75. Grass vs Wind

Isaac couldn’t shake the tension lingering in his muscles as the matches proceeded. After the first fight, none of the others had ended in someone forfeiting (so far). Isaac found himself instinctively searching for a sudden glow of gold, but all the participants’ tattoos remained dull and matte. Maybe it had just been a problem with Cedric, he thought. Still, the pessimistic side of him kept the possibility alive in his mind no matter how many matches passed by free of any potential System rule breaking.

He heard a sharp intake of breath to his left and glanced over to see Yarrow had leaned forward in their seat, eyes glued to the screen. [ASTER VS AZURE], it read. The names faded away a few seconds later and the two respective stat sheets were pulled up.

NAME: ASTER

SPECIES: FEY

LOCATION: THE WOODLANDS, GREEN LINE

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ATTACK: 9

SPEED: 22

SKILL: 17

DEFENSE: 9

INSTINCT: 12

INTELLIGENCE: 16

STAMINA: 10

CALCULATED LEVEL: 22

NAME: AZURE

SPECIES: AIR ELEMENTAL

LOCATION: THE OLD LANDS, ORANGE LINE

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ATTACK: 11

SPEED: 20

SKILL: 12

DEFENSE: 11

INSTINCT: 15

INTELLIGENCE: 10

STAMINA: 16

CALCULATED LEVEL: 22

So Azure was the name of that air elemental from the opening obstacle course. Isaac frowned. A majority of the fights so far had been fairly evenly matched. Since almost all participants of the third round were over level 20, it meant that there was a much smaller pool of possible level variations, and there hadn’t been that many high level tournament participants to begin with. Still, the upcoming match especially seemed quite even. Aster and Azure had fairly similar stat distributions, both being speedy fighters who weren’t particularly defensive.

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The stands were alive with a constant buzz, and the chatter of the surrounding spectators seemed to have grown in volume. Isaac guessed the people placing bets were having particular fun making predictions for this match.

He glanced over at Yarrow, who was practically vibrating in their seat. Isaac considered saying something reassuring, but at that point Aster and Azure were already stepping up to the platform—not to mention he didn’t really know what to say to begin with—so he turned away and fixed his attention on the match instead.

The moment the countdown hit zero, Azure shot into the air, unleashing a blast of wind strong enough that Isaac had to grip his seat to avoid being knocked backwards. His eyes swept the platform, and at first he wondered if Aster had been blown away before he noticed the fey crouched down at her starting spot. She seemed to have dropped low to the earth immediately after the match began, likely anticipating the attack.

The wind elemental frowned down at her and raised a hand. A second, more precise blast of wind launched in her direction, but Aster dove out of the way before it could hit. Dust rose up from where air hit earth, and a few spectators sitting in the front rows coughed.

Aster yanked a few strands of her grass-like hair out of her head. Isaac winced, but judging by Yarrow’s lack of reaction, he was assuming it wasn’t as painful as it looked. For a second Aster simply held the limp grasses between her fingers and frowned, her eyes darting between them and the flying air elemental. Seemingly coming to a decision, the grasses hardened into sharp, needle-like blades that looked very capable of skewering someone. They shone like metal in the golden glow of the platform.

“Nonlethal, Aster,” Yarrow muttered under their breath. They repeated it, then again, then a third time like some kind of mantra.

Without hesitating, Aster flung the blades at Azure. They whizzed through the air, deceptively fast, but a responding blast of wind easily flung them aside. They scattered and dropped to the ground, too light. Aster cursed and jumped out of the way as a second blast of wind followed.

At this point, Yarrow had started chewing on one of their branch hairs in nervousness. The sound of grinding bark was rather distracting, but Isaac kept his attention focused on the match.

Up in the sky, Azure grinned, apparently having realized that Aster had no way to reach them with an attack. More blasts of wind followed, even faster than before. Aster kept her body low to the ground, practically curled in on herself as she dodged and rolled out of the way of the onslaught. The wind elemental wasn’t fast enough to hit her, but at the same time, Aster had lower stamina and would have to find a way to attack before she became too tired to dodge.

Yarrow inhaled sharply. “Watch out!” they called, though their voice was too quiet to reach the fighters in question over the constant thrum of the spectators around them. Isaac frowned. Aster was quickly approaching the bounds of the arena.

Azure flew closer, and the fey’s eyes darted backwards before refocusing on her opponent. After spending the entire match low to the ground, she finally straightened and stood to her full height. In one hand, she held new needles of sharpened grass. Azure raised an eyebrow as the fey flung them, casually raising a hand and blasting them away as they had the first time.

The fey wasn’t done, though. Reeling her other arm back, she hurled something forward, a “something” that Isaac soon realized was a ball of grass blades wrapped and tied together. He could see the fey wince with the exertion on the projector screen. Just how heavy was that thing?

The bundle flew towards a wide eyed Azure, and their instinctive blast of wind did nothing to slow it. By the time the wind elemental realized what was happening, it was too late. The gathered ball of grasses slammed into their stomach, and they fell backwards, dropping like a weight to the ground with a loud “oof.”

There was a pause, then Aster’s name flashed across the screen, officially announcing the victor. Yarrow’s sigh of relief was quickly drowned out by the combined hoots and despairing wails of bettors.

Aster straightened and began dusting off her hands and clothes, completely ignoring the dazed wind elemental. She nodded in satisfaction as the spectators clapped and cheered, her smug grin easily visible even from a distance.

“Sportsmanship, Aster,” Yarrow muttered under their breath, though there wasn’t much bite to it. A wide grin had taken over their features, and they were bouncing slightly in their seat in barely restrained giddiness.

As Aster turned to exit the platform, Yarrow shot up as well. “Sorry!” they said, “I have to—“

“Go ahead,” Isaac interrupted. With a grateful look, Yarrow hurried down the stands, pushing past the mass of spectators and making their way towards where Aster had decided to take a seat, hair bouncing behind them and hitting more than one offended onlooker in the fey’s rush. Isaac shook his head, smiling slightly. It was difficult not to also feel Yarrow’s excitement.

It became a lot easier, however, when the screen pulled up the next match. Two familiar names were displayed in bold font followed by two equally familiar stat sheets.

[IGOR VS SEATON]