Although he noticed the heavy atmosphere, the judge simply shrugged it off with an indifferent face and lifted his hand.  In front of him, the two freshmen readied their weapons.  Harry held his spear loosely in both hands, then slid backward into a lunge with his forward, left ankle nearly touching the ground and his elbow resting on the knee.  Likewise, a spear appeared in Peter’s hands, which he held across his chest as he assumed a horse stance with the tip of the spear pointed toward his opponent.  Unlike Harry’s spear, Peter’s was a deep grey, like roiling clouds, with stark yellow lines placed randomly across the shaft.

            A heavy moment passed, before the judge let his hand drop as he said, “Begin.”

            Like an arrow from a bow, Harry flung himself across the arena.  As he entered combat range, the bearded youth stomped hard on his right foot and pivoted.  With a golden streak, Harry’s spear was thrust forward with the deadly momentum of his charge.  But no expression broke Peter’s determined look as he swung his own spear to intercept. 

            As Peter’s spear swept up diagonally to the right, he flung Harry’s weapon off course before sweeping down at his opponent’s shoulder.  But as these actions were taken, Harry’s face bloomed with a cold smile as his spear, which was originally passing well over Peter’s shoulder, bent.  Once again, it headed dangerously toward the young child, but the target didn’t notice because the dangerous spear tip was well within Peter’s blind spot.

As a cold chill crept down his spine, Peter’s eyes widened as he hurriedly jerked his head back.  The bent spear passed by his nose as it barely missed his face.  But before Peter could heave a sigh of relief, Harry’s spear straightened once again into another stab.  Frantically, Peter rolled back, but was too late as the spear tip scratched him just above his left eye.

            Completing his roll, Peter gave a quick jab with his own weapon to stop his opponent from following him.  But Harry was just too agile to stop, and did a sideways flip over the attack.  Firmly gripping the shaft, the monkey thrust down at the unbalanced youth below him, and Peter was just able to jump to the side in a dodge.

As Harry planted his feet, Peter was finally able to regain his composure.  Once again, the two youths stood across from each other, neither making a move.

            How the heck do I beat this monkey face? Peter asked himself.

            Harry was fluid like water, and his spear was like a flying viper: swift, ferocious, and unpredictable.  As he thought, one of the first lessons he had in Imperium came to mind.

            “In this world, one always subdues another,” Instructor Nakiri had said.  “This not only applies to the elements, but to all things.  Whether it’s in martial arts or with animals, or with plants.  Everything can be restrained, and everything can likewise restrain.”

            Finally, Peter was able to think of an answer.  Sort subdues hard, flexible suppresses stoic.  The opposite, however, can also be said.  A piece of paper might be able to move a pebble, but it couldn’t move a boulder.  The wind might blow sand away, but it couldn’t blow away a mountain.  Harry’s technique was like a tree branch: flexible and adapting to each situation.  But when striking the ground, the only thing a branch could do was break and submit.

            Once again, Peter took up his horse stance, left shoulder facing Harry.  But although the stance was the same, there was a different feeling behind it.  Before, he had a balanced attitude, aiming for a mix of both strength and speed.  But now, he seemed to have given up on speed, which left the feeling of an insurmountable mountain to permeate from the youth.

             In the stands, many of the students were startled.  How would Peter be able to win with such an attitude?  But high above them, within one of the towers supporting the coliseum’s structure, Instructor Nakiri observed the scene with a smile on her face.

              “Even though it looks like he’s just dozing off all the time, it seems that he learned something at least,” she chuckled to herself.

              Within the stands, a small smile crept across Garth’s face.  He shook his head at the change that had happened to his friend.  Just a few minutes ago, he had been carefree and humorous, yet now he was just as serious as Adeline, who often rebuked him for his behavior.

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              Within the arena, Harry was just as startled as everyone else, but was quick to catch on.  With a disdainful smile, he once again assumed his starting stance as well.

              “Fine, I guess I’ll play with you,” Harry muttered.

              Then, his cultivation base exploded with the power of the second realm, causing the coliseum to be shocked.  Not everyone was as freakish as Garth, and at the beginning of the match, both had started with only the peak of the first layer.  Obviously, Harry had managed to make a breakthrough in the last three days between class and the tournament.  And although it was only a small change in words, the realistic gap between two realms meant Peter would have a hard time.

              Once again, Harry was the first to make a move.  But this time, he opted to jump at his opponent instead of dash.  The monkey’s back arched, almost into an upside down “u” shape, and when he was nearly upon Peter, the force of both the jump and his stretch exploded, sweeping down on Harry’s opponent.

But Peter’s face was unchanged as he tightened his hold on the spear.  Only one word was rolling through his mind:

              “Thrust!”

              Peter stomped off the ground with his back foot and pushed his spear toward Harry.  The attack was like a phoenix ascending to the heavens, and made full use of all the power within Peter.  But he wasn’t aiming for Harry’s descending spear.  No, Peter didn’t bother to waste time trying to defend against something that would be able to find its way around his fortifications.  Instead, he tried for a mutual blow, and bet everything on the single strike.  Seeing the direction of the thrust, Harry’s pupils constricted.

               “Fucker!” he cursed, then changed his downward swing into a thrust. 

With a crack, the spear was embedded in the stone of the platform.  Using it as a foundation, Harry swung himself around Peter’s thrust and kicked him heavily on the chest.  Coughing blood, Peter was thrown by across the stage by the kick.

                With a wrathful expression, Harry pulled his weapon from the stone and walked slowly toward his prey.  Peter coughed again, and struggled to his feet.  By now, the cut above his eye was bleeding profusely, blinding him.  At the same time, Harry’s kick had utilized momentum close to three times his normal strength, making it comparable to the second stage middle rank.  Nonetheless, his eyes were still steeled with determination.

                Up in the audience, Garth and Adeline wore worried looks on their faces.  Peter glanced up at them, then smiled to himself.  What did he do to deserve such great friends?  Peter’s gaze came to focus on Adeline, and he sighed.  Garth had told him to forfeit if it got dangerous, but how could he do that?  Undoubtedly, Adeline, who was only around ten ranks above him, would challenge Harry as well, but who knows if she would be able to win without hurting herself?  Harry had broken into the second stage, while both Adeline and he were still at the first.  And besides, having the girl he loved defend him was something Peter just couldn’t swallow.

                Sigh, the things one does for a lady, Peter thought before turning his attention back to his opponent.

                Harry had finally come within range, where he stopped.

                “Today, I’ll skewer you,” he sneered.

                Obviously, he was still feeling insulted that such a worthless person had actually been able to threaten him. 

                Taking a brisk step forward, he muttered, “Tree among the Seasons.”

                Accompanying the mumble, he thrust his spear toward Peter.  It started with a single strike, before spear shadows branched off the spear, appearing as a tree, growing ever stronger.  First, it was spring, where the sprout had just began to grow, then summer, as it grew into adulthood.  Then, the lively aura around the spear started to weaken, signifying autumn, before emanating a deathly, murderous aura that signified winter.  By this time, the spear tree had completely obscured Harry from Peter’s line of sight.  However, he also knew that the opposite was true for Harry as well.