The trip to get breakfast was bitterly cold. Stars glittered icily in their stygian dome, occasionally obscured by wisps of clouds far above that were lit up by the low-lying moon, looking as if they were snow flurries meandering lazily across the sky. Constant gusts of wind cut viciously across any exposed skin. Grass crunched underfoot whenever someone drifted off the paved path, with a coating of frost quickly covering the shoes of those who weren’t watching where they were going in the darkness before dawn.

Summer seemed so far away, even though it had lasted much longer than usual, staying warm for far longer than anyone expected. Everyone had been hoping for a milder winter, and at first it had seemed that this was what they would get. When winter finally arrived, however, it arrived with a vengeance. There had been no snow, but the dry and frozen air sapped the heat and life out of everything that its frigid tendrils touched.

Nothing stopped their training however, and Yaric almost missed the days spent sweating in the sun while in formation with his friends. The intensity had somehow increased, a sense of urgency settling over the whole class.

Yaric still felt that the issue with Chris had been left unresolved. He had arrived in the food hall with his friends the morning after his outburst, acting like it was any other morning, and had studiously ignored Yaric. There were no words exchanged, no interactions of any kind. In fact, Yaric was sure that Chris was pretending that he didn’t even exist. There had been a few times that Chris had been forced to acknowledge Yaric’s presence, such as when they almost ran into each other in the corridor outside their rooms. Chris’s eyes had flared with anger, but there was something else there as well. Something Yaric had never seen on Chris’s face before. Yaric had no idea what it was, but it made him feel very uncomfortable.

Hiawatha seemed to think everything was resolved. He had also acted like nothing had happened, for the most part anyway. The Battle Mage had made a very brief announcement that morning, reiterating what he had said the day before, and making it clear that he expected everyone to move on and focus on their training. But other than that, and a few glances sent Chris’s way for the rest of that week, things had continued as normal.

There were even a couple of times when Hiawatha had paired Yaric with Chris for sparring. They never spoke, nor did they ever really acknowledge each other beyond what was necessary. Chris still seemed angry, and he struck with full force whenever the opportunity arose, but things had definitely changed. For one, it wasn’t quite as easy to hit Yaric now. His fights were not entirely one sided anymore.

And second, as angry as Chris still seemed to be, he never pushed beyond what he needed to do to win. Once Chris delivered a winning strike, he stepped back. The ruthless beatings that Chris had always served up in the past had been replaced with regular old defeats for Yaric, if still a bit more painful than he usually experienced. That relentless drive to hurt Yaric that he had always displayed previously was gone. Chris never missed an opportunity to exploit any openings presented to him – it was the bloodlust and killing intent that had faded.

Yaric was left feeling very confused.

His one-on-one training had also changed. Hiawatha insisted on Yaric continuing to practice what he had already learned, as he claimed that it would give him a solid foundation for the future. Now, however, he also started training in a very different style of unarmed combat. His new practice included techniques for closing with his opponent and getting right up in their personal space. Yaric had been very surprised to learn that it was not a grappling style. He would actually be striking from such close range.

The techniques that Hiawatha had him learning now included very close-range punches, various elbow strikes, and brand-new techniques utilizing strikes with his shoulders. Particular focus was placed on ‘bridging’, getting inside his opponent’s guard in order to close the distance and strike from very close range.

Yaric found the training to be very intense. There was a lot of vertical movement, requiring him to rapidly shift between very low and very high stances, leaving his legs aching every day. The various techniques also placed a lot of focus on very short, very intense, and very explosive power, often using gravity to drop his weight into the strike, and always using his entire body to power into his opponent. His legs still ached the most, though his whole body was sore by the end of every day.

There would be no training today though. Not with the Winter Solstice Tournament being held in a couple of hours. This would be the last one Yaric and his friends would compete in, at least for the next couple of years. They would all be moving into the fifth year immediately after the Tournament, which is when students were expected to go on expeditions as a class. None of them would be competing again until their seventh year.

Yaric was hopeful that he would give a better showing this time. Things were finally starting to click for him, and sparring against his classmates had started to become much more even. This Tournament would also be the last one he ever competes in that included unarmed stages. It was now or never.

“Come on you two, hurry up! I’m freezing!” Li Na shouted in exasperation, her breath condensing in a cloud, almost obscuring her face. She was dressed warmly like the others, but had still felt the need to wrap herself tightly in a blanket before leaving their dorm building.

“We’re coming, we’re coming!” Lauren laughed.

The trio started to jog to their destination, and all three breathed a sigh of relief as they entered the warm hall. Steam rose from the food sitting in their serving trays. Various hot drinks were kept heated and easily accessible. Four fireplaces crackled merrily in greeting... it was heaven.

Yaric grinned as he pulled out his ID card. This was another reason he was looking forward to the Tournament later that day. He glanced down at it, trying not to be too obvious. Five grooves ran around the card. Most of the time, all five of his were empty. But not this month… No, they were not all empty. But Yaric didn’t have a single ribbon sitting in one of the grooves.

No, he had two!

All of his fights had been getting closer and closer, and his spars had slowly included more and more wins. But this month, when he was challenged for his ribbon as usual, he had actually won! Not only did he keep his own ribbon, but he also won the challenger’s ribbon too! And for some reason, after his first ever win, no one had challenged him again. It’s not like he would win most fights. Hell, the same challenger would probably beat him if they fought again. But now Yaric was no longer seen as the ‘sure win’ he was before. Li Na seemed to think that his altercation with Chris had something to do with it as well. Either way, Yaric found that he didn’t really care.

The trio picked up their own plates and went down the line, piling food and going back for hot drinks. They were all in a good mood as they ate, and no one wanted to leave the warmth of the food hall too soon. It would still be cold when the sun rose, but at least it would be warmer than it was now.

The hall slowly filled as more and more students braved the weather, until it was packed with students, many were loudly challenging each other, some were making predictions, and a few were even making bets.

The trip back to their rooms was very quick, mostly because they ran the whole way. The sun had already risen by the time they left, leaving the frost covered parks and fields around the campus sparkling in the weak sunlight. The sky was clear, and the brisk wind had slowed to a gentle breeze. Despite the cold, it was a great day to have the Tournament.

Lauren and Li Na were already waiting for Yaric when he left his room with his armor, and Li Na was carrying enough blankets for everyone. They didn’t wait for anyone else, and quickly made their way down to the stands. Not many people had made it to the arena yet, so they got themselves seated in a choice spot right at the stairs and wrapped themselves under blankets while they waited.

“Battle Mage Trokym promised we would have this weekend off, but where does he think we will go in this weather?” Li Na complained.

“Oh stop moaning,” Lauren said as she prodded Li Na, “you’ve lived here your whole life! You never complained like this before!”

“It’s never been cold like this before!”

“Was winter this cold in your village?” Lauren asked Yaric, as she looked up at him sitting on the other side of Li Na.

“We had snow,” he laughed.

Li Na groaned as if she was in great pain. “Shut up! No talking about snow today!”

Lauren and Yaric both laughed at her antics, and a few seconds later they were both bumping their shoulders into her, alternating to knock Li Na from side to side while they carried on their conversation.

“We had snowstorms so deep that we had to dig our way out in the mornings!”

“Ohhh… did you get blizzards?”

“No, but the villages further up in the mountains did. And avalanches!”

“Sounds cold!”

“It was freezing! The sides of the river would freeze over, and sometimes blocks of ice would float down the middle. Clouds would come down from the mountains and block out the sun for days at a time!”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Li Na chanted in time with the shoulder bumps as she started bumping each of them in return.

The arena quickly filled up, and soon the stands were packed as everyone waited for the start. The staff had turned out in the same numbers as usual, the weather not being enough to discourage them. Yaric wasn’t sure if any weather could discourage them. They were all powerful arcanists after all. It wasn’t long before everyone was seated with the students buzzing in anticipation.

A gong rang out as it did every Tournament, echoing around the entire arena.

“A warm welcome to everyone!” Arch Wizard Jaxxon Phelps was once again standing in the center of what only a moment ago had been an empty arena. “This year’s Winter Solstice Tournament is really living up to its name, so let’s not dither about! Would the second-year class please make their way down to the fields?”

Yaric kept his comments to himself this time.

The second years were much the same as the previous two Tournaments Yaric had watched. Despite that, Yaric found he was able to appreciate their fights far more than he had before. He was able to pick apart mistakes and acknowledge superior technique this time, to a far greater degree than even the last Tournament just 6 months earlier.

Hiawatha’s words from the first Tournament Yaric had witnessed came back to him. ‘Most of these second years are just punching and kicking, or grabbing the others and trying to wrestle them to the floor. You have to figure out HOW you are going to win.’ And Yaric saw this clearly now. Almost every student was attacking just as Hiawatha had described, with no thought or strategy. They simply lashed out in whatever way was easiest.

Yaric was shocked to realize that he felt he could beat most of them, if not all. 'Surely I’m better than these guys?' He didn’t verbalize his thoughts however, just in case Lauren or Li Na disagreed.

Yaric chose to rather sit quietly and watch, listening to Li Na’s running commentary on the skills and abilities of the second years. It was strangely relaxing, even knowing that in an hour or two he would also be out there and fighting.

“That kid should be fighting his opponent, not himself!” Li Na laughed, as one of the second year’s missed a kick, his momentum nearly taking him off his feet. “And look at that one go! She’s punching so fast her arms are a blur! If only she wasn’t punching the air in front of that kid’s face, she might even be good!”

“Lina! They’re all trying hard! You were like that once too!”

“You know, I want to agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.”

The good-natured bickering continued through every round, until they eventually reached the final four.

“HA!” Lauren exclaimed. “You were laughing at that blonde kid’s fighting strategy, and now he’s fighting for 3rd place!”

“His two brain cells are fighting for 3rd place…” Li Na grumbled. “See!” she exclaimed, leaning forward suddenly as the blonde student they were talking about was kicked out of bounds, “He’s already on his ass! That was the quickest fight for 3rd place that I’ve ever seen! I told you he had a problem with his strategy!”

“Oh, and what was the problem with his strategy, oh wise and all knowing one?” Lauren asked teasingly.

“Simple! He didn’t have one!” she answered brightly.

Lauren and Yaric both groaned, but they couldn’t deny Li Na’s logic. He had just lunged blindly at his opponent after all.

Meanwhile, the fight for first place had ended, but as both had started with only one loss, they would be fighting at least once more.

“That girl with the braided hair is going to win again. The other girl keeps making stupid mistakes. The kid with no strategy is better than her, I can’t believe she’s the one who made the finals.”

“Lina! Stop! Everyone can make mistakes once in a while!”

“Yeah, but she abuses the privilege.”

Lauren almost knocked Li Na into Yaric at that, but she managed to keep herself upright. The fight restarted, and it soon appeared as though Li Na would be correct. The girl with the braids quickly took control of the fight, and she won decisively when she landed a quick jab to the other girl’s head.

“See! I told you! Other Girl sucks. She shouldn’t have even been in the final fight with that performance!”

“Come on! She tried really hard. She has nothing to be embarrassed about!”

“Of course she shouldn’t be embarrassed about her performance!” Li Na answered, looking scandalized. Both Yaric and Lauren whipped their heads around in shock, but Li Na completely ignored them. “That’s her parents’ job.”

This time they worked together to squeeze Li Na as she sat in the middle, but Li Na was completely unbothered. “Look, they’re getting their awards now. Soon it will be the baby first years turn.”

“You’re only three years ahead of them yourself!”

“Yeah, and look how much I’ve grown.”

Yaric and Lauren both coughed not so quietly into their hands, while Li Na continued to pretend that she hadn’t noticed anything.

Arch Mage Jaxxon Phelps announced the start of the first year Tournament, and 15 minutes later there was a group of 11 to 13 year-old kids fighting each other for the right to move on. The usual brawls broke out up and down the arena, leaving the poor referees struggling to maintain order.

The fights moved through the preliminary rounds, the quarter finals, and eventually the semifinals. Every round of the first year’s Tournament took a long time as usual, with each fight becoming a long and drawn-out affair. Multiple fights ended in draws and had to be restarted, but they eventually made it through to the final two.

“Buzz Cut Guy will win,” Li Na announced. “Funny Girl won’t be able to stand up to his punches.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I really doubt that she will be worried about your opinion,” Lauren answered.

“And she shouldn’t be. She should be worried about those eyebrows.”

Lauren and Yaric both groaned as Li Na continued to insult the fighters, and they were both dismayed when Li Na turned out to be correct yet again. Li Na leaned back into her seat, a smug look on her face as the fight ended as she had predicted.

It was warm enough to throw off their blankets by the time that the 3rd years started. Li Na was mostly ignored when she continued to comment on the fighters, but even she had to admit that they were much better than the previous fighters.

Yaric started to get the now familiar butterflies in his stomach as the 3rd years got closer to finishing. It wouldn’t be long before he was down there in his own Tournament.

“Well done to all of our 3rd years! You all fought very well. If you would all make your way back to your seats, I will now invite our 4th years to come down and show us what they’ve learned over the last 6 months.”

Yaric could have sworn that the Arch Wizard made eye contact as he said this.

The whole class made their way down and deposited their armor on the side lines. The earlier anticipation had given way to anxiety by the time Yaric had put down his armor. No one had asked Yaric to match up for their first fight, so Yaric made his way onto an empty field and waited. He didn’t have to wait long.

Stewart stood across from Yaric, a smirk teasing the corners of his lips. Neither had a chance to say anything as their referee moved to the side of their little square. There was a moment’s pause while the referee’s checked that everyone was ready, and then it started.

“Begin!”

Stewart began with a kick that was easily sidestepped. He tried again, and again Yaric stepped to the side. This time Stewart moved in closer, and Yaric pounced.

Both hands were held close together with elbows out, forming what appeared to be a triangle, as Yaric stepped into Stewart’s advance. His left hand moved inside of Stewart’s right, pushing it out at the same time as Yaric’s right hand moved to intercept Stewart's left. Both were pushed out and slightly up, opening Stewart up completely.

Yaric stepped inside.

Yaric lunged forward with his right leg, twisting sharply to drive his already lowered right elbow hard into Stewart’s ribs. His weight shifted onto his now leading left leg, and Yaric dragged his right leg beneath himself as his left leg bent, dropping his weight as he whipped his left elbow around to strike Stewart’s ribs on his other side.

Now crouching with both feet next to each other and his knees bent almost 90 degrees, Yaric had his left shoulder facing Stewart, still twisted to his right from his last elbow strike. Stewart had been completely unable to respond so far. Both strikes to his ribs had caused him to drop his elbows reflexively, covering the areas where he had been struck.

He was too off balance to retreat, only managing to lean back slightly. Not to mention being caught by surprise when Yaric stepped right up into his space.

Yaric thrust himself forward, pushing off of his right foot once again and driving his whole body forward and upward as his leg straightened, his left leg stepping forward and around Stewarts side. He simultaneously thrust his right hand out and twisted his hips violently, driving his right shoulder into Stewart’s chest.

Stewart staggered back a step before falling on his ass, winded and in shock.

“Match!”

Yaric froze.

'Wait! What?!'

It took him a second to realize that he had actually won. It took him another second to realize that Stewart was still on the ground.

Yaric rushed forward to offer Stewart a hand, but he was unable to keep the grin off of his face. Stewart looked a little embarrassed, but he was graceful in defeat, and accepted Yaric’s hand. They both walked off the field together.

Yaric was shocked yet again when he arrived, seeing neither Lauren nor Li Na. 'Their fights took longer than mine!'

It didn’t take long for them to join him. Lauren was smiling in sympathy as they approached, but she froze in her steps when she saw the smile on Yaric’s face.

“You won?”

Yaric just raised his eyebrows as his smile widened.

Lauren rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him.

“Well done!” she said when they parted, and Li Na stepped forward to punch him in the shoulder.

“Then you can fight me next!”

“Or Lina can fight me next,” Lauren replied, pushing Li Na away and making her grin. “You’re catching up to us! We didn’t see your match; do you think you have a chance to win the next fight as well?”

Yaric shrugged, understanding her question. How much of his victory was down to luck, and how much was skill? They would know very soon, because they were all called back onto the fields for the second round.

This time Yaric found himself facing someone he rarely talked to. Yaric didn’t even remember his name, but he did remember that the guy had been friendly on the few occasions where they had interacted. They both faced each other and dipped their heads slightly.

“Begin!”

It was crucial for Yaric to get inside his opponent’s guard as soon as possible, so he stepped forward immediately. He opened his opponents guard flawlessly, in a near perfect repeat of his previous fight. His left arm opened the lead hand, his right arm pushed out the follow up, Yaric lunged forward to get in close…

And face planted straight into the ground.

It all happened so fast; it took Yaric a moment to realize that his face had hit a fist just before it hit the floor. His lip was split open, and dust was already caking the blood dripping down his chin. His opponent helped him up.

Yaric had worked out what had happened by the time they made it to the sidelines, only to see Lauren looking at him in concern and Li Na smirking as she looked him up and down.

“Are you ok?”

“Did your face beat the floor?”

“Lina!”

“What? Maybe his face won the fight?”

“Har har har… I’m fine, he just countered me perfectly. No one has been so quick to sweep my leg before.”

“Or so quick to punch your face into the dirt!”

Lauren shoved Li Na away and looked more closely at Yaric’s lip. “It looks like it’s just a cut, you should be fine. It will probably swell up a bit, but that’s all. Maybe try a different tactic next time?” she smiled.

“Sure, next time I’ll try ‘winning’ instead of ‘losing’," he laughed.

Yaric knew Hiawatha would be having some words with him later. He had stepped far too far forward, and had shifted his weight toward his front leg before it was even on the ground. That let the sweep to his knee push his left foot further right than his right foot, just as he tried to step forward onto it. The left hook that connected with his face had slammed him down into the dirt even harder.

“Come on, it’s just one loss. You’ve got this!” Lauren said in encouragement.

The next fight was much longer. Yaric went back to basics, and fought using the techniques he’d been practicing from the very beginning. The fight didn’t go that badly, but it didn’t go very well either, and he was forced out of bounds after almost a full minute. They were the last to finish by a long way.

Yaric was out of breath when he joined the rest of his class, but had to turn around and go straight back out. The weather was at least cool enough that he didn’t have sweat pouring down his face.

This time he was facing Tracy. He’d fought her once before, when she had ambushed him and challenged him for his ribbon. Yaric hadn’t landed a single blow.

“Begin!”

Yaric advanced to meet Tracy in the middle, quickly shifting back to avoid her probing kick. They both stepped forward at the same time, causing Tracy to switch from her intended strike and instead raise a knee to Yaric’s groin.

Both of his knees rolled inward to keep Tracy from striking her target.

Her knee struck his thigh as he stepped inside her guard, but Yaric ignored it and stepped forward regardless.

Tracy pulled her leg back, stepping back into that leg as she retreated. Yaric tried to advance to keep her in range, but he overcompensated and found himself standing less than 6 inches from her body, even as she leaned back to avoid him.

Yaric reacted instantly. His body weight dropped as he whipped his shoulder around, slamming into Tracy and knocking her straight onto her back.

“Match!”

Yaric helped Tracy up, and the two of them made their way off the field.

“Huh…” Tracy said hesitantly. “You beat me this time. With one strike.”

Yaric just shrugged in reply, unsure what to say. He wasn't used to being on the other side of things.

“Was that something you learned at home?”

“No, I didn’t learn anything before coming here. Battle Mage Trokhym suggested I learn a different style. He thought it would suit me better.”

“Well, it looks like he’s right. You must have won at least one other fight before me, or you wouldn’t still be fighting. Not bad for 6 months of training.”

“Thanks.”

They were interrupted by Arch Wizard Phelps’s reappearance on the field. “It would seem that we are already down to our top 16 4th years. If each participant would please get their armor on and wait with their chosen weapons at the ready.”

'No way! I’m in the top 16!'

Lauren looked just as excited as Yaric felt, and even Li Na directed her commentary toward other people. The three of them helped each other get their armor ready, and went straight over to the weapons rack.

Yaric froze.

He’d never even considered what weapon he would use. There had never seemed to be any chance of him needing one. Yaric looked over all of the options, ignoring Li Na as she went straight for a mace. Lauren soon had a short sword and shield, and Li Na had added a shield to her mace as well.

“What are you looking for?” Li Na asked.

“That’s the problem. I don't know. I never thought this far ahead.”

“Ha ha! Well hurry up, or your only weapon will be your face again!”

“Pick whatever you feel most comfortable with,” Lauren suggested helpfully. “There is no right or wrong choice, just what’s right for you.”

Yaric thought about what Lauren had said, and it made sense. He was most comfortable using a spear, but definitely not when facing an opponent with a shield. A short sword would be his next best option. That only left a shield. He definitely wanted one, he just wasn’t sure which one. In the end, Yaric decided to go with a shield that would best suit the style of combat he had found working for him in this Tournament.

“All set,” he said as he joined the others.

Everyone moved back out onto the arena. Yaric’s opponent was another student he didn’t interact with much. He was also armed with a short sword and shield, but his shield was much larger and clearly held with a central grip. 'Clive,' he finally remembered. They inclined their heads to one another and squared off, shields raised.

“Begin!”

Neither moved immediately, but both advanced after a moment of hesitation. They were each sizing up the other. Yaric blocked quickly as his opponent lunged, deflecting the thrust harmlessly away.

He was unable to counterattack as Clive punched forward with his larger shield.

Yaric backed up slightly, and his opponent punched forward again, leaving Yaric with no idea of Clive’s exact position. He didn’t know where Clive stood, nor where his sword was positioned, so Yaric did the only thing he could think of, and moved forward as the shield was pulled back.

Keeping the same distance gave his opponent a similar problem, and when the shield was pulled slightly to the side for him to see, Yaric sprang forward.

His shield was strapped to his arm, so he punched forward, curving slightly around the shield and striking the inside rim, knocking it out of position.

Clive backpedaled, trying to create enough room to bring his shield back into position.

Yaric didn’t let him, lunging forward to punch out a second time. When Yaric found himself too close to punch with his shield for a third time, he quickly dropped his shield down, with the front facing Clive, and proceeded to lunge forward with a shield bash.

Yaric was now inside Clive’s shield, and there was no way he would be able to maneuver it around Yaric and back in between them, so Clive dropped it and began trying to thrust his sword through Yaric’s guard, all while backpedaling furiously.

Yaric refused to let him, not allowing any distance to open up between them. He lunged forward for a second shield bash, and quickly followed up with a third. His shield was currently preventing either of them from getting a clear strike with their swords, but Yaric was intent on forcing Clive out of bounds.

He needn’t have bothered.

Clive wasn’t able to step back quickly enough, and tripped, falling backwards with Yaric standing over him. Yaric quickly stabbed down with his sword.

“Match!”

'No way!' Yaric thought, ecstatic at his sudden turnaround.

Yaric helped Clive up before making his way over to Lauren. Li Na was still fighting, and neither said a word as they turned to watch her. Even Yaric was able to see that she could have won already, but she seemed to be deliberately extending the fight and avoiding any decisive blows.

Still, her fight eventually ended, and Li Na made her way over to join them, a wide smile across her face.

“You made it to the quarter finals? Well done!”

“Yip. I’m more surprised than you.”

“You’re the only one who’s surprised, Yaric.” Lauren added.

“Nah, I’m surprised as well. What took him so long to get here? Just how lazy are you?” Li Na asked, laughing.

“He’s lazy?” Lauren exclaimed. “What were you just doing in your own match? You could have won the fight in less than half the time!”

“How is fighting more being lazy? I literally just did extra training! Besides, I needed to soften him up for his next opponent. You never know, maybe Yaric fights him next, and I helped?”

“Soften him up for who? You just knocked him out of the Tournament. He has no next opponent!”

“Oh, yeah... Oops?”

Yaric made his way out for the quarter final round, and quickly noticed Lauren jogging back and forth, looking for an open field. There were none.

“Sorry Yaric.” Lauren looked extremely apologetic as she took her position opposite him. “There was no one else available.”

“No problem,” he shrugged. “I can’t believe I made it this far. Now it will be just like our Challenge matches, just with weapons.”

Lauren smiled and raised her shield, with Yaric copying her immediately after.

“Begin!”

Both advanced aggressively, and both smiled as soon as they noticed what the other was doing.

Lauren had seen how his earlier match went, and she quickly feinted with her shield before trying to thrust her sword through his guard. Yaric blocked, and they circled each other.

Lauren feinted again, but this time Yaric angled his shield, his left shield hand held forward, and he quickly managed to hook the rim of his shield behind Lauren’s.

Yaric took a firm step to his right, yanking his left arm back and down across the front of his body. His shield moved to cover his body closely while simultaneously ripping the shield out of Lauren’s hand. Sunlight flashed off the metallic rim, almost distracting him.

Yaric swung his shield arm out in a large arc, ensuring any counterattack from Lauren would be blocked. He stepped forward, ready to thrust with his sword and end the fight. Yaric was in shock as he angled the tip of his weapon up. 'I’m actually going to beat Lauren!'

“Match!”

“What?” Yaric asked out loud, frozen mid thrust.

“Didn’t you see the mage shield come up when you pulled my shield out of my hand?” Lauren asked.

“Uhhh… no?”

“You lowered your shield too far when you stepped to your side, so I struck over your shield and hit your neck. Well I would have, but the mage shield stopped my sword from actually hitting you.”

“So, I’m out? I lost?”

“Sorry Yaric. I guess you didn’t see it.”

“No. I thought it was just a reflection off my shield. Doesn’t matter though, good fight.” Yaric tried, but he failed to keep the disappointment out of his voice. He had never expected to win, but right at the end it had looked like he was about to anyway. Only to find out he had already lost at that point, and just hadn’t known.

“But look, you’ve gone from never winning a single Tournament fight to making it through to the semifinals! That’s huge!”

Yaric appreciated Lauren’s attempts to cheer him up, but he was still disappointed. Especially now that the Tournament was over for him. It was actually kind of fun when you weren’t hopelessly outclassed and publicly beat up by everyone you faced. Now he would have to wait 2 years before he could compete again.

Li Na made it through to the quarter finals with Lauren, where she was knocked out as well, leaving Lauren to continue while Li Na joined Yaric on the sidelines.

The final matchup was once again between Lauren and Sven. Yaric hadn’t noticed Sven’s earlier fights in this Tournament, but he had made it through to the finals without losing a single fight, as had Lauren. This final was the closest they had ever had, with Sven winning their first two fights, and Lauren coming back to win the next two.

It came down right to the wire, with each needing a single victory to win the Tournament.

Sven managed to pull off another win when he caught Lauren off guard. Lauren was disappointed, but she had a big smile on her face when she rejoined the others.

“That was so close! I’ve gotten closer and closer to winning each time. Next time I’ll beat him for sure!”

For the first time ever, Yaric joined his friends when they went to get their rewards. His position was enough to reward him with a significant number of points, which Yaric banked as Lauren had suggested. The personal training he was receiving had already been drastically reduced, and he was going to need every point he could get. He'd just earned enough for fifty private lessons, and he was planning to accumulate them until he could book lessons for several consecutive months.

The rest of the Tournament flew by. Everyone made their way back to their seats, and the rest of the day was spent listening to Li Na’s commentary and critiquing her predictions. By the time the final rounds were being fought, the commentary wasn’t able to keep up with what was happening.

“They are both going to make their weapons blur, and one of them will do something to make the other lose.”

“Really? Wow! Your insight knows no bounds!”

“I know, right? See! What did I tell you? They blurred their weapons! Now they will probably use some kind of spell, and then one of them will win… Hah! He knocked the glaive back with magic! Wind I think. And look! Now he’s won! Told you!”

“We are honored to be in the presence of one as wise as yourself.”

“Finally! It took you long enough! Now maybe you will properly appreciate just how lucky you two are to know me.” Li Na leaned back in her seat, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. “You may begin showing your appreciation now.”

Yaric and Lauren both responded by bumping her back and forth between them again, until Li Na was bouncing from side to side.

The final match was soon over, and Arch Wizard Phelps was back in the middle of the arena, his voice magically projected to everyone present.

“Thank you one and all! There are some exciting Prospects and Novices training with us right now – I look forward to our next Tournament. But now, the matches are over and there is nothing left to do but to reflect on your performance today. And of course, the temperature is dropping again,” Jaxxon added with an exaggerated shiver. “Go now and get warm, while you decide on how you will improve your performance going forward and rise to new heights! Dismissed!”

Every student stood up, almost at once. The entire academy began making their way out of the arena en masse, eager to get back inside. It took 20 minutes to get back due to the amount of people trying to make their way out and up the hill at the same time.

“Two days off!” Li Na shouted excitedly, ignoring the stares from the other students in the common room.

“Don’t think you’re going to sneak through the weekend,” Lauren teased Yaric. “We are all celebrating becoming 5th years, but we are definitely celebrating your first wins as well.”

“And it’s Ducky’s party, so he has to pay!”

Lauren and Yaric looked at each other in confusion.

“Ducky?”

“Yeah, you have a beak, so you’re Ducky now.”

Yaric raised his hand to his mouth, touching his swollen lip while Lauren laughed.

“Go on, you better get that seen to. We have the weekend passes, but don’t forget we leave on our first excursion immediately after. You need to be in top condition.”

“You will still be an ugly duckling, but we’ll put up with you!”

Everyone had already dropped their stuff off in their rooms, so Yaric was able to leave for the healer immediately. He made his way outside and started jogging along the path, completely comfortable with running everywhere he went after 2 years of running daily.

The sky was already burning with an orange glow when Yaric turned toward the infirmary. The brisk evening breeze blew in his face, causing his lip to throb painfully, but Yaric didn’t care. It had been 2 years now. 2 years of training and working hard, and he was already starting to be able to hold his own. As a bonus, they had the weekend off, and after that they would all be leaving on their first excursion.

Everyone’s first excursion. No one would have more experience or practice than him. For once, no one would know what was going on while he struggled to catch up. He wouldn’t be the weakest link. He could hold his position in formation and hold his own in a fight. Yaric and his classmates were equals.