The wind blew past James’s face as he rushed through the forest. As graceful as a gazelle and twice as swift, he lept over a log, grabbed hold of a tree and flung himself through the air without pausing for a breath.

  Winning the tournament ought to be easy enough. Surely the countries best would not participate in such a farce he pondered to himself. I’ll stay in the city and do some investigating on my own about the southern front before the tournament’s end.

  The tournament in question was one hosted annually by the Rozen Kingdom to celebrate the new year. It’s hosted in Rozen’s capital, the city of Raitzal, a technological and magical marvel. Wealth and trade come into Raitzal from all corners of the continent, and with it, an even larger wealth of talent. Considering this, there should be no shortage of powerful warriors and mages ready to participate in the tournament. Though the general reasons for joining the tournament were similar, whether it be for fame, wealth, or connections, James had another reason, he was after-

  "Screee!!!" The loud death cry of an animal rang out and James ground to a halt, sensing two more presences. Faster than the wind, he blurred behind a tree and concealed his presence. Someone was there? He couldn’t fathom why anyone else would be in this forest with him. This forest, which existed east of Raitzal, was one that was notorious for the powerful beasts that existed in its depths, due to the high density of mana that emitted from its center. He strained his ears to listen and heard voices in the distance.

“-ammit, all the monsters in this area are too weak!” a deep and gruff voice echoed through the otherwise quiet clearing. “Perhaps you’re just to strong? Well you may be a monster yourself…” a second one, much younger and smoother sounding then the first voice answered. “Hahh? Who ya callin a monster ya lil’ ingrate…” Though the angry voice trailed off, it was clearly in good humour. Who were they? Fighters in the tournament? While the the monsters in this forest were no match for James, he was a little out of the ordinary. There shouldn’t be too many people who could call the monsters here weak.

  Hmmm, perhaps I should stay away for the time being… “Come out, we know you’re there!” the second voice he heard called out into the clearing. They spotted him? How could that be? James was shocked. Certainly, stealth may not be my strongest point, but still-

   *Shiiiingg!!!* A loud sound rang out, and a thunderous amount of power began heading towards him. Faster than lightning, James lept to the side to evade what ever attack they had sent towards him. Because of his surprise, he couldn’t completely bleed off the energy of his dodge, and rolled onto the ground. *BOOM* The area he was just standing was obliterated in a flash of heat, so intense was the temperature that ordinary people would not even be able to stand near it for fear of being completely vaporized. His trained vision and incredibly fast brain processed the attack he just witnessed.

  Hmm, Flames of Bennu? And on top of that, he’s modified the internal structure to boost it’s effective range. How inefficient… I overestimated them. He seems like the type to just brute force everything. He smiled slightly to himself, a little mockingly for having been so cautious and thus leading to this situation, and a little bit happy, because the spell that was just used was a specialty of the school he went to.

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  He quickly stood up and observed the two people who were on guard against him. One of them, a hulking brute, who stood two and a half meters tall appeared like a moving wall of muscle. A shaggy, dark brown beard covered his face, and mixed with his long hair. He had tower shield in one hand, which resembled more a slab of steel than a traditional shield, and in the other, he readied a large warhammer that glimmered with strange light.

   James turned his eyes over the the one behind the brute, who he assumed to be the magician that had fired an attack spell at him earlier. The young man had short cropped, straw colored hair, and he was so thin you would start to wonder about his health. Draped over his body was an unassuming gray robe, and he held a gnarled staff that resembled a tree branch in his hands. Despite his seemingly ordinary attire, the thick aura of magic that surrounded his body revealed what must have been an insane amount of mana and magical talent existing within him. James finished his observations in an instant.

  Seeing them prepare for battle, James quickly threw up his hands and gave the most amicable smile that he could. “Hey, sorry about tha- Whoa!” He swiftly turned his body to the side as a lance of flame flashed past his shoulder. By the time he had regained his footing, the brute was already in front of him and swung his hammer down in a large arc. The attack itself was full of openings, but the gale of destructive power that it emitted showed that the brute had considerable strength.

  However, it didn’t hit James. Despite having just dodged the lance, he was still able to instantly move backwards so fast he left an afterimage, and the hammer crashed into the ground where he stood. A loud boom resounded and the ground caved into a small crater from the force of the strike.

  “Hey, wait! I’m not here to fight! You guys-” three consecutive fireballs made of hyper condensed fire essence stormed towards him, and the brute let out a battle cry before launching himself forward. “Wai-” James dived underneath the war hammer’s path and ran to the side to evade the fire balls which vaporized the trees behind him.”I’m no-” he lept back as the brute launched himself at him with his shield in front of him to perform shield ram.

   Listen to what I’m trying to say, James gritted his teeth, this was was starting to annoy him. While these two certainly seemed strong, they would not force him to use his true power. Yet despite seeming to realize this, they continued to mindlessly attack him, refusing to listen to what he had to say. “Listen to me-!” He kicked off the side of the shield before it reached him and gracefully flipped over the head of the brute- before seeing another fireball right in front of him. “Tch!” He attempted to twist his body in mid air to avoid it, but the mage detonated it prematurely, and his body was flung back against a tree. He quickly looked up to see the brute coming in for another shield ram.

  I’ve had enough of this! James scowled, and brought up his right fist. In an instant, mana of such thick intensity, that it began to glow with a bright white light surrounded his body, filling it with strength. The brute’s eyes widened with surprise, and he activated a magic ability of his own, a green protective aura had begun to cover the surface of his shield, and his already monstrous charge doubled in speed. James smirked. Maybe this will calm you down. He stepped forward and slammed his shining fist into the oncoming shield.