Levi woke up feeling excited. This was a new feeling. He had never been excited about any competition in his life before. Sure, he played sports growing up, but in his hometown of Rancho Cucamonga, California, everyone played some sort of youth sport. Whether it was pee-wee football, soccer, youth basketball, or kids' track, it was really a time for parents to get energy out of their kids. But that stopped once he reached high school.

Levi would not have considered himself athletic before magic; now, he was as athletic as an Olympic athlete. Because of his lack of athleticism, he never tried to play any high school sports. He had no desire. His sisters were professional volleyball players, which put a lot of unwanted pressure on him to be another great athlete of the Winters family. Levi imagined how he was feeling was similar to a big sports competition. Nerves, excitement, and expectations all coursed through his body like electricity. He was ready.

He smiled sadly; he had been here for almost a year. Levi, thinking about competition, remembered watching his sisters’ games and how much fun it was to watch them compete. They were excellent athletes but even better people. They had married great men and were raising their own wonderful kids. He lamented how things ended with them, and now they likely thought he was dead. It was hard to imagine that they wouldn’t have reached out to him, especially on his birthday, which surely had already passed. Levi had decided that if, for whatever reason, he made it back home, he would make a better effort to be a better son and brother. He didn’t want to go back if it meant losing what he had here. But if this world, this new life, were temporary, he would be better.

There was a knock on his door that startled him out of his thoughts. Pushing his senses he noticed it was Tycen and Professor Bertrum. They walked in once they felt Levi’s aura.

“We’ve come to see you off,” Tycen said. “And your professor has a gift for you.”

“Combat robes,” Bertrum said. “If you need them.” Levi put on his other outfit that he used in battles. The sky-blue gradient robes covered by the hooded chaos cloak gave Levi the feel of a Jedi who fancied blue instead of beige.

“I think this will do just fine,” Levi said.

“I agree,” Bertrum said. “Take these as a backup then.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

“You have the first battle in an hour, it’s time to move. I’ll explain the rules on our way there.”

The battle of the guilds had been a long-standing tradition throughout the world for thousands of years. It was a nice way for the different guilds to put their training to the test. It was also a way for guilds to recruit new members. Typically, the guild that won would see the highest number of new members join. This was because families saw two things: first - the power that was displayed in the matches; second - the survivability of the winning guild. All guild masters and professors knew that this had nothing to do with whatever guild won that year, but it was fun and brought the cities together.

All the battles took place in one day. Since most places didn’t have a summoner’s guild, there were only four battles in total to determine the first, second, third, and fourth rankings amongst the four participating guilds. The rules were relatively simple: win and don’t kill your opponent.

Potions were not allowed in the fight but could be used to replenish while waiting for the next battle. Magical items were allowed to be used in the battles. Familiars were also allowed. Although most people did not have a familiar. A team could consist of no more than six members and had to have as little as one. Familiars do not count towards those numbers.

Each battle lasted until the other team yielded, was knocked out by the life-saving orb, or was unable to continue fighting. At any point, a competitor could yield or quit; during this tournament, quitting was not seen poorly as it could indicate a sign of sound judgment. Levi understood the rules fully: don’t die. Each city's arena was different, it tended to mirror the environment. A large glass dome about the size of a stadium was sitting just outside the city's walls. There was a large battleground, it looked like it was a 150 meters long and 40 meters wide. The battleground had a lightly populated forest with hills, crevices and a river that split the ground in half.

There was stadium seating all around the battleground. They were packed full with spectators. Levi’s heart was racing. He had not expected there to be this many beings to watch these battles. It became very clear in this moment these battles were a big part of the culture of this world and it was an honor to participate in them. Levi would be facing the rangers in the first round; these were the group of elves that approached him a few nights back. Looking at the forest landscape, they had a distinct advantage over Levi. Being that they were distance fighters.

He stood at the edge of his entrance and waited for the announcement that was to come.

“Ladies, Gentlemen, and Beings of all kinds! Welcome to the Arcross City Battle of the Guilds!” The announcer said. His voice rang throughout the stadium. “This year we have a very special treat. For the first time in several decades, there is a summoner team. Representing the summoner’s guild LEVI WINTERS!” The cheers were muted as not many people thought highly of summoners’ most people chuckled or snickered as the unimpressive man walked out with a staff. Anza and Serenity had fused to allow his first opponents to underestimate him.

Piper was in the locker room that had a projection ritual to watch the matches. She was with her team, and they were scouting out the competition while also getting ready for their own match next. She was unaware that her family had traveled to watch her compete. Anna was also unaware. Both the king and the duke were in the same private viewing box in the stadium. Maddi, Trey’s wife, was cheering when Levi walked out. She was quite fond of the boy and wanted him to succeed.

Anna, like Piper, was in her locker room doing the same thing. She sat and cheered as Levi walked out onto the battleground, ready for his first-ever Battle of the Guilds. She sat there nervously. She was more nervous about Levi’s battle than her own. Anna wanted Levi to prove to everyone that there were benefits to being a summoner.

“Please welcome the representation,” the announcer said. “Of the Ranger’s Guild, Team Sharpshooter!!” The crowd erupted in roars as the six elves gracefully walked out of their entrance, waving to the crowds. The crowd was eating it up.

“Six against one,” Karin Onyx said, Anna’s younger sibling. “That hardly seems fair.”

“It isn’t,” Rayvin said. “But there is no one else to join Levi’s team because there are no other summoners.”

“Let’s not underestimate Levi,” Leandro said. “If you noticed, his familiar Anza, is missing. I suspect he did that intentionally.” Karin and Rayvin nodded at the point their father made. Their eyes returned back to the ritual projection.

Levi stood on the edge of his territory; there were no shaking hands or good lucks. As soon as the fire spell exploded, the battle would begin. Levi’s mind was calm, and his thoughts were relaxed. He took a deep, centering breath and released it. This was it. He had fought monsters, barbarians, and cleared a dungeon. All that training and this was the moment. The bright orange spell flew into the sky and exploded like a firework. The battle had begun.

Levi looked up and saw hundreds of arrows covering the sky as they were flying down toward him. He was relaxed. Levi sent out Crystal and Willow who were able to create a small tornado of fire. The tornado sucked in all the arrows and burnt them to ashes before they touched the ground. Serenity and Dameion masked Levi’s aura to the point where he became invisible. Levi released Anza and five of team ember to head into the forest. Levi pulled out his wand and began drawing a summoning circle. After the circle was done two creatures that looked like a Komodo dragon and shark had an unholy baby stood.

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“Go scout under the ground,” he told them. “Any ritual traps you can dismantle and eat the mana.” The two beasts shared a look and then did as commanded. Levi for the first time during this battle took a few steps. “Willow/Crystal, do these trees burn?” Levi asked. A textbox appeared in his vision that said yes. “Burn it down, full swarm.” The wisps did backflips of excitement and began separating into their swarm form. Soon, two hundred tiny wisps formed a line, then rushed to burn the forest down.

The elf leader who had interrogated Levi two nights before saw the fire spell explode. With a commanding gesture, the archers all aimed their bows at the sky and fired. Each arrow started to multiply on its way to the sky. After reaching its peak, the multiplying effect ended, and what was six arrows was now 600 hundred. After looking around and not seeing any sign that the battle was over, each elf took their battle stations.

The leader elf conjured a war unicorn. The unicorn was black with a white horn and clad in iron horse armor. Getting on top of the unicorn, he rode toward Levi boy taught. The other elves got into trees and waited. A couple of them were able to perform ritual magic, if not basic, it was still ritual magic. They had set up a line of trap rituals that all glowed green and then faded into nothing after they were set. They figured that Levi would rush them since they were long-range attackers. After their stations were in effect, the elves waited, still.

“Well,” Trey said. “They are just going to wait there, that’s incredibly boring.”

“I agree,” Leandro said. “It’s like they are scared of Levi.”

“I bet,” Rayvin said. “They didn’t do any research on what a summoner actually is and think that Levi will run to them.”

“That is likely true,” Leandro said. Leandro was watching Levi intently. He needed to learn everything he could about the upstart summoner. The king was still convinced that he was the one evil from the prophecy and wanted to cement his name in history by slaying him. But first, he had to learn about everything. That’s when he looked harder. Levi was no longer present in the king’s senses, but he was looking right at Levi. “that’s new,” Leandro mused.

“It is,” Trey said, understanding what his friend was mentioning. “Where did he learn to do that?”

“Not sure,” Leandro said. “It’s very good for anyone especially a 3-star.”

“Am I missing something,” Kai asked.

“Levi has hidden his aura,” Leandro said.

“What, how?” Kai asked in surprise.

“We are unsure.”

The elf leader looked up and saw smoke rising from Levi’s side. He laughed. How obvious could this human be with all of his dumb moves? The smoke after Levi dodged the arrows to give away his location was terrible. Not wanting to push further he retreated back to the rest of his team when he heard some rustling in the distance. Turning to look, he saw a beast head never seen before. It looked like a big cat made completely out of metal, it was snarling, and it was coming towards him. He wheeled his mount around and went back toward his hiding spot as fast as he could. He turned around. The one monster that glowed blue had stopped chasing him, but the smaller ones still followed.

Getting closer to the site, the hiding elves sent arrows flying past their leader and lodging into the heads of the beasts, effectively killing them.

“Good shots; there is some kind of smoke in the distance,” the leader said. “Do we have enough mana to send another swarm of arrows? The smoke will act as a decoy?” The team all agreed that they do. “Good, after that Maurice and Monika go scout and report what the smoke it.” The elves all readied their bows, shot them into the sky and watched as they multiplied once again. As soon as that happened two smaller elves shot off with great speed into the forest.

Levi had walked into the forest fire slowly and carefully. Vapor had created a nice solid sphere of mist to protect him from any smoke or heat. Levi was now unable to be seen or felt by the viewing rituals. All they saw was that he calmly walked into the fire. Levi got a report from Anza informing him that the drones have been killed by arrows. She can now morph her head to avoid shots from arrows. All drones that he releases would have the same effect.

Levi’s senses picked up two figures approaching fast. He pulled out his staff and conjured two orbs of chaos and sent them flying toward the figures. Levi didn’t see what had happened directly, but he saw two elves in shield spheres get lifted into the air and flown toward their entrance. They were eliminated from the battle. Levi suspected that is what would happen if there was a direct kill.

“Anza are you aware of where they are?” Levi asked. Anza replied with an affirmation. “Don’t want to linger too long and show all of my abilities, now do I?” Anza agreed. Levi conjured a drone and rushed toward Anza on its back. When it reached where Anza was, she was standing alert in her full size. Several tentacles pointed in the direction of the rest of the elves who were hiding. Levi saw trap rituals get eaten by his two creatures he summoned. Held out his hands and conjured the void swarm. Five small black holes formed around Levi.

The swirling grew faster and faster and took off into the air. A rift appeared in the middle of the orbiting black holes and beams from what looked like the northern lights rained down on the area where the elves were. In short order Levi saw three more spheres with elves in them rise to the sky and fly toward their entrance. Levi sent Anza to find and eliminate the last one. While she did that, Levi drew a ritual circle to restore his mana. He called his other familiars who were out back to fuse.

The elves were on guard when they saw their teammates fly past them in the spheres, knowing that they were knocked out to the competition.

“Cindred,” an elf said to the leader. “Did it look like they had any damage?”

“No,” Cindred responded. “It did not.”

“We are 2-star how can that happen so quickly?” the elf asked.

“I don’t know,” Cindred said. “Perhaps we underestimated our- what the hell is that?” Cindred said looking up in the sky.

“Boss,” another elf said. “My traps have been disabled.”

“Is that even possible?” Cindred asked.

“Mine too,” another elf added.

“What the hell is this guy,” Cindred muttered under his breath. Cindred felt the mana rising in whatever thing was in the sky. It looked like someone had opened a rift in the side of the universe and let in a beam from the cosmos. He didn’t wait for it to rain down on him and he bolted toward the smoke once again. He turned around to see the rest of his team fly into spheres and get taken out of the arena.

Cindred felt like he was being chased. He didn’t look back but saw that Levi was just standing in a ritual circle. He drew his bow and fired an arrow. The second that he did his unicorn was destroyed by something. The arrow went flying straight into the sky as his aim was thrown off. Tumbling on the ground, Cindred got up and looked around at what hit his conjured mount. He couldn’t see anything, finally he sensed some movement. It was another one of those metal freaks. He spat and sent arrow after arrow in rapid-fire towards the metal beast.

Cindred’s eyes grew wide as the beast's body morphed around every arrow that came close to its body. It was almost as if it had adapted from the time the other smaller versions were killed. Cindred screamed in fury. He was getting outclassed by a lonely summoner, just one. Cindred went to take a step forward, when a tentacle came flying straight for his heart, the second it touched his body a magical sphere formed around him. The tentacle was stopped short then expelled from the bubble sphere.

Cindred breathed a sigh of relief then frustration took over. He had just lost. Not only did he lose, but he was also embarrassed. Cindred only saw Levi once during the entire fight and it was when Levi was recharging his mana in a ritual circle. Cindred put his head down in recognition, they didn’t even stand a chance against this one man, it was extremely lopsided from the start. He was just too arrogant to see it until it was too late.

“Ladies, Gentlemen, and Beings,” the announcer said with slight shock in his voice “the winner by complete team knockout is Levi Winters of the Summoner’s guild! Levi will face against the warrior guild in two battles. Don’t go anywhere you don’t want to miss it!” The crowd had a few cheers but for the most part, everyone was shocked at the total dominance that Levi had just displayed.

“You were right, Karin,” Leandro said. “It was very unfair. They stood zero chance against Levi.”

“How did he do that?” Kai said in shock. He shared a look with his father. Kai was now feeling very fortunate not to have been around when Levi escaped. He thought about what Levi said about the two elves and saw that spell. Kai would have died and died fast.

King Leandro stared at the image of Levi walking slowly back into the locker room with Anza right by his side. This was a different battle; it gave Leandro a new perspective on Levi. The fear of Levi was growing, if not for any other reason than that Levi was a very powerful man who had been horribly mistreated by the Onyx kingdom.