Aila returns to the preparation room. The next battle will start as soon as all the ice in the Stadium is removed.

Willian redirects his gaze to someone standing in the corner of the V.I.P area. The corner this person is in makes it impossible for anyone outside the room to see him.

"She is powerful, isn't she?" Says Willian.

"Of course she is. She is my daughter, after all."

The person standing is Igor Volkov, father of Aila and emperor of the ice lands.

"Are you going to stand there during the whole tournament? What, are you afraid of the public?"

"I don't see the need to show my image to your citizens. But no worries, when Aila beats all these knight academy students, I will show myself to your people."

''I see"

"King Willian!" Says the king's advisor interrupting the conversation.

"What is it?"

"We have a problem. Noah is not here yet for the next battle."

"Noah? The boy from the Trovack family?"

"Exactly."

"Well, I guess we can't just eliminate here for W.O. That would hurt his family a lot. They are one of my biggest supporters; we can't let them get mad. Even though that boy has a bad reputation in his family, we still can't do that."

Willian stays still for a couple of seconds, thinking.

"Ok, then we will skip his battle! He has until the end of the first round to show up. If he doesn't, we can do nothing about it."

"Damm. They are taking too long to clean the Stadium! C'mon, I wanna see the next battle!" Says Akin.

"What's the next battle?" Asks Zack.

"Noah vs. Kolman. No idea who they are."

"Noah... hmmm. No, I don't think I've heard that name before. By the way, I guess no Trovack will be participating." Says Zack while looking at the battle's paper.

Akin redirects his gaze to Tartus.

"Tartus, what are those ice lands where Aila came from?"

"It stays on the north. It's called ice lands because of the landscape there. It's a desert of ice; because of the bad location, they have to import many products from different nations, making them poor for years."

"So they are poor?"

"They were for many years. But that all ended after the great war of the ice lands."

"Great war of the ice lands?"

"Because they were poor, all lands in that region went to war against each other. They wanted to steal as many resources as possible from the others to survive. In that war, a man triumphed. His name is Igor Volkov, the father from Aila."

"So he defeated everyone?"

"Well, his land did. After winning it, Igor built an empire. Nowadays, all the lands in the ice region are under his control. He also changed the ice lands' situation by investing heavily in the military."

Tartus continues.

"The people from those lands are mighty, so he started investing in the military to make a great army and use it to support whoever pays more."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"The ice lands have no enemies anymore. The economy of those lands is growing now because Igor uses his army as mercenaries. A nation pays him, and he helps; that's his way of making money. Until now, it has been working. Even Erex has used Igor's army sometimes."

"Even Erex... Why would Erex need it? We also have strong knights!"

Tartus sighs.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"You still have a lot to learn about this world. Anyways let's pay attention to the next battle."

Akin redirects his gaze to the glass wall and thinks.

Aila must be the result of this army investment, but why does she want to become a knight for Erex? After the battle, Aila went to her private room without saying anything. She wasn't even happy about winning. She also doesn't care about watching the others fighting.

Willian starts speaking.

"Dear citizens, unfortunately, Noah, one of the competitors, could not get here in time. Therefore we are leaving his battle for last. The next battle will be then Timon vs. Haley."

"I knew someone was missing. Akin, that's good news. Your battle will come sooner now!" Says Zack.

"Yeah, I guess."

Timon and Haley enter the Stadium and prepare for the battle.

Willian starts presenting the fight.

"The next fight will be Timon Hunt vs. Haley Reed!"

Willian continues.

"Both of them are from the knight academy. Haley is known for being really strong at aura attacks. She is strong, but her opponent will be difficult because Timon is the number 1. in the academy! He has the best grades and fight style among all!"

"Then, let the battle begins!"

Haley has long brown hair and white skin color. Timon has black hair that goes until his ears, white skin color, and brown eyes. He is wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and black pants.

Haley starts running closer to Timon to start an attack.

Timon makes a small smile.

"Ok, then, let's start!" Says Timon.

Haley stops running as if she knows what is about to happen. The ground starts shaking, and suddenly multiple iron tentacles get out of the floor. The iron tentacles have sharp tips that could easily pierce someone.

Timon keeps still while the tentacles start moving in Haley's direction.

"With my aura, I can make appear as many iron tentacles as I want from my feet. Those tentacles are glued to my feet, but they have pierced the floor of the Stadium. I can make them grow as much as I want and even control their movements without moving a muscle." Says Timon.

The tentacles, with their sharp tips, attack Haley.

"Luckily, I was prepared for it!"

Haley takes a deep breath and blows. A fireball comes out of her mouth. The fire is so intense that it melts down all the tentacles.

"Wow! Akin, she has the same power that you have!" Says Zack.

"It's similar, but her fireball is stronger than mine. With my current fireball, I would be unable to melt down all those iron tentacles."

"Now the path is clear!" Says Haley.

Haley resumes her run towards Timon. She gets close enough so that her fireball can reach him.

Haley takes a deep breath and is prepared to blow.

Timon makes a small smile.

"Huh?"

Before Haley could do anything, a tentacle pierced her back. She stops the fireball attack because of the pain, and blood starts dropping out of her body.

"What?"

"Did you actually think those were the only tentacles I made? I told you I could create as many as I want, and they move underground. Therefore you can't even know my tentacles' quantity or location."

Timon continues.

"Wait for it. There comes more."

Another tentacle comes and pierces Haley's back again.

"Sorry, I can't let you breathe again. That fireball is dangerous."

Multiple tentacles keep attacking Haley. They pierce her legs, arms, and back.

"Damm it." Says Haley in a low tone.

Unable to hold the pain any longer, Haley falls to the ground and passes out. There is a lot of blood dropping out of her body.

"Lucky for you, I didn't strike any vital points. But I guess now the fight is over."

Willian starts speaking.

"Well, the second battle is over! The winner is Timon!"

"Wow, he is strong too! What did you think, Akin?" Asks Zack.

Akin remains silent and thinks.

Haley's attack is the same as mine but stronger. Still, she lost to Timon.

"Akin?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, he is strong. By the way, now it's my turn, right? Since that Noah is not here yet."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Great! I'm excited!"

Timon returns to the preparation room after winning the fight. He redirects his gaze to Akin.

"Who are you again?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm Akin. I'm a contestant too."

"I see. Well, I know everyone here, except for you and that Noah. You guys must be guests. Either way, if you're not as strong as Aila, you will lose the next battle."

"Hmm?"

"Your opponent is the second-best of the knight academy. There is no way a guest can win. Aila is probably the only exception."

Akin makes a small smile.

"Well, no worries! I intend to defeat Aila too!"

Akin walks and stays closer to the exit of the preparation room to wait for his battle.

He seems confident. Let's see what he can do, thinks Timon.

"King Wilian, may I leave the V.I.P area?" Asks Ian in the V.I.P area.

"Hm? Where are you going? The next battle will start soon."

"I wanted to check the contestants in the preparation room. I want to see how they are doing."

"Sure, you can go."

"Thank you."

Ian slowly walks to the exit and leaves the V.I.P room.

"Well, I guess it's time to announce the next battle." Says Willian after a couple of seconds of silence.

"Dear citizens, the next battle will start now! Now let's receive Moira Perkins and Akin."

Willian continues.

"Moira is the second-best fighter of the knight academy, losing only to Timon. She is facing Akin, who you might know is Tartus' student, his second so far! I don't know what Akin can do, but if Tartus taught him, he must be powerful!"

"What!?, Tartus' student?" Reacts Timon and most of the people on the bleachers that didn't know this information.

"It looks like it's a surprise for most of you. Either way, let's see what Akin can do. Akin and Moira, please enter the Stadium!"

"Tartus' student?" Asks Igor to Willian while Akin and Moira enter the Stadium.

"Yeah, Tartus got a new one. Didn't you know it?"

"Hmm. Why did Tartus want to cooperate with Erex again?"

"I guess he just wanted to get closer to the Kingdom again."

"You're lying."

"Am I?" Says Willian with a smile.

"Whatever, what's the deal with the kid then. What are his powers?"

"I don't know. Let's see."

"You don't know?"

"Yeah, as I said, let's see."

Igor did not seem to care about any of the battles until now. But after hearing that Akin is Tartus' student, he got interested in how the fight will go.

Akin and Moira enter the Stadium.

"So, let the third fight begin!" Says Willian excitedly.