“Nooo, Growly fell out of the arena,” Flavia exclaimed, dropping her shoulders down in disappointment.

“It was a good move,” Ileena commented calmly.

“A good move? He lost,” Flavia argued with an intense look on her face.

“I don’t look at it that way,” Ileena said.

“Huh? But…” Flavia tilted her head to the side, Ileena’s word making her become confused.

“I think Ileena is right. Growly has put up a good fight, but his opponent was extremely strong. From how things were going, it looked like Growly was reaching his limits, so his intend must’ve been to throw his opponent out of the arena, but when Growly realized he won’t be able to do it, he chose to fall out of the arena while taking his opponent with him.” Narias supported Ileena’s opinion.

“Well, yeah, Growly was getting some beating, but still…” Flavia had to admit that Narias and Ileena were right, but still sounding like she didn’t.

“Yes, I understand you wanted Growly to win, so did I, but we can’t win all the fights. There are many strong students among the participants and we are bound to encounter them sooner or later. I think Growly made the right choice to not let his opponent win,” Narias added to his explanation.

“Aargh… I hate it when you’re always right, partner,” Flavia threw her head back, ruffling her hair with both hands, not able to counter his logic.

“That’s not true. I make mistakes too,” Narias said, adding a silly smile.

“See? You’re right again,” Flavia shot back, pouting her lips and making Narias laugh sillily too.

The matches continued from then on, with Ileena getting to fight almost at the end of the current round. By that time, Ileena knew better than to let the guard down, so she took her fight seriously from the very beginning. The boy student who was her opponent this time was using Lightning Magic too, so it all came down to who was more proficient in wielding the Lightning Element. Compared to Ileena, the boy student was using a more conventional spells, which just made it easier for Ileena to protect herself, but once she got close enough to her opponent to reach him with her Lightning Crush spell, there was nothing he could do. Ileena got another victory and proceeded to the next round.

It was only Narias and Ileena who were still staying in the fight now. In addition, the number of participants were thinning after each round and the opponents were becoming stronger too. However, Narias and Ileena were determined to win, so they were giving their all in order to secure themselves victories. Ileena was focused to use her Lightning Magic to the best of her ability, overpowering her opponents with her Lightning Crush spell for the most part. In contrast, Narias was taking down his opponents basically with a single attack. Meaning, he would observe his opponents to exploit a single mistake that they would make, jumping in and taking them out within seconds, whether it was with his magic or simply knocking people out right by punching them. Since Narias had put in extra effort into his physical training, not many spellcasters were able to withstand his punch.

“Yo’! Those were cool fights. Congratulations on the wins again,” Flavia congratulated both Narias and Ileena who just came back after winning their matches. They were called out to fight at the same time in the current round.

“Thank you, Flavia,” Ileena said before sitting down.

“Thanks, Flavia,” Narias smiled at her.

“Alright, people! Who is ready to witness some more amazing action?!” Ranga went for hyping the crowd again and the spectators loved it. “Ahaha! Aren’t you excited?!” He laughed when the spectators responded with shouts and cheers. “Well then, we’re getting close to the most exciting fights! This next round will determine who will be going to the quarterfinals! Are you ready to keep going?! In that case, let’s welcome the next participants now!”

The crowd roared, almost making it impossible to hear who the participants to fight will be. Narias’s number came up while Ileena’s was skipped this time. Narias went to meet his opponent after his girlfriends wished him good luck, not doubting he would win.

Narias opponent was another boy student who could use Wind Magic. Narias watched one of his fights and concluded his opponent was a strong spellcaster. Having said that, Narias could use Wind and Fire Magic, which was quite an advantage, considering Fire Magic was quite strong against the Wind Magic. The boy student made Narias work for it to achieve the so desired victory, however. The boy was good both at attacking and defending, forcing Narias to be fast on his feet and smart with his tactics. Their fight was more or less evenly matched, so it came down to who will start becoming tired first, leading to making mistakes too, and that’s where Narias stood head and above over his opponent. With Narias’s beast-like stamina, the other student had no chance, eventually slipping down and becoming overwhelmed by Narias’s attacks once Narias had finally found an opening to unleash a tirade of spells, taking his opponent down within seconds, which also was becoming his signature way of winning.

Next was Ileena’s turn to fight and that’s when Lady Luck shined on her. Ileena’s opponent was injured during her last fight, making it hard for the girl student to even keep up with Ileena’s attacks. Ileena’s opponent tried to fight back, but it was evident she wouldn’t be able to do anything from the very beginning. Ileena secured an easy victory for herself this time, moving to the next round which was Quarterfinals.

“Awesome, both of you are in the Quarterfinals now,” Flavia greeted them cheerfully, feeling happy for Narias and Ileena.

“Yeah, thanks,” Narias smiled at her.

“Thank you, Flavia,” Ileena added.

{at the teacher’s lounge}

“Hello Belinda and Mister Zeanlor. Please, have a seat,” Jean greeted them.

“Hello and thank you for letting me watch the final matches, Jean,” Belinda spoke back. Both her and Professor Zeanlor were stationed to keep watch, so weren’t able to watch the matches up till now.

“My pleasure. I’m sure you worked diligently up till now, Belinda,” Jean smiled at her.

“Greetings everyone and it’s a pleasure to see you again, Mister and Missis Alifur,” Karineus Zeanlor greeted everyone, including the guests that normally wouldn’t be here.

“What? Estella’s grandparents are here too? Why hello there,” Belinda went to speak to them too.

“Hello, hello to both of you. It’s nice to be here again,” Grandpa Yojee grinned gleefully, rubbing on his furry beard while looking at Belinda.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“You don’t change, do you, Mister Yojee?” Belinda chucked, not bothered by his fervent stare before she sat down next to Milenna.

“I’m just happy to see you again, my dear. Eh?” Grandpa Yojee added before realizing his wife hadn’t smacked him yet.

“Good day to you, Mister Zeanlor,” in the meantime, Grandma Fuuji spoke to the tall, stoic teacher. “It’s good to see again. How are you fairing these days?”

“I’ve been very well. Thank you for asking, Missis Fuuji,” Mister Karineus answered respectfully.

“I didn’t know you were still working at the academy. You must love being around kids?” Grandma Fuuji continued the conversation.

“It keeps my mind occupied and it gives me joy seeing the young generation learn and grow,” Karineus told her with a light tilt of his head.

“I see. You must be very busy with no free time available for yourself nowadays working so hard, Mister Zeanlor?” Grandma Fuuji was very sweet when she spoke.

“Not at all. I make the effort to always find the time for a quiet walk or to have a cup of tea to stop and enjoy the moment,” Professor Zeanlor added, not showing a smile but sounding friendly.

“I do enjoy quiet walks too sometimes,” Grandma Fuuji said, her ears flickering.

“Is that so?” Karineus Zeanlor commented in a kind manner.

“Eh? What?” Grandpa Yojee was shifting in his seat back and forth, his eyes shooting between his wife and Professor Zeanlor.

“What are you fussing about, you old coot? I didn’t say anything when you were gawking at our grandson’s other girlfriend just now, so stop bothering me,” Grandma Fuuji shunned him away, puffing her cheeks.

“What? You mean Belinda is our grandson’s girlfriend too?” Grandpa Yojee exclaimed, his cat-like eyes becoming wide.

“Grandson? Wait, do you mean Narias?” Belinda asked, squinting her eyes and dropping her arms down. “Does that mean…”

“Narias was staying at Estella’s place for the last two weeks, remember? Well, almost two weeks,” Milenna said with a chuckle.

“Ah? Oh…” Belinda leaned forward, so she could see Estella who was sitting next to Milenna on the other side only to see Estella avert her face away, her eyes closed and her cheeks as red as a cherry. “Humph. How about a get together after the tournament tonight? Just the three of us?”

“Wow, what a wonderful idea,” Milenna said, smiling joyfully.

“Ah, yeah, ok,” Estella agreed too, her face still burning.

“Hmph,” a quiet chuckle was heard behind the three women which belonged to Jean when they turned around to see. “Oh, don’t mind me. I simply remembered something.” Jean explained herself with a smile that couldn’t be read.

“So, how are the fights going?” Belinda changed the topic, knowing it was pointless asking Jean what she remembered.

“Our darling has won all the fights and moved to the Quarterfinals,” Milenna informed, sounding very happy about it.

“Humph, I would’ve been surprised if he hadn’t. What about Ileena Sanli?” Belinda wanted to know.

“Oh, she reached the Quarterfinals too,” Milenna added.

“Hmm… good,” Belinda said, a pleased smile entering her lips. She sat back in her chair, ready to watch the following fights.

{at the arena}

“The Quarterfinals are about to start! The next ones to fight are…” Ranga was about to announce the first participants.

“Hey, it’s your number, partner,” Falvia exclaimed, hearing Ranga announce his number.

“I guess I’ll have to sit this one out again,” Ileena said, lowering her head, eyes closed when her number didn’t come up.

“Go beat your opponent good, partner,” Flavia cheered for Narias.

“Ah, yeah…” Narias knew he had to win, but Flavia’s words sounded like she was making Narias a bully, but he decided not to say anything in that regard.

“Howdies-nya,” a half beast cat-boy student greeted Narias at the arena. He had black cat ears and tail, and was wearing a white T-shirt and black sporty shorts but no shoes. The cat-boy had much more fur, where it was visible, on his body than a normal half beast-human Narias had met so far would. His eyebrows were night black and he had whiskers growing out of the sides of his nose too.

“Ah, hello. My name is Narias. Nice to meet you,” Narias took the polite approach, as he usually does.

“The names Xefys and I’ve been watching your matches-nya. You’re quite cunning with how you fight,” Xefys added an observation with his greeting.

“Well, thanks,” Narias didn’t know how to respond to that.

“That just makes it more fun, however, be ready to be ripped to shreds this time-nya,” Xefys declared, showing a menacing grin on his face.

“Ah, thanks for the warning,” Narias said, showing a calm smile of his own.

“Ready?!” Ranga was about to give the signal to fight, both Narias and Xefys taking offensive stances at the same time. “Begin!”

“Fireball!” Narias decided to start with the basic spell.

“Nhyah!” Xefys darted to the side in an instant before the burning ball of fire even left Narias’s palm.

Wow, he’s fast. Narias knew he wasn’t dealing with an average opponent this time.

Xefys leaped to one side, then to the other before jumping forward so fast, he appeared next to Narias within half a second of his jump.

“Wind Shield,” but Narias didn’t panic.

- ‘Swipe! Smash!’ – Narias’s Wind Shield was shattered with a single Xefys’ swipe, but it saved Narias from receiving a direct hit.

“Fireblast!” Narias used a short range spell.

“Nhya!” But Xefys ducked down before leaping to the side to avoid getting hit. The moment his feet touched the ground, he was about to jump at Narias again.

“Auto Bullets!” But Narias wasn’t about to let that happen.

“Ghya!” Instead of jumping forward, Xefys hopped back before leaping to the right, sprinting around the arena to avoid getting hit by Narias’s rapid Wind Bullets. Xefys was very quick on his feet, sidestepping, leaping and jumping to evade Narias’s attacks. “Hya!” The moment Narias’s Auto Bullets stopped, Xefys ducked down, leaning on the ground with both hands before pushing himself forward, appearing next to Narias in a blink of an eye.

“Huh? Boost! Wind Burst!” Narias knew he was in trouble.

“Lacerating Claws!” Xefys unleashed multiple rapid attacks.

Fortunately, Narias reacted just in time, anticipating for Xefys to do something dangerous. Narias used his spells in advance to dodge Xefys’ incoming attack, escaping his opponent’s reach by a hair.

“Tch-ya…” Xefys jumped back to a safe distance right after his attack. “You’re quite fast, humph-nya.” Xefys grinned, the excitement showing all over his face.

“You’re even faster,” Narias commented, with a smile on his face.

“You haven’t seen nothing yet-nnnya!” Xefys declared, falling on the ground on all fours, shooting from his current spot like a bullet.

“Huh? Fireball!” Narias shot a spell to stop Xefys.

“Too slow-nhya!” But Xefys shifted to the side before jumping forward, appearing in front of Narias in an instant. “Thaa!”

“Hmph,” Narias covered his body with his arms, knowing he won’t be able to dodge Xefys attack.

- ‘Pow! Smack! Bam!’ – Xefys punched and kicked Narias several times so fast Narias could do nothing to prevent it.

“Wind Shield! Gha.. Fire- Ugh… Wind Bu- Agh!” Nothing Narias tried to do in order to defend himself worked. Xefys was so fast, it was impossible for Narias to keep up. Xefys’ attacks weren’t too powerful, but with how fast Xevys was, Narias was taking the beating without being able to fight back.

“What’s wrong-nya? Hah! Over here-nhyya!” Xefys was taunting Narias as he was jumping left, right, back and forth, interrupting Narias’s spellcasting and delivering punches, and kicks one after another. “Nya! Nhya! Nhyyaaa!” Three consecutive kicks followed, with Xefys putting more force into his last kick which threw Narias on the ground after the impact.

“Ugh…” Narias huffed, his body sliding some distance away after the fall.

“Ahaha! Is that all you can do-nya?” Xefys laughed, tiptoeing on his toes. “And here I thought you were stronger. I suppose that little rabbit girl was all show and no punch. Maybe she’ll give me a kiss after I win this fight too-nya.”

“Firewall!” Narias cast his spell.

“Oops-nya!” But Xefys dodged it easily, jumping away and out of the fire’s reach.

“Don’t you dare insult Flavia!” Narias demanded, anger painted on his face. “And Flavia’s punch was much more powerful than your kick was just now. In fact, you’re much weaker than her!”

“Say what-nya?!” Xefys puffed, readying to attack again.

“Also, Flavia is my girlfriend, so you better watch what you say!” Narias warned Xefys, pointing his finger at him.

“Oh, so that’s how it is-nya. Hahaha!” Xefys laughed out loud. “I see now. She simply let you win-nya!”

“You…” Narias was becoming angry, clenching his fist before wanting to point a finger at Xefys again. “I will- huh?”

“You will what-nya?!” Xefys asked, Narias not expecting for Xefys to appear almost behind him. In the heat of the moment, Narias let Xefys out of his sight, lowering his guard down as a result too and letting Xefys to slip away and ambush him. Narias knew he messed up big time at a very critical moment. “Lacerating Claws!”

“Humph,” there was no chance for Narias to escape Xefys’ attack. “Gghaaa!”

“Nhyaaa!” Xefys landed several rapid slashes on Narias’s back, the last swipe sending Narias flying. Narias fell on the ground face down, his body not moving after the fall.

“NARIAS!” Ileena and Flavia jumped from their seats, Ileena holding her hands close to her chest while Flavia had her fist clenched tight. From how fierce Xefys’ attack was, there was no doubt Narias was seriously injured, and from the looks of it, Narias might not be able to get up either.