I spent the next little while practising with Goldy. In any actual combat situation, I would still be lacking a real way to fight.

While the stronger tether had increased the speed at which he responded to my commands. Any mental orders were still beyond me.

Goldy still needed to develop the skills Terror Wolves were known for. That would make all the difference in the future.

For now, I had to be content with making Goldy be able to bark and bite on command. Anything more, and the wolf got a little confused with the orders. I hoped that would come with time. Since the change, Goldy seemed to have become a lot more intelligent.

After a few hours, I knew it was time to face the arena again. While I had been alone the day before for the most part, the same would not be true today. I would be sitting beside my fellow new Types, on display for everyone in the arena.

I wasn't sure how to face them after what happened the day before.

With Goldy having curled up again in the corner, there was no time like the present to find out.

I would be late enough that most of the morning matches would have already been completed.

The greatest of the clashes wouldn't be until this evening, but even now, there would be a few exciting fights.

Many of the more powerful first-years would get their first chance to shine.

While I had some hope that another first year would be able to take Ivan down a peg, from what I had seen, I didn't think that was likely.

The arena was far fuller today than it had been the day before, which wasn't too much of a surprise now that I knew how the rankings worked.

It was also quite a bit louder, as the crowd was cheering for each of the eight fights that were taking place.

The front row of the first-years section was nearly full, with only a few empty seats littered around. One of which was in the centre of the new Types.

There were quite a few familiar faces in the front row. Every person who had been training the night before was present.

I tried to look around the crowd to see if I could find Violet, but the crowd made that difficult.

The attendant began to lead me towards my seat, but I waved him off and made my way over on my own.

Breathing as much as I could to calm myself. I knew that there would be plenty to distract the crowd with all the fights going on, so the chances of being dragged into an unpleasant conversation too long were low.

That was my only solace as I sat down beside the other new Types, a small greeting coming from each of them. Their focus was more on the fights going on in front of us.

As much as I tried to get involved with the fights, the fact that I didn't know anyone. As well as with everything that had happened over the past day, I found my mind drifting more than I would have liked.

The occasional roar from the crowd was the only thing that broke me from my reverie.

It took quite some time before someone I knew took to the arena. It was also the last person I wanted to see.

I had wondered why I hadn't seen Ivan in the crowd when I first arrived. But it turned out he would be the first of the C-ranked first years to fight.

I didn't recognise his opponent, but she didn't look confident facing him.

Her sword clutched nervously in her hand. The fact that she could manifest a weapon meant she had an edge in reach. But in every other factor, she looked outclassed.

Ivan stepped into the arena with confidence and surety that he would win.

The others around began to perk up as he walked out. They were leaving their whispered conversations around me to pay attention to the fight at hand.

His golden armour attracted a lot of attention as there was a new quiet in the arena that hadn't been there before.

I had yet to see the commanders of the other years take to the stage. They apparently got a by-through in the first few rounds. They were only appearing in the quarter-finals.

That made Ivan the first commander to appear in the ranking battles. He seemed to lavish in the attention as every eye in the arena turned to his fight.

He had a confident smile on his face all the while.

They stood facing each other for a few moments. Ivans's opponent wouldn't meet his eyes. More interested in the ground and the crowd around her than her opponent.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The fight was called to begin, and she was off with a flash. Her Light type speed and her sword were her only advantages in the fight.

Ivan was unperturbed, however, as he dodged back from her wild swing.

His opponent seemed to have little skill with the sword, as her wild swings missed Ivan every time.

Her speed could be lethal in most situations. But the difference wasn't enough to matter compared to Ivan's overwhelming stats.

It seemed he would be putting on a show as he parried a few swings with his arms and easily avoided the rest.

I knew enough from the night before that he could end this fight instantly. Her Light Type armour would have no chance of standing up to his strength.

He continued to dance away from her frenzied attacks, waiting for her to tire. Her endurance wasn't up to the task as the swings went wider and the attacks slowed.

After a particularly wide attack, Ivan decided to take that moment to strike back.

A single punch was enough to end the match, and the exhausted woman was in no state to defend herself.

Sending flying back onto the ground. Her sword attempted to find purchase in the arena floor, but it was no good as she was sent out of bounds.

The reaction to the victory was muted. Most had expected the result. Quite a few of the C-rankers behind me seemed displeased with how Ivan had gone about the fight.

If he could finish it quickly, why hadn't he done so? Some particularly vocal people, who I could only assume were her friends, were not happy at all.

Even then, they only kept it a few shouts and jeers, and the matter quickly blew over. I doubted many wanted to get on the wrong side of the Commander of the year after all.

By the time Ivan returned to the stands, no hint of that displeasure could be seen.

He took his seat at the front of the row beside Emilia. The space that was intended for the number one in the year.

I had thought that it would only be sat in at the end of the three days. I believed Ivan's seat was the other empty seat beside the new Types.

No one seemed to have any complaints about him sitting there, so I wasn't about to. After Ivan's bout, there wasn't much else to see as the day went on.

The first-year C-rankers with similar skill levels were the few interesting fights since the upper-year seedings made most of the fights a foregone conclusion.

The few that managed to bring out skills were even more impressive. There was nothing out of the ordinary. But I did take note of those who gained skills so early. They were most likely the talents of the future.

Another face that I recognised finally appeared in the arena below us. Ryan appeared a lot more menacing than he had the day before. He was towering over the man in front of him.

Ryan's armour fit him well, a towering Heavy Type with a warhammer in his hands. A monstrous weapon that seemed out of place for a C-ranker.

Ryan struck quite the figure. Being the most intimidating person to take the arena of the first years.

I wasn't sure if that translated to skills. After all, nothing had been said of how powerful they were the night before. I didn't even learn which rank they were.

As the fight began, his opponent lumbered over towards him. Another Heavy type, this one manifesting a shield and a short sword.

A much more common Heavy Type combination. Ryan was quick to strike a blow of his own. His massive hammer immediately swung at the smaller man.

I expected their strength to be somewhat equal, after all both of them were C1 rank. I didn't expect their stats to be too far from one another.

As the small man was nearly sent out of bounds immediately, I would have to change my opinion of Ryan. He was far stronger than he had any right to be.

I wasn't the only one, as the people around me began to take notice of the fight. While Sarah and Emilia were still talking among themselves. Both Aaron and Arthur were paying rapt attention to Ryan. Ivan, likewise, was keeping his eye on the massive figure.

The smaller fighter was quick to find his footing. But he didn't have long to react as Ryan had already reached his position.

Ryan did not relent as he continued to harass the man who had taken to hiding behind his shield. He had squared his footing, so the blows weren't moving him too much. His shield, however, was looking mangled. Each blow caused a large dent in the manasteel.

It was only a short time before the shield was little more than a piece of scrap metal. In a last-ditch attack, he tried to throw the shield at Ryan, who avoided it without issues.

It did give him the chance to get out of the unrelenting assault. Without the shield, Ryan's opponent was a little more mobile. Taking to running around the arena rather than facing Ryan straight on.

Ryan had no problem parrying the few blows his opponent attempted. His hammer moved with surprising deftness.

Before his opponent could react, Ryan used the momentum from the parry to strike right into his opponent's body. A move that outside of the arena would surely be fatal. Inside the arena, it merely caused the fight to stop with Ryan as the victor.

Arthur and Aaron had been joking beside me for most of the day. But Ryan's fight seemed to sober them for the next few minutes. Clearly, they weren't expecting such a dominant performance from someone outside of their group.

I did find myself cheering a little for Ryan; after all, I knew him a little, and he had been nice to me the day before.

The shouting from the back of the area also told me where Violet and Georgia were set.

Violet's cheers were somewhat more reserved. But Georgia's seemed to fill the whole stadium. She seemed a very different person from how she had been the day before.

I was glad to know where they were sitting, at the very least. I could try to get on their good side later on in the day.

After making sure I would be able to see them if they tried to leave. I was a lot more relaxed throughout the next few fights.

While I continued to be ignored by those around me, I felt much better about the day ahead. Enjoying the fights a little more as the day went on. Few had the same dominance as Ryan and Ivan. Who many behind him had already decided would be the finals of the first-years. That seemed to annoy some of the others sitting in the front row.

Blaine and Tim appearing on the arena floor at the same time was quick to quiet them down. While they weren't facing each other. They were both equally quick in taking out their opponent.

Ivan and the other new Types were very supportive of their efforts. Standing up and cheering in turn.

The rest of the day followed a similar trend. Ivan fought in a few more bouts. Dominating each person he faced. Making sure that they knew he outclassed them in every way.

Ryan was the only other person who showed such consistent dominance. Even Blaine and Tim struggled a little more with their opponents by the end of the day.

The upper-year fights had also become a lot more interesting. Many more skills were being thrown around, making the fighting far more exciting.

I was genuinely getting into fights by the time the last ones of the day came about.

Two familiar faces were fighting each other. Ryan and Tim would be the last bout of the day. The first fight that had the classmates around me feeling nervous.