“I should get going,” Sell turned to Adion and said.

The platform where the different Heads had just made their speeches was lowered below the ground again, and soon the final fights of the day would begin.

“Okay,” Adion nodded, “I’ll see you at the final then.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Sell said with a smile and turned to leave.

I hope she’ll be careful.

“Worried?” Ailera asked from beside him.

“A little,” Adion nodded, “But Sell is incredibly strong. I doubt anyone can stand a chance against her fire.”

“Is it very strong?” Aiden asked.

“Mm,” Adion nodded with a smile, “You should pay attention. You might be able to find some inspiration.”

“She has more powerful concepts than me?” Aiden asked.

“A lot more powerful, I’m afraid,” Adion said. He had studied Aiden’s fire, and while it was powerful enough to be proud of, it didn’t come close to what Sell had accomplished.

“Seriously?” Aiden asked with raised eyebrows.

“Just watch, and maybe you’ll feel it yourself,” Adion said.

It’s not strange that he is surprised. He has had four more years to improve his fire, and he did it while studying at the best Academy in Shiora. I know for a fact that Aiden hasn’t been lazy either. But Sell is just that amazing.

“If she has a much stronger fire than Aiden, her opponents are in trouble,” Ailera said.

“She will have to hold back,” Adion nodded.

It didn’t take long before the first fights with the students of the diamond class started. Sell was seeded, so she wouldn’t fight for a while. But Adion spotted a few people he recognized from his class.

There is Relmon. Seems like he going up against one of the guys I saw hanging around Vels.

“Do you spot anyone you know?” Ailera asked.

“I know that guy a bit,” Adion said as he pointed to Relmon. “His name is Relmon Zemer.”

“A human from an elven Noble family is rare,” Aiden commented, “He must be very talented.”

“I guess he is a middle Bronze mage,” Adion shrugged.

“What core does he have?” Ailera asked.

“Wind,” Adion said, “So he shouldn’t be at too much of a disadvantage.”

In tournaments like these, with several fights back to back, it was very disadvantageous with an element that was hard to conjure a lot of. Normally water mages were seen as really good fighters, only beaten by fire mages when it came to the four most common elements. But with a lot of fights, things were very different for water mages. A Bronze mage could only conjure a little more than two cups of water, enough to be dangerous in a fight if they had grasped useful concepts, but not very useful if they had to fight several fights one after another.

Of course, earth mages had an even rougher time, but that was always the case, even if it was only one fight.

“Looks like his opponent is a fire mage,” Ailera said as the fight commenced.

Adion watched as Relmon conjured a big wind, scattering the ball of flames that was shot toward him. Relmon wasn’t in a hurry to close the distance, though. He stood there comfortably, attacking with his conjured wind. Adion saw a few blades of wind managing to cut his opponent, making blood start to show through his clothes.

His opponent rushed toward Relmon, deciding to bring to fight up close. Even if wind was difficult to deal with for most fire mages, it was easier to keep the fight under control if there wasn’t much distance. And no matter how much it hurt to be cut from the wind, it wasn’t particularly dangerous. A wind mage rarely had the concepts needed to lethally wound a mage of the same stage.

Relmon noticed his opponent approaching and pulled out his spear, and that was where he really showed his talent. The fire mage had no chance of getting close enough with his sword. Relmon’s opponent opted to once again conjure a fire, but that was a mistake, as Relmon jumped toward him, swinging his spear straight toward his throat with incredible speed.

The judge took control of the fight before Relmon could connect his strike, declaring Relmon as the winner.

“He’s a good fighter,” Ailera said.

“He is,,” Adion agreed, “I don’t know how would have handled that spear.”

“Most mages use swords because it is often the best option when fighting beasts, but a lot of us lack experience in fighting anything but beasts and other swordsmen,” Aiden said.

“That’s true,” Adion nodded.

The fights continued one after another, and it wasn’t long before Sell appeared in one of the fighting areas for the first time.

“There’s Sell!” Ailera said, excitedly, “Do you know who her opponent is?”

“No idea,” Adion shook his head. He had only briefly seen his classmates when receiving his class schedule, so he only knew a few of them.

“I spotted him fighting earlier,” Aiden said, “He is a fire mage who is really good with the sword.”

Let’s see how she does.

Adion was far from the only one paying attention. The arena was filled to the brim at this point of the day since only the most talented were still fighting. And Sell’s beauty caused discussions that soon revealed her origin as a princess of Iitha. People all over could be heard starting to cheer for her victory.

“Looks like she has plenty of fans already,” Ailera grinned at Adion.

“That’s natural,” Adion said.

“Tch, boring,” Ailera muttered.

The fight soon started, and Sell was quick to start moving. She conjured a fire at the same time as her opponent. But what he created didn’t come near what Sell could do. She was a princess, so she had access to plenty of powerful and useful spells. And Adion noticed she was using one of them, conjuring a snake of flames that sped toward her opponent.

The blonde youth shot out a ball of flames of his own, trying to fight fire with fire. But he did not have the time he thought he had. Just as he shot out his own fire, Sell’s fiery snake reached him, hitting him straight in the chest. He shot back from the impact, and the powerful fire made him scream loud enough to reach Adion and his siblings.

The judge announced Sell as the victor and hurriedly made his way with some healing pills to her opponent. Sell turned away from the severely injured man and turned to look at Adion far away in the audience with a smile. The crowd all cheered loudly at the show of power.

“Amazing,” Aiden muttered, “That speed…It’s not normal.”

“And her opponent couldn’t even fight the fire with his Will before passing out from the injuries it caused,” Ailera said.

“It was a good thing she held back,” Adion said, “Otherwise, he would probably die before the judge could do anything.”

“That was holding back?” Aiden asked, shocked.

“Mm,” Adion nodded.

Even if she pushed herself to her limit, nothing compares to her Words of Truth. I wonder how much devastation that would be able to cause.

“She’s just as much of a freak as you,” Aiden muttered unhappily.

Adion just smiled at his brother.

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“Does even Grandpa’s fire move that fast?” Ailera questioned.

“If it does, it’s not much faster,” Aiden said.

“Sell’s fire’s speed is tough to beat,” Adion said, “But Grandpa’s fire is more powerful. He has grasped the concept of what he calls ‘incineration’ to a very high degree.”

Adion had gotten the chance to study his Grandpa’s fire when he had advanced to the Soft Soul stage, and Sell’s fire couldn’t compare when it came to raw power.

“Still,” Aiden said, “She must have had an epiphany of epic proportions to comprehend speed like that.”

She has comprehended a Deep Concept, so yeah.

The fights carried on, and Sell won her next fight in much the same way. This time, her opponent had been a little more careful, but he was a pretty exhausted water mage, so he still didn’t stand a chance.

“I should get going,” Adion said, “Sell will probably fight Vels next, and after that, it will be my turn.”

“Good luck,” Ailera said.

“Make sure she doesn’t get the chance to conjure any fire. You wouldn’t stand a chance,” Aiden said.

“Don’t worry, I know,” Adion said and turned to leave.

Even if he knew Sell was fast, she wasn’t faster than Adion could command the space around her to keep her still. Sell knew that too, which is why she didn’t hold any beliefs of beating Adion.

I almost wish Sell would lose. Well, not really. I just wish I could beat someone else. It doesn’t feel right to fight her like this.

Maybe I should just fight her without using my ‘Gift’? Then I wouldn’t feel so bad about it. She isn’t using her Words of Truth, after all. Do I stand a chance fighting her that way? I am almost a middle Silver mage, so my Will is a lot stronger than hers. I might be able to take control of her fire before it injures me too much, and then use it against her.

She has been fighting and showing everyone how amazing she is. For me to come along and just freeze her in space would feel wrong. I want to defeat her, but not like that.

“Adion, you’re finally here. I was getting worried,” Adion’s thoughts were interrupted as he saw Dean Lukas coming toward him.

“Well, I was also getting a little relieved, to be honest, hehe,” Dean Lukas chuckled. “But it’s good that you’re here. You’re ready to fight, I assume?”

“Yes, Dean Lukas,” Adion bowed slightly with his fist palmed, “Sorry I was late. I was watching the fights with my siblings.”

“It’s fine,” Dean Lukas said, “You’re not really late. Anyway, soon Vels and Sellitha will fight one another, and you will face the winner.”

“Alright,” Adion nodded.

Dean Lukas went away to talk with someone else, coordinating the final moments of the first day of the tournament.

Adion looked around a little. He was inside a large hall that led into the arena. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see any of the fights from there, so he would miss Sell’s fight.

There were other students from the diamond class around, many of whom were injured. But no one was seriously hurt, those who had suffered the worst injuries had been carried to the infirmary to rest.

“Adion?”

Adion turned around to see Relmon walking toward him, his torso covered in bandages soaked in healing potions.

“I haven’t seen you around all day. Have you had any fights?” Relmon asked.

“I got seeded straight to the final,” Adion responded.

“Seriously? How is that fair?” Relmon questioned.

“It is what it is,” Adion shrugged, “You fought well, by the way. Congratulations on your victories.”

“Haaah,” Relmon sighed, “Thanks. I still couldn’t quite make it to the top 10. I’ll issue a challenge tomorrow so I can rise a few more spots.”

“That’s good,” Adion nodded, turning his head to face the big opening to the arena, where he heard the crowd cheering much louder all of a sudden.

“Sellitha and Vels must be starting their fight now,” Relmon said, also looking out, “I thought that would be the final match. But I guess not.”

“The audience must think the same,” Adion said with a small smile.

Everyone will probably be disappointed at the actual lackluster final match of the day.

After only a minute, the crowd once again roared loudly, and Adion turned to look at the opening to the arena, not sure exactly what he hoped to see.

It didn’t take long before he saw the results of the fight, as a passed out and severely injured Vels was carried through the area.

I guess that’s for the best. I wouldn’t want to see Sell injured.

“Sellitha is scary strong,” Relmon said in a low voice as everyone watched Vels being carried away.

Not long after, Sell entered the area, several people approached her to congratulate her. Sell only politely smiled and made her way to Adion.

“Congratulations,” Adion said with a smile.

“Thanks,” Sell smiled back.

That’s it.

“I won’t use me Gift in our fight,” Adion said, “So I hope you haven’t emptied out your core completely yet.”

“What?” Sell looked at Adion with a confused expression, “Why not?”

“Well,” Adion turned to look at Relmon, “Give us a moment, will you?”

“Oh, er, sure,” Relmon nodded and walked away.

Adion used his Authority to isolate their conversation in case someone was trying to eavesdrop.

“You won’t be using all of your abilities, so I’ll do the same,” Adion said, “Let’s have a proper fight.”

“How is that a proper fight?” Sell questioned, “You not using your Gift is like me not using my fire. And you’re Gift is far from everything you have.”

“But…Wouldn’t it feel bad to end it all on me freezing you in space, winning without you even making a move?” Adion asked.

“It would feel worse if you let me win by not using your powers,” Sell said, “Use everything you have and can show, and I’ll do the same.”

“Right,” Adion said hesitantly.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? It’s your power, Adion. It’s not a cheap trick. It’s really cool magic! Show everyone what you can do. I won’t feel bad losing to something spectacular like that.” Sell said, smiling at Adion.

“You’re right,” Adion smiled back.

“Make sure you enjoy it while it lasts,” Sell said with a grin, “It won’t take long before I figure out a way to deal with that strange ability, and then you’ll only suffer losses from me from thereon out.”

“Is that so?” Adion asked, “I guess we’ll see.”

I’m really not sure if I could have defeated her if I was also a high Bronze mage. Her Will is a lot stronger than other mages her strength.

Adion spotted Dean Lukas walking over hurriedly and made the thin film of space isolating their conversation disappear.

“Can’t you hear me? It’s time,” Dean Lukas said, “A lot of people are already leaving. They must have thought your and Vels’s fight was the final one. I should have seen that coming.”

“People are leaving?” Sell asked.

“Don’t worry,” Dean Lukas said, “I announced that the final fight was yet to come. And plenty of people were still waiting for an end of the first day announcement from me. There will be plenty of people watching.”

“Good,” Sell said.

Dean Lukas looked at her hesitantly, “Sellitha, you might not have heard much about Adion. But I put him straight to the final for a reason.”

“Don’t worry, Dean Lukas. I know this will be my defeat,” Sell said.

“That’s…well, good. We don’t need any more accidents today,” Dean Lukas said, “Anyway, off you go.”

Adion and Sell took off together, heading to the middle of the arena. They would fight in the same walled-off section where all the finals had taken place earlier in the day. It was the fighting area that could be seen the best from all over the arena.

Adion took his place at one end of the fighting area, while Sell walked toward the other end. Adion chose one of the swords placed there, not paying too much attention to how it felt to swing. He tuned out all the noise from the audience and focused on the judge.

Everyone in the audience is probably expecting some big fight.

“Are you both ready?” The judge asked.

“Ready,” Sell and Adion both confirmed.

“Wait for my signal,” The judge said and started to walk off to the side.

Adion spread out his space mana and focused his attention on the space surrounding Sell. She was smiling toward Adion and called out, “You better hurry, I’m conjuring my fire straight away!”

Adion smiled in response, he knew he couldn’t take things slow, but he would have enough time to reach her while keeping her still.

Sell is right. This is my power. And I have no reason to take it easy on her. If I do, she will pass me before I know it, and I won’t let that happen.

But why do I still feel this itching feeling inside me?

“Start!” The judge yelled, and Adion froze the space surrounding Sell. He raised his sword and ran toward her at full speed.

That’s it. That’s what I need to do.

I’ll show everyone why I can defeat you, Sell. It’s because I’m stronger.

In just three seconds, Adion had made it where Sell was, his sword placed against her neck.

“Victory, Adion!” The judge yelled out as he ran up to Sell and Adion with a shocked expression.

Adion looked at Sell, who was also looking at him in surprise.

“Adion…your aura,” Sell said.

“I defeated you using my strength as a Silver mage,” Adion said with a smile, “So that’s what I’ll show everyone.”