Arthur! Youre healed? I thought you were stuck in bed for another day, at least? Cerion asked as I sat down next to him. I had to contain the small groan that threatened to escape my lips as Eris holy power flared up with my movent.
Of course Im healed. Did you think a little holy power could keep down for long?
Cerion looked at incredulously, before bursting out laughing.
I see. I guess I shouldve predicted this. Regardless, Im happy to see youve recovered. I have to admit, you made for a sorry sight after you took Eris attack head-on like that.
Yeah, I know. In hindsight, I shouldve backed off after she started to prepare that attack. I probably could have escaped the worst of it by apparating at the right ti. Instead, I counterattacked in the heat of the mont. I admitted, sighing at my own miscalculation. As a result of my healing skill, I had gotten used to favoring a counter over a block. That ant that when I got pushed into a corner and relied on my instincts, that would be the move I would go for.
Cerion moved to console by offering one of his at-skewers, my favorite street food.
Keep your chin up, Arthur. Second place isnt bad at all. I didnt even make it to the podium. Besides, in a real battle, the result would have been considered a tie, since Eri conked out monts after your unconscious body was revealed.
At that mont, I noticed a large figure appear in the corner of my eye. Gaius ca up to us and sat down. The monk had his hands clasped together in prayer, as per usual. From his smug grin, I could tell what he was here for.
Indeed, mister Arthur. I find myself agreeing with Cerions analysis. That being said, it didnt look like a draw at first sight. Even if Miss Helios had a strange green scar that ate away her flesh and collapsed because of it, compared to the scorched husk that remained of you, it didnt seem so bad. Still, logic tells us that you would have been the first to recover, with or without outside help. The fact that Miss Eri is still recovering right now while you are here proves this point. the monk proclaid, rciful towards my pride.
Youre only sparing Arthurs feelings because you dont want to consider that you lost to the second best of our kingdom, rather than the first. Cerion replied hotly, tired of the monks roundabout way of speaking.
The large fellow coughed in embarrassnt and didnt refute Cerions statent, though the look on his face made him seem like he was being unjustly accused. Cerion refused to let it go and stared at Gaius with his arms crossed. Neither were willing to speak any further on the matter.
I shook my head, amused by their silent argunt and focused on the spectacle in front of .
The final category of the tier 2 tournant was the teams category. Teams of 6 would compete to prove to the country who deserved to be called the most powerful tier 2 party.
Grimacing, I realized that the hot headed Reana was a top contender for this category. She led a party of adventurers that had risen to their current position together. In other words, their teamwork would be impeccable. Apart from Reana, three other seeded classers were participating. Karon and X had ford a team with three other rcenaries, one of which I rembered seeing in the last category. Arcellus had ford a team with five of his goons, though he didnt strike as the type of person to heed his teammates any mind.
Despite all of these seeded classers participating, I was rooting for John, the kind war veteran that I had faced in the last round. John was one of the two teams facing off at this very mont, in fact. He and his team were facing another team that was vaguely familiar to . It had a female archer that shot purple bolts and the fla shaper from the doubles tournant. His clones were fierce fighters and allowed him to control the flow of the battle thus far.
Unfortunately for him, John was no pushover. In fact, he was damn near strong enough to be seeded. Seeing his team be pushed back by the immortal clones, he lifted his halberd to the sky and summoned great winds to lift everyone into the air. From there, he held the advantage, since he was capable of moving around in the air, as well as moving his teammates from a distance.
His opponents, however, had no way to counter Johns control over air and wind. A few minutes later, all of them had been defeated and Johns team moved to the semi-finals, where they would face Karons team.
The next match would be held between Arcellus and a team I didnt recognise. At this point, I was starting to get a little bored, since I had no horse in this race. I let Cerion know that I would wander around a bit and left the stands, heading to the outskirts of the arena.
A few minutes later, I approached one of the many arches that served as open-air windows of the arena. I was on the second floor and could look out over the capital. The weather was pristine today. The sun shone down on the entire capital, causing the roofs of the nearby buildings to glisten. A light breeze wafted through the wide corridors of the arena, cooling down as I sunbathed for a mont.
I enjoyed the peace and quiet for a few minutes. The joy of just doing nothing was sothing I had been missing out on for a long ti. Eventually though, I heard a single set of footsteps as soone approached . I turned to face the newcor, and found Reana staring back at .
Strangely, she stayed silent, as if considering what to say. In the end, I was the first to speak.
Uhm, did you need sothing? I asked. Clearly, she had a match coming up in a few minutes. Now wasnt the ti for her to be talking to .
She seed to catch herself and, to her credit, blushed in embarrassnt when she realized her strange behavior.
Sorry, I I just needed a mont to think. I, uh, I approached you because I wanted to apologize. For what I said, in our fight. It was uncalled for. I just wanted to win, you know
...Right, I get ya. Well, no hard feelings. I have to admit that I did the sa to Eri, anyway. Instead of an apology, why dont you tell where I t you before? For the life of , I cant recognise you. I dont rember much from my childhood either, since my affinity was really wreaking havoc on my mind at the ti. I explained as casually as I could, trying to hide the discomfort I felt when I admitted to my own issues as a child.
Hearing my question, Reana fell quiet and her eyes widened. Her mouth ford an o, as she seed to realize sothing. A mont later, she evaded my eyes and stared down at the ground.
Well, uh, we were friends when we were kids, back in the village. Martha, rember? , you and Ben used to play together all the ti.
Now I rembered Well, I didnt. I rembered that my tier-2 trial had a pig-tailed girl nad Martha in it. I didnt actually rember. Still, I didn't want to admit this to Reana, now Martha.
Right! The pig-tailed girl! Sorry I didnt recognise you at first, haha. Youve changed so much! I said loudly, cringing internally at how forced the laughter sounded.
You do you really rember ?! she asked excitedly, as if she couldnt believe what she was hearing.
Seeing her honest feelings, I felt inadequate. I wasnt her friend, not anymore. Ashad at my previous lie, I decided to speak the truth. I felt that she deserved that much, at least.
Sorry, I dont. I rember your na from my tier-trial, which pushed my childhood into my face. I dont actually rember anything beyond that. Sorry. I said, dousing her spirits. She remained silent for a mont and turned around, looking away for a few monts. Eventually though, she seed to perk up. When she turned back around, she was smiling, though even I could tell that it wasnt genuine.
Thats alright! It's not your fault. I wasnt keeping your situation into account when I called you out before. Therefore, its who should be apologizing. Anyway, I have to go now, my match is starting soon. Sorry again. Bye! she said, before running off into the distance.
I called out after her, more confident than I felt, desperate to maintain so kind of connection. I didnt want to admit to myself that I had lost sothing, even after all this ti.
Hows Ben doing?
Without stopping, she replied.
Fine! Works as a lumberjack back in the village, actually! Anyway, I really have to go now. Euh, bye!
I sighed. Seeing her run off like that made it clear she had no intent of becoming friends again. I wasn't sure if I even wanted that, after what had happened in our match. It wasn't like I had completely forgiven her for what she had said at the ti, I just wasn't interested in letting that resentnt fester. I felt it was better this way. Act like a forgiving fool for five minutes to spare yourself from ever having to deal with her again. If she caused more trouble, it wouldn't be too late to deal with her then.
With this have I cut off my last connection to my past? At least my parents are still around I mumbled to myself, wondering if I should be happy that it was over with or sad that I had lost soone important to along the way, without even realizing it at the ti.
Speaking of my parents, my sibling was due to be born soon. Another month I wouldnt have ti to spectate the rest of the tournant, since I wanted to be ho in ti. After the end of the teams category, I would have to ask after my second place reward, so that I could tie up all the knots left in the capital.
-scene transition-
Over the next few hours, I spectated the rest of the matches listlessly. Though I was happy to see John give Karons team hell, it hadnt been enough to overwhelm them. The addition of X was just too much for Johns team, who were all pretty average by the standards of the tournant. Only John was strong enough to cause an upset, but Xs speed was just too much to handle, especially when Karon entered the fold. As a result, Karons team went to the finals.
Arcellus match against Reana was much less one-sided. I had to admit I was impressed by the average strength of Reanas party mbers. They were all well above average, and their teamwork was, as expected, impeccable. All of them had combo attacks and they instinctively moved from formation to formation to counter Arcellus assault. First, Arcellus goons were taken out one by one. They were decent, but they had no clue how to combat Reanas roots and deal with her team at the sa ti. Eventually, only Arcellus was left. He promptly activated his ultimate skill and burned everything in sight to a crisp, but Reanas mage set up so kind of shield that bought Reana enough ti to summon her treant. From there, they ran out the clock and waited for Arcellus skill to end. When it did, nearly everyone was out of mana, apart from Reana who had held back so far. As a result, Arcellus was overwheld the mont he ran out of mana, winning Reana the match.
The final fight was interesting. Karons teammates proved to be no better than Arcellus and they were quickly decimated. Unfortunately, X didnt sit still and defeated two of Reanas own with his incredible speed. In an attempt to catch a third, Reana retaliated and buried him three feet deep into the arena wall when she threw him with her treant. X didnt recover.
From there, Karon was forced into a one versus three, which led to his loss. His oil was a powerful adhesive and burned like dry wood. However, Reans knight had so kind of fire-resistance, which ant that Karon wasnt ready when he was knocked across the arena. Reana had no trouble closing out the match, which ant that they had won the gold. After a short speech, they were each granted their rewards. A pile of gold, so weapons and trinkets Reana even won a few dungeon-raiding vouchers, which were difficult to get for anybody that wasnt high nobility. Once again, I thanked Helios for having influential family mbers. No one refused free stuff, after all.
Then, the announcer did sothing I didnt expect.
With those brave heroes having received their reward, it is ti we do the sa for the victors of the singles bracket! Both Arthur and Eri Helios have recovered from their wounds enough to receive their just rewards. As a result, their ceremony will take place in a few monts! Please wait while they get ready to take to the stage!
Already? Well, if anything, this would save so ti
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