Chapter 160.

PART 1.

The tournament resumes the next day, and the names of Vivek and Daphne show up. both go to the ring and begin to face each other. Hatori however, is not paying any attention to this match. it is a foregone conclusion in his opinion.

In his first match, Vivek got overwhelmed by Praduman. That was understandable since Praduman had a lot of raw power. but Daphne does not, and he is struggling against her, meaning he is not built for dueling at all.

Daphne did not have to use any elemental magic or any of her advanced tricks to beat Vivek. Just a few exchanges later, he is lying outside of the ring in a heap, unable to get up. Daphne is declared the winner, and the screen starts to move the names once again for the next duelists.

Dimitri did not pay any attention during that one-sided massacre. “You should pay attention, you know.” Chides Nandan.

“Correct. The next match is interesting.” He said, looking at the fight of Aditya and Josh. “The boy moves quite quickly despite his bulk.” Noted Dimitri, as Josh dodges various spells of Aditya.

“He has spent a lot of time with Hatori. I’m not surprised.” Said Nandan. When Dimitri looked at him for an explanation, Nandan continued. “He is the kind of boy who would drag his friends through a grueling training in the morning, whether they like it or not.”

Aditya is picked up by the arm made of ice, and he is then thrown outside of the ring. “Looks like that training paid off then. That ice would have collapsed if he didn’t have good control over his magic,” said Dimitri, as the new fighters were chosen.

Praduman comes to face Ravina. Once more, Ravina finds herself staring up at the face of an opponent. ‘What is up with up with my luck? This is the second time I’m facing a physically larger boy.’ she thought, as the duel started.

She conjured a pile of sand, and with a swish of her staff, sent it flowing at Praduman. “Hmph. You think you can win by putting sand in my eyes?” he asked and rushed headfirst in the sand wave.

Then Ravina transmuted that sand into needles. Some of them actually reached Praduman, and he grunted in pain. But he scattered the rest by his magical pressure. However, this stopped him from rushing at Ravina like a bull.

“Impressive bit of strategy.” Praised Nandan.

“Too bad her opponent avoided it,” said Dimitri.

After that impressive bit of strategy, the match devolves into a standard exchange of spells, during which Ravina finds herself coming short against Praduman, in height and magic. and this narrator is going to hell for saying this for certain.

Ravina pivoted in the middle of the fight into a defensive strategy. But by then, it was too late. She was exhausted, and Praduman bulled through her defenses, and she found herself staring at a loss once again.

The next match is between Ranveer and Shin. At the very start of the match, Ranveer attacked hard, which is out of character for him. but the reason is simple. He can’t let Shin focus, use his instrument-like foci, or his vocal magic to attack him. As long as he is dodging and shielding from his spells, Shin won’t be doing any attacking.

This doesn’t stop Shin from using some wind spells and doing some damage to Ranveer with the remaining needles conjured by Ravina, but it is not enough. Ranveer shook the arena, Shin lost his footing, and taking advantage of this, Ranveer blasted him outside of the ring.

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“He fought well. he would have won if he used his wind element better,” said Dimitri.

“He does rely on his music too much, doesn’t he?” noted Nandan.

“It is not a bad form of magic. but there has to be some conventional magic to support it,” said Dimitri.

The names of Hatori and Yatharth come up, and they face against each other. The duel begins, and Hatori steps aside from the blasting spell fired by the bow of Yatharth. Hatori is not behind in retaliation however, as he casts a spell that explodes the floor right in front of Yatharth, pelting him with the debris, and injuring his hand. Yatharth stumbles and another spell connects with his left arm, wrenching his bow from him.

“I yield.” He spoke. He does not wish to face Hatori without a focus.

“Good job he did there,” said Dimitri.

“Yes, he did not let that unusual foci throw him off his game.” Agreed Nandan.

“I meant that other boy,” said Dimitri. “It is good he decided to quit where he was, or else Zeko’s apprentice would have destroyed him.”

“Ah yes. That will be the result.” Agreed Nandan. “But I want to see him lose his foci at least once during this tournament.”

Yatharth shakes hands with Hatori, and the screen shows the names of the remaining duelists of the day: Tom and Avinash. The students who have come to watch the fights discuss among themselves, thinking that Tom might end up throwing this match for Avinash, since in their eyes, he is nothing but an underling to him.

But as they face off, and the yantra declares the beginning of the match, they realize that Avinash is not forcing the nameless boy to throw the fight in his favor. “But maybe he would give up after an exchange of spells? maybe Avinash is doing this to let him save some face.” Suggested various students.

Hatori didn’t care about such whispers. Instead, he is watching the battle in the ring. The broken and destroyed parts are transmuted, flung, and flung back. When it fails, they switch to elemental magic. the audience has to scramble for safety, as the fire magic used by both of them leaves the bounds of the arena. Avinash cannot take this heat, and it seems that his foci itself is about to catch fire.

“I give.” He declared. Instantly, the fire is distinguished by the yantra, and Tom is declared a winner. Avinash hugs him in the middle of the ring, to show his complete support.

And to send a message to all those whisperers that Avinash does not need a fake match to win.

“That boy has a great talent for dueling.” Said Dimitri, as they started to leave. “Though he is a little bit rough on the edges. You say he is self-taught?”

“Yeah, he is a nameless boy. no chance of receiving formal training because of that.” Said Nandan with a tone of regret. If given proper support, Tom would have walked the same path as he did. Who knows? They might have met in an arena someday.

The day comes to an end. Avinash has still not gotten a win, and this has started to bother him. meanwhile, Ravina decides that she will fight defensively from now on, as attacking directly has not gotten her any good results.

Vivek watches everyone, furious at his loss, yet he controls his tongue. At least his losses have come from some respectable people. Walking with Hatori, Shin decides that maybe he should not rely on the music so much, after analyzing his duel today.