moment I had my one working hand full trying to keep Fluffy from liking my face and smearing it with blood.