Akin is standing while blood drops from his body. For everyone in the Stadium, it looks impossible that Akin will be able to win this match, except for two people, Tartus and Akin himself.

Akin is confident that he will be able to block the next attack, even though he can't see anything. That is because he remembers a particular day during his training with Tartus.

----------------------------------------

One year ago.

"Let's try it again, Akin. Come at me while dodging my wind blasts." Says Tartus to Akin.

"Right!" Says Akin excitedly.

"And no worries, I will make it dodgeable this time."

Akin starts running towards Tartus.

Tartus points his finger in Akin's direction, throwing a wind blast. The wind attack differs from the one Tartus used against Akin in their first battle. In the first battle, the winds were uncontrollable and devastating. This time it is a concentrated wind blast; it doesn't cause as much damage and runs in a single direction.

After the blast is thrown, Akin thinks.

Right! It can't be that hard to dodge it. The movement of the blast is predictable...

"Huh?"

Suddenly, without Akin able to do anything, the wind blast strikes his leg. The damage is not severe, but Akin falls to the ground.

"What? I couldn't even see it!"

"Is that so?"

"Whatever. Let's try again!"

Akin runs towards Tartus, but the outcome is the same, with Akin falling to the ground.

"Damm! Again!"

Akin keeps repeating the training over and over again, with no success.

"Damm it! It shouldn't be that hard. The wind moves in a single direction. I just have to know which direction. But it's too fast."

Akin continues.

"Let's do it again! If I train it enough, I will see it."

"Stop. You're doing it wrong." Says Tartus, after multiple failed attempts from Akin.

"Huh?"

"No matter what you do, you won't be able to see it. Not at the level you are right now, at least."

"Huh? W-what? Then why are you teaching it to me now?"

"The point of the training is not to improve your reflexes."

"Huh?"

"Improving reflexes at the point of dodging that attack is too hard. You will only be able to do that after experiencing real battles."

Tartus continues.

"The point of the training is for you to stop relying on your eyes. Your reflexes are still too weak. You won't be able to dodge my attacks if you keep trying to see them. You need to do something different."

"Huh? And what is it?"

"To dodge my attacks, you must learn..."

----------------------------------------

Moira runs towards Akin to hit him again. She thinks Akin can't dodge her attack.

Akin smiles, and after hearing the footsteps in his direction, he realizes that an attack is coming. Now he just has to figure out from where it is coming.

Akin thinks.

I guess she is attacking now. I will just have to use aura detection.

Moira gets closer and closer to Akin.

Akin takes a deep breath and thinks.

Alright! I was never able to use aura detection before, but now that's the time. Concentrate, feel the aura. I can do it.

Zack is extremely nervous in the preparation room while watching the battle through the glass wall.

Ian redirects his gaze to Tartus and whispers.

"Tell me, what is the way of Akin dodging it?"

"There are many ways of doing that, but one of them is exploiting the fact that everyone has an amount of aura inside them. Aura is not just about throwing cool powers. It is our spirit, our emotions, it is us, it became us."

"Sure, I know that, but the only way of exploiting this is by knowing... Wait, can he?"

"Huh?"

Ian rapidly redirects his gaze to the glass wall.

Moira lifts her leg and throws a turning kick at Akin, aiming at his head.

"No way!!!" Says Ian.

"Huh? How?" Says Moira, surprised.

"Oh, interesting. Don't you think Igor?" Says Willian to Igor at the V.I.P room.

"Well, it's just aura detection. Maybe it's a big deal for your standards."

Akin stops Moira's kick. He holds her leg and, with all his strength, makes a counterattack punch at Moira's stomach.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Moira is thrown away.

"Huh? What happened? How did he do that?" Whisper the people on the bleachers.

"Yeah!! He did it!!" Shouts Zack.

Some minutes of silence later, Willian starts speaking to the Arena.

"Well, I guess the third fight is over! Moira didn't get up until now, so I guess she can no longer fight. The winner of the third battle is Akin! Tartus' student!"

The Arena is quiet. Many still can not understand what happened.

"Huh? I won, right? Why is everyone so quiet?" Says Akin so that the whole Arena can hear.

Zack runs out of the preparation room in Akin's direction.

"Hey, Akin! You won!"

"Huh? Zack? Where are you?"

"No worries, I will help you get back to your private room. I know you can't see anything."

Zack holds Akin's arm and guides him back to the preparation room and then to his private room. During this whole time, the Arena was in profound silence.

Ian redirects his gaze to Tartus, confused.

"How did you teach him that? That's a hard technique. No one at his age should be able to do it."

"Well, I didn't teach him. Sure, I taught him the principles of it, but he could never do it during our training. That's his first time."

"Huh? How?"

"I guess he just wanted to win it so bad that he somehow did it on the spot. Still, that aura detection is really weak, and it appears that he needs deep concentration to do it. But I guess it's fine for his age."

"He could do it because he wanted to win so bad?"

"Exactly."

Ian gives a smile.

"I see now. So that's why you wanted to train him, right?"

Akin enters his private room with Zack's help.

"Damm, the next battle is probably starting soon. But I still can't see anything!"

"That's fine, Akin. Just lay down and rest until you recover your vision. I will tell everything that happens in the next battle."

"Sure, I guess. I hope my vision comes back quick."

Akin lays down on his bed.

"And pay attention to the battle! I want details later."

"Sure!"

Zack leaves the room, still with a big smile on his face. He has been with that smile since Willian announced Akin's victory.

Zack runs back to his spot close to Tartus.

"So, how is Akin?" Asks Tartus.

"He is fine. He still can't see, though."

"I see. He should get better soon."

In the V.I.P room, Willian waits until the time to announce the next battle.

"Well, nice battle! Aila and Timon were still more impressive, but Akin did not that bad." Says Willian.

Willian continues.

"By the way, Igor, can Aila do aura detection?"

"She doesn't need to. She's already strong enough."

"Sure." Says Willian with a smile.

Willian redirects his gaze to his advisor and whispers to him.

"Is Noah there already?"

"Huh? I-I don't know." Says the advisor nervously.

"Hm?"

Someone knocks on the door of the V.I.P area.

"Enter." Says Willian.

The person who entered is Gale Trovack, one of the three prodigy generals.

"Governors, majesty, and emperor Igor, I'm sorry to interrupt you. I just wanted to say that Noah is here. We came a little late. But my cousin is already in his private room."

"Oh, great! Then, let's start the next battle. Thanks for telling us, Gale." Says Willian.

Gale turns his back and walks to the door again to exit the room.

"Hey, Gale." Says Willian before Gale can leave.

"Yes, majesty"

"Is your cousin strong?"

"He is not that much of a deal. But close to the other contestants, he is strong. I mean, he is a Trovack, after all."

After saying that, Gale Trovack leaves the V.I.P room.

"Alright! Then, I guess everything is ready for the next battle."

Willian starts speaking to the Arena to announce the next fight.

"Now, let's start the last battle of the first round. On one side, we have Kolman Price. He is the only contestant that uses weapons in his fights. He uses knives as his combat weapons."

"Is that allowed?" Asks Zack Ian in the preparation room.

"Yeah, using weapons is allowed. Though it doesn't give you that much of an advantage unless you're a specialist at using them."

Kolman slowly walks to the Arena to start his fight. On his way, Timon holds his shoulder and whispers.

"You have to win this one. You are against a nobody. Don't lose as Moira did."

"No worries, I won't."

Kolman enters the Arena and waits for the next fighter.

"And the other contestant is Noah Trovack!"

After hearing about Noah's surname, the entire Arena gets quiet again. They didn't know a Trovack would be here.

The ones in the preparation room are also surprised.

"What? A Trovack? But I had never heard of this Noah." Says Zack.

The Trovak family is so famous in the Kingdom that all their members are publicly known. But the name Noah was heard from no one in the Arena.

"Do you know him, governor Ian?" Asks Zack.

"Well, the Trovack family says he is too weak compared to the others. Maybe that is why his name is not known like the others from his family."

"I see. Well, if he is weak, I guess the guy with the knives will win."

Though Noah is not a name known by Kolman, just hearing that he is from the Trovack family made him nervous.

"Hey! You can win this match! No worry about this, Kolman! If his family didn't bother making his name publicly, it must be because he is weak." Says Timon to encourage Kolman.

He is right. Actually, this might be my chance. If I beat a Trovack, no matter who it is, my reputation will grow. Thinks Kolman.

Then, someone leaves his private room and walks across the preparation room. This person is wearing a brown hooded cape, and similar to the one Tartus was using, the hoody covers the entirety of this person's face.

The person with the hoody then gets closer to the exit of the preparation room and appears to be entering the Arena.

"So, you are Noah? The Trovack?" Says Timon, who is standing close to the exit.

Noah ignores the question and keeps walking.

"Hey, the one you are facing is a strong guy. You will lose this battle."

Noah stops at the exit and takes off the hoody.

"I'm sure he is." Says Noah. He crosses the exit and goes to his side of the Arena to prepare for the battle.

"Alright, then, since the two contestants are ready, let's start the last round before the semi-finals!"

Noah has a white skin color and short hair. Half of his hair is black, while the other has the color blue. Noah is wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and black pants. He is not tall and neither intimidating.

"Haha! Hey, Trovack! You are weak, aren't you? That is why no one here knows about you!"

Kolman continues to further provocate Noah.

"It must be hard for you, isn't it!? To be from a powerful family and be weak! No worries, I will end you quick here!"

Kolman's provocation can be heard in the preparation room.

"He is trying to destabilize him, right?" Asks Zack to Tartus.

"Yeah, but he shouldn't do that."

"Yeah, I know. This is mean."

"It's not about that."

"Huh?"

"He shouldn't do that because there is no weak Trovack in this world. Being born a Trovack is the same as being born strong, no exception."

"But, Ian said that..."

"I said that the ones in his family consider him weak. That doesn't mean he is weak."

"What? I don't understand."

"His family thinks he is weak compared to the other Trovacks, but as Tartus said, close to the others, he is still strong."

Ian continues.

"Do you know Gale?"

"Yeah, he's one of the three prodigy generals. He is also a Trovack."

"Exactly, he is powerful. But for the Trovack family, he is just average."

"Gale, average?"

Zack redirects his gaze to the glass wall, wanting to see what Noah would do.

After all the provocations from Kolman, Noah remained quiet.

"Anyways, I will get this over with now!"

After saying that, Kolman takes two knives that were on his jacket. And throw them in Noah's direction, but the way the blades approach Noah is very different from a standard throw.

"You realized, right? You can't dodge my throw! The knives are going too fast! With my aura, I can manipulate the wind close to my knives, making them travel much faster than in a normal throw. You can't dodge!"

With incredible speed, the blades get close to Noah, who stays still. In a second, the knives will cross Noah's body and make him lose the battle.

But then...

The knives, instead of hitting Noah, hit the wall. That's because Noah suddenly disappeared.

"Huh? What?"

Kolman slowly turns around and sees Noah behind him at a close distance.

"How did you get here? You were there and..."

"I'm sorry okay?" Says Noah in a low tone.

"Sorry?"

"You are powerful. I think you deserve to become a knight."

Noah continues.

"But you know, I want to win. Actually, I have to win because..."

Noah fastly lifts his leg and throws a powerful front kick at Kolman's head, who can't even blink before the attack. Kolman falls to the ground and cannot even move after this powerful kick.

"Because this is my only way. My only way to get redemption."