Chapter 161.

PART 1.

The tournament resumes the next day. The first match is between Ranveer and Hatori. Dimitri winced at that matchup. “That is not going to end well. Ranveer has a good head on his shoulder, but he is not suited to fight in the ring.”

Nandan nodded, as the match began. The words of Dimitri are proven true, as Ranveer struggles to keep up with the brutal pace of Hatori’s spell casting. He missed a step, and a transmuted snake caught his arms, and then Hatori turned that snake into cuffs, effectively restraining the arms of Ranveer. Hatori was about to continue the next part of his attack, but Ranveer decided to give up.

“I give up.” he declared, and Hatori stopped before he could cast his next spell.

They both walk out of the ring, as the next fighters are selected. Hatori notes how people are getting less and less excited by his victory. ‘You’ve trained me too well, master Zeko.’ He thanks Zeko in his head and takes his seat near Raven.

The next match is between Vivek and Tom. As they face up against each other in the ring, Vivek smirks. “Don’t expect to win, your master was a weakling to let you win, nameless dog.”

That statement caused a pin-drop silence in the arena, as it was heard by the audience, and of course, the future coach as well. Avinash is not affected by this taunt, and he is glad to see that neither is Tom.

After a few seconds of silence, the outrage pores out against Vivek, as most of the students who are watching this are younger ones, who have not experienced the old regime, and in some cases, they are actually happy to be away from the control of their family in the school. Vivek as of this moment has become a representative of a bygone era, even if it is just in the Academy. he is surprised by the hostility of the crowd and takes a step back.

But he then glares at Josh and Hatori, sitting in the competitor's row. They are the cause why this nameless nobody dares to compete against him, instead of rolling over for his better. “Begin the match.” said the yantra, and the fight started.

Tom said nothing. His body language betrayed nothing of what he was thinking, and his tone did not get harsh while chanting spells. despite this, it is clear to the crowd that he is taking delight in the disparity of skill between himself and his opponent, as he could have blasted Vivek outside of the ring any time he wanted, but he has done no such thing.

Vivek on the other hand, is going through a mental crisis. He did not expect this kind of resistance from Tom. ‘How can I be so helpless against this nameless nobody?’ he thought, as he ran like his life depended upon it. which might be true, as the transmuted beasts of Tom are on his heels, and would tear him apart if they catch him.

He thought of walking outside of the ring. At least that way, he could claim that he let the nameless nobody win, taking pity on him. but when he was close to the line that separated the ring from the outside, he got face-to-face with Tom. Tom makes a flicking motion with his foci, and a lance of fire pierces Vivek’s stomach.

“Gah!” he falls to the ground, rolling on the floor in agony. Tom cast some more spells which did less damage than the fire lance, but still continued to injure Vivek further.

“Vivek is in no condition to battle. Tom wins.” Comes the voice of the yantra.

The crowd booed as Vivek was carried out of the ring by the trainee healers. “That boy. I would have never accepted him into the team, even if he managed to qualify. You do not disrespect the origins of your opponent, doesn’t matter if you’re fighting a king or a beggar.” Said Dimitri, expressing his strong feelings about the misconduct he has just witnessed.

“I don’t think he would be fighting any further in this tournament.” Said Nandan, not at all sorry for Vivek.

There’s always an agreement among the duelists to not hurt each other more than necessary, and despite the aggressive exchange of words, never disrespect each other, and cross the line. That is to make sure that no hard feelings remain after the competition is over, and it keeps the dueling circle relaxed instead of devolving into chaos. This is exactly why the students haven’t been injured so badly in this tournament, until now.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

But when that agreement is broken, all bets are off. There is no restraint on the brutality which can be inflicted upon your opponent who is basically an enemy at this point. the only reason Vivek survived today was because rules are kept much safer for these kids.

The next match is between Josh and Yatharth. After the emotional high of the previous match, the audience watches this one quietly. Both duelers display their elemental magic, and Josh shows that he can fight fire with fire, and water isn’t the only element he knows how to use well.

Yatharth ends up losing though, since he could not load the spells fast enough on his bow, and while he was busy doing that, Josh was free to attack him. though he did get scorched by the fire a little, Josh wins this match.

The next dueling pair is Ravina and Avinash. They start an exchange of spells, where Ravina just blocks or dodges Avinash’s attacks, and only attacks him when he makes a mistake or leaves himself open.

Avinash slowly grew frustrated, and he got tired of casting so many spells to get past Ravina’s shields. Once he slowed down, Ravina took advantage of this, and assaulted him with explosions, resulting in him lying outside of the ring in a heap.

Hatori shook his head after that spectacle. “He could have one easily if he was more mobile.” He muttered.

“Yeah,” agreed Raven. “It is harder to shield against different angles.”

Daphne is selected next. She is facing Aditya. “This will be the rematch from two years ago.” He declared. “Don’t expect an easy win.”

“Same goes for you,” she answered with a smirk of her own.

At first, it was the usual affair that has been seen by everyone in the duels so far: transmutation and conjuring, plus some non-elemental spells. but when they started to use alchemical spells, things started to get chaotic from there.

Various acids started to melt the floor of the ring, while they changed the ratio of the gasses around them to light each other on fire, or to drown their opponent in the sudden flood of water. none of which worked, so they decide to fight fire with fire, and once more, the audience has to scramble for safety when they start to use fire magic on each other.

All these things result in a dangerous mixture, from the steam of the water, and the acid, and now fire. But Daphne got the ultimate edge. ‘I remember the formula Professor Dhiraj showed us to neutralize the fire.’ And she used that same formula to craft a spell to deal with fire users.

Once Aditya’s fire was stamped out, it was easy for her to make him yield. The audience clapped from their safe places, while Dimitri was delighted by this performance. “You see Nandan? That is how the ring may look after a championship bout.”

“Indeed,” Nandan observes the destruction.

The Yantra fixes the ring so the next match can be done, though it is clear that for tomorrow, it will need some extensive repairs overnight. Shin and Praduman come to face each other, being the final competitors of the day.

‘I must keep a balance.’ Thought Shin.

‘I’ll just charge in, and pummel him until he gives up.’ thought Praduman, since he is certain that Shin is not strong enough to face him directly.

The match starts, and immediately, Shin strikes a note, halting the charge of Praduman. he is getting dizzy; it is clear from his face. The music stops, and just when Praduman is starting to regain his stride, the invisible blast of wind hammers his side and floors him. Another dizzy spell strikes him, making it impossible for him to get up, and Shin levitates him to the outside of the ring, gaining victory in the process.

The matches have come to an end today. As the fighters leave with the audience to patch themselves up, they think about their performances. Avinash is bothered by how he has still not gotten a victory yet, while others have their victory streaks snapped.

Ravina has gotten a win, she is hoping to maintain this performance and continue her streak. Vivek is missing, his injuries will not let him compete for at least a few days, making sure that he is out of the competition for sure.