Chapter 157.

PART 1.

There is not enough time to prepare for the selection tournament. It is set to begin next week, and the booth has been closed. No further applications are being accepted. While the participants are busy training, Hatori and James are busy with something else entirely.

Deciding to grab the bull by the horns, Hatori and James have closed themselves in the room of frozen time, and are working to copy the runes of that room, so they can potentially create it for themselves in the future. However, working for long periods in isolation is bad, they have all learned it ever since Hatori discovered this room, and then told them about it, and they started to use it.

But Hatori already nipped this problem in the bud. “Josh, Shin, Raven, do come and check on us every other hour or so.” He spoke.

Knowing how important this task is, they decided to comply with his request and did not give Hatori any snark.

The process was simple. Hatori and James alternatively worked on the script, translating it from the ancient script to the runic script that they use, and when James was on the break, he slept, while Hatori worked out, practiced with magic, and of course, slept.

After what they felt like months, they completed the process. two days later, James and Hatori walk out of the room and decide to put the runes they have translated in the lab. “Aren’t you going to check for mistakes?” asked Josh.

“We’ll do that when we don’t feel the urge to burn everything down with a rune on it,” said James.

“Yeah, until then, we’ll relax.” Said Hatori.

“True, and you have a whole year for it,” said Raven.

“I can help with that you know.” Said Shin. “I’m not as good as you two, but I can spot some easy mistakes no problem.”

“Why not? you can take a look. Don’t change anything without consulting us first though.” said Hatori.

“Hot damn, but we’re going to have our own portable time-freezing room. how awesome is that?” said Josh, pumping his arm in the air.

“And that is the most important thing.” Said James. They all smiled while imagining how they could use this knowledge in the future.

PART 2.

The Singh twins watch Hatori relaxing by the stream. Ranveer approaches him and sits down close to him. “You know, we are training hard.” He spoke.

“You are?” asked Hatori. “Do you plan to fight in the tournament?”

“Of course!” said Bhavani from the other side of Hatori. “Why else we would put our names in?”

“Right.” agreed Hatori.

“But why aren’t you training?” asked Bhavani. “Don’t tell me you think you can defeat us all without training.”

“Oh no. if I started to think like that, master Zeko would have my hide.” While both twins chuckled after hearing this, inwardly they were scared. Zeko has a reputation for being terrifying to his students after all. “But I just did a project which strained me a lot. Besides, I still have a week. I’ll relax for a day or two, then train for three days, and relax again before the tournament.”

“Wouldn’t it be best to go in the tournament with some last-minute training?” asked Ranveer.

PART 3.

“It is very important that you decide to take a rest near the tournament.” Said Bali, as Daphne ran, and the professor kept up with her. “Because you don’t want to get in that ring while being tired. That is akin to arriving in the dueling arena half dead in a coffin.”

Then, Daphne starts to do push-ups, while Bali continues to lecture her. “While you might think that the standard dueling arena does not offer much to use in the fight, you will be wrong to assume this. Usually, there is sand on the arena to soften the falls of the fighters, and of course, you will change the area as the battle goes on.” Waiting for Daphne’s set of push-ups to complete, Bali motions her to get up and take a dueling stance.

They began to exchange spells. Bali attacks with a whip of fire, but Daphne counters it with a non-elemental spell which cancels the fire. She then motions her feathers to create dogs, which try to pile on the professor. But Bali blasted them away, damaging the ground. He then transmuted the falling rocks into metal shards, which he pushed at Daphne. But she shielded herself and responded with a blasting spell to disorient him.

“I see you need time to get this down.” Said Bali, halting the fight in the middle. “The lesson I was trying to teach is that the area changes in the battle, and you should take advantage of that,” he explained, pointing to the broken rocks and the small crater created when he blasted the transmuted dogs away.

“While it is good that you do not rely on it too heavily, it is just as important that you learn to hold it on your own.” Said Bali. “At least you have an advantage in something. You won’t try to compete with someone with brute force elemental magic.”

“I don’t think that would end well for me,” said Daphne, after she regained her breath.

“Of course. You are not a powerhouse. But you have a fine control over your magic.” said Bali, bringing his staff, and pointing at her again. “Let’s continue. And try to use the lesson I’ve just taught you.”

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“Yes, professor.” She pointed her feather to him and began another exchange of spells with Bali.

PART 4.

Ravina is fighting two fifth-year students. She has not fought seriously for two years, since she took the apprenticeship of Professor Krodhatma, which she continued this year, but the professor allowed her to participate in the tournament all the same… ahem.

The point is, she is preparing for the selection tournament. She wants to show that girls can be just as competitive in physical sports like dueling as boys. She knows Daphne is already doing this, but she thinks Daphne is not right for this. She is not ruthless enough to send the right message. That kind of thinking is worrying in this narrator’s opinion.

She doesn’t have a teacher like Daphne, so she has to devise her own training. She asked some fifth-year boys to serve as sparring partners because she could not find any fifth or sixth years with enough time on their hands for that. She is fighting them two-on-one, and this is helping Ravina remove the rust on the fighting parts of her brain. She believes that she will make it into the team. She does not need a teacher for that. her spirit is strong, and that is what’s most important.

PART 5.

Avinash is going on against three-on-one. he is on one side, and Akshat, Tom, and Sagar are on one side. He is trying to improve his endurance. He feels that if he can handle multiple opponents one after another, it will improve his endurance, which is important in long duels.

Currently, he is facing Tom, while Sagar and Akshat sit on the bench, having gone through their turn already. “Don’t you think it is unfair to Tom that he has to help him out while he is a contestant himself?” asked Akshat.

“We’ll bring that point up after his practice is over.” Said Sagar.

After all, he wants Avinash to win, but he also wants to see Tom’s talent shine. The boy deserves that much.

Once Avinash is done dispatching Tom by blasting him outside of the impromptu ring, he motions to Akshat. “You’re up,” he said, beckoning him to take his place in front of him.

Akshat sighed. “When will it be over?” he muttered. People like him and Sagar are not built for physical sports. Which is why he didn’t put his name in the selection tournament.

But here he is, still fighting. On top of it all, he still has to prepare the reports for his boss, who also happens to be his father.

PART 6.

Raven and James float behind Hatori. he captured them out of nowhere when they dropped their guards. It was not doing their mellow any good by getting beaten by Hatori who was not using his foci at all, and how easily he subdued them. especially, James, who thought he was able to fight Hatori on somewhat equal steps. But it turns out, it was all in his head.

Once Hatori enters the secret ground above the lab of Samay the sorcerer, he lets go of the levitating spell, dropping James and Raven to the ground with a loud thump on the grass. “Now that we have gathered here,” he ignored the muffled complaints of James and Raven, “It is time that you two help out your friends.”

“What?” said Raven, spitting the grass from his mouth.

“Well, we need sparring partners.” He pointed to Shin, Josh, and at himself.

“And don’t forget dummies.” Added Shin.

“And dummies.” Nodded Hatori.

“Okay, I get that,” said James. “But why did you have to attack us like that, dressed as an eagle?”

“I don’t think it was an eagle. Personally, I think it was a chicken dressed as an eagle who actually started to think it was an eagle.” Said Raven.

“Josh, you’ll be with me. Shin, you go with Raven. You need to fight someone who can think tactically. James, you’ll serve as a healer for us.” said Hatori.

“So that’s why I was brought here,” said James with dawning realization.

“Don’t forget, you will also have to fight us from time to time,” said Josh.

“Sure.” He sits down in the grass and starts to observe the fights of his friends.

He considered himself to be quite a lucky audience. Turn his head a little right, and he can see Raven and Shin. Turn his head a little left, and he can see Hatori and Josh, who are using their heavy-hitting spells already.

PART 7.

Praduman watches Hatori during the dinner. ‘Where does he disappear to?’ he thinks to himself.

He has not seen Hatori practicing once. There are not many places for someone to practice in the Academy, but Hatori has been not seen in any of the usual places. not that Praduman wants to spy on him. he just wants some revenge for his defeat all those years ago, and he plans to take that vengeance in the arena.

but he feels insulted that Hatori is not practicing. ‘Unless he is practicing somewhere outside of the Academy.’ he smacked his forehead.

“Are you Okay?” asked his friend.

“Yeah, just realized how I overlooked a thing.” He spoke.

“Happens to a lot of us when we’re stressed.” He said to Praduman. “Why don’t you eat up and take a good night’s sleep?”

“Great idea.” He dug into his meal. ‘He is probably practicing outside of the Academy, in that mad forest or some other place like that. It is an excellent strategy. No one will ever dare to spy on him there.’

Praduman is not willing to use this strategy himself. Because he is not interested in facing off the animals before the tournament and getting injured before he even gets in the ring.