Aurin stopped by the fountain and looked around to make sure the coast was clear and see the lay of the land. Nearby there was the entrance of a vineyard that filled the air with a sweet earthy smell. In the distance there were mountains past the woodland that surely fell out of the boundaries of the estate, yet there was a windmill just above the treeline. Perhaps the grounds were a lot bigger than Aurin had first realised.

“Where do you think you’re going?” came Luna’s voice from behind the fountain. She stepped out with her Tadpool as Innogon and Splashard leapt from the water.

“Want to fight already?” asked Aurin as his Minakai stood at the ready.

“Nah,” giggled Luna. “If we’re going to fight, it’s going to be at the end to see who’s the ultimate victor.”

Luna sat down at the edge of the fountain and set her shoes on the bricks. Aurin moved over to join her as Shamtile and Gorunze stood on alert. Snippet on the other hand moved towards a bush and started to trim it.

“How do you feel about this whole tournament?” asked Aurin.

“I’ve got Inno and Splashard so I don’t think they’ll have much trouble,” said Luna with her head resting on her hand. “Tadpool hasn’t had much opportunity to train lately so I thought I would bring him here for fun, but I suppose it’ll be a good way to get him up to speed. How about you?”

Aurin laughed. “If I had listened to Kyle about this event being about battling, I would have brought Spikruption and Steambot instead.”

“You know what that means Kyle’s team is, right?”

“His Wingbloom, Hogannon and Snowlem,” nodded Aurin, knowing what Kyle considered his strongest Minakai.

“Almost certainly.”

“If Hunter brought his strongest he’ll have his Flambot, Steambot and Treebot. Gardner, probably his Desparee, Angree and Vinewolf.”

“And Leo?”

“Leonite.”

“And?”

“And another two of them.”

Aurin and Luna laughed at how predictable they thought everyone was, but Aurin was concerned that they were wrong. After all, he miscalculated at the national championships when he thought Gardner would bring his Desparee and used a Snowlem of his own instead. That error may have cost him the match so he resolved in his mind to not expect anything from the tamers he knew.

“Should we warm up?” asked Luna.

“What do you think, lads?” Aurin asked his Minakai. Shamtile screeched and waved his arms, Gorunze groaned and clanked, and Snippet stopped trimming the foliage and wandered back over towards the fountain.

Aurin and Luna’s Minakai began to spar, albeit a lot more cautiously than usual. Shamtile hopped atop the fountain and threw rocks at Innogon who blasted them out of the way with his water jet. Gorunze fired his topaz laser beams at Splashard who slickly weaved out of the way. Snippet chased Tadpool around and the icy frog dove into the bushes. Aurin’s armoured insect started to trim them once more, forgetting about the battle, then Tadpool crept out from behind and head butted him and knocked him headfirst into the bush.

“Tamer number fifty-nine, Master Gareth, has been eliminated by tamer number seven, Master Frederick,” came Lord Kensington’s voice from a loudspeaker hidden somewhere nearby.

“That was fast,” remarked Aurin.

“Leo’s wasting no time in thinning the herd,” said Luna looking anxious. “I think we should head out separate ways for now.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, the larger a group we’re in, the easier we are to spot from a distance. If someone has a Minakai like your Gorunze, they can start shooting beams right at us.”

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“Good call,” said Aurin, turning to his Minakai. “Alright, team. We’re going to the windmill to see if we can find any items. Gorunze, you’re our ride.” Aurin hopped onto Gorunze’s back and pulled Shamtile and Snippet up with him.

“Don’t get eliminated, alright?” said Luna with a giggle.

“Me? I’ll be the last one standing,” said Aurin. “Be careful, alright?”

Luna smiled and nodded as Aurin rode off. She quickly gathered her team and ran across the grass to find shelter in the trees much closer to her. She was determined to see this tournament through and prove herself, just as she had done at Tamer Day.

*

“Keep moving,” said Kyle to his Hogannon as the hefty pig started to fall behind. “We’re almost in the woods and we can slow it down once we’re out of view.”

The rancher suspected that the items would be a game changer in this tournament so he elected to find as many as he could while the other players eliminated each other. That meant less competition and the victors would be tired. Once he had built up his stock, he would deal with the remaining players.

He, Wingbloom, Hogannon and Snowlem reached the woods and disappeared inside. He had Wingbloom take to the skies to spot any landmarks and the bird-like plant had informed him there was something not too far away, as for what it was, he couldn’t quite understand his monsters that well.

“Which way?” Kyle asked his Wingbloom. The Minakai cooed softly and whipped the leaf on his head straight ahead.

The group of four proceeded deeper into the woods, following Wingbloom’s directions. There was not a tamer in sight, which made Kyle feel uneasy. It was only a matter of time before he crossed the path of a coward waiting to ambush him. Perhaps it would be someone who thought rank thirty-two would make him an easy target, but he was confident that he could defeat anyone in this tournament in a fair fight except perhaps Hunter.

“Hey!” yelled a young man from the side.

Kyle stopped moving. “Yes?” he asked without looking at the tamer.

“You looking for a battle, Kyle?” asked the young man. “I’m ready to take you on.”

“Chance, right?” asked Kyle, turning to face the tamer.

“That’s right,” replied Chance. Kyle could see that his team consisted of an Electrout, a Gorungol and a Peekawe.

“You’ve left your Minakai at my ranch before, I recognise you and your team. I’m willing to battle you if you want because I respect that you didn’t attack me without warning, but just know that you don’t have much of a shot.”

Chance looked offended. “Not much of a shot? You’re the retired tamer, no? What are you even doing in this tournament?”

“I suppose my reputation still holds some weight to this day.”

“How do you want to do this then?” said Chance, nodding towards the Minakai.

“I’m fine with an all-out brawl or a tournament style one versus one until we’re out of Minakai. You’re the one that wants the battle so it’s your choice.”

“One versus one,” said Chance, starting to look nervous. “Don’t hold back, you hear?”

“Suit yourself,” shrugged Kyle, sending Wingbloom forward to start the battle as Chance’s Electrout bounced forward, the electric fish not looking too comfortable out of the water. “Make it quick, Wingbloom.”

Wingbloom sped forwards and whipped his leaf wing at the Electrout before it had the chance to react. The sharp edge of Wingbloom’s wing sliced straight across the fish, whose expression quickly switched from happy to pain.

Chance’s eyes widened in horror, realising the mistake he made in picking this fight. “Gorungol, bring it down!” he ordered.

Gorungol shot topaz crystals from its body at Wingbloom who dodged handily, even with his movements hampered by the trees. He shot above the canopy and disappeared from view. Gorungol and its tamer looked around, trying to spot Kyle’s Minakai only for it to swoop down rapidly and pick up the stone golem in its talons. Wingbloom flew up into the air and threw Gorungol up high and then perched himself on a branch waiting for the Minakai to hit the ground.

“Peekawe!” called Chance before Gorungol even returned.

The large turquoise bird charged towards the perched Wingbloom and beat its wings, sending a gust of razor sharp wind at him. Wingbloom dropped from the branch right before the branch was severed by the mighty gust from the Peekawe.

The two birds clashed in the air, pecking at each other and swiping their mighty talons, but Chance’s Minakai could not keep up with the vastly more experienced Wingbloom. With a sharp peck to the neck, Peekawe let out a cry as it dropped to the forest floor where its comrades, Electrout and Gorungol, already lay unconscious.

“Tamer forty-four, Master Chance, eliminated by tamer thirty-two, Master Kyle,” came Lord Kensington’s voice over a speaker.

“Agh, I can’t believe it!” cried Chance, dropping to his knees.

“Why?” asked Kyle. “I did try to warn you.”

“I thought you would be rusty.”

“You don’t get to be rusty when you’re a rancher. Do you know how much work it takes keeping all of those Minakai in line without their tamers around? They’re not all docile and fights break out all the time.”

“I didn’t consider that,” admitted Chance.

“I admire how bold you were in challenging me,” said Kyle, “but you need to know when to reel in that confidence before it becomes cockiness. If you had found a couple of good items or waited for my Minakai to take a few knocks from other battles, maybe you would have stood a chance.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” mumbled Chance, climbing back to his feet and starting to make his way back towards the palace. “I’ll see you when this thing is over.”

Kyle let out a small laugh to himself. Aurin had a similar air of cockiness to him when he first started out, but Chance didn’t have the excuse of inexperience that Aurin did back then. It had surely been long enough now that all of the tamers were out of the palace, which meant that Aurin could have been engaging in a battle of his own.