"Give me a break."
Passing my hand over my head, and feeling just how smooth it was, I bitterly smiled.
"The effects of the pill are a lot stronger than I originally thought."
For my own sake, I refused to look at myself in the mirror. Wasn't too keen on seeing my appearance, which in the most likely scenario, probably would've reflected the lights coming from the top of the mirror and blinded my eyes.
That aside, I wasn't exactly sure about how much time passed since consuming the pill, however, if I had to make an estimate, I would say that I had been in my room for about a week.
"Ugh."
The stench that was coming out of my body made my nose momentarily close up.
Covering up my nose, I turned my wrist and checked for any new notification.
"Oh, right."
Checking my watch, my eyes lit up as soon I noticed the date. Today was the day of the finals for the tournament.
"I wonder if Kevin managed to get to the finals."
I thought out loud as I stretched my body.
Since I had not moved for about a week, my body was understandably sore.
That aside, I would start questioning life if Kevin didn't make it to the finals. My sacrifice would end up for naught.
"Anyhow, I should probably go see the match now that I'm at it."
Lowering my hand, I glanced around the room and pretended to not see just how messy it was. Then, letting out a small sigh, I headed for the shower.
***
Booom—!
The platform shook and a powerful energy blast spread out throughout the whole platform.
"Kh..."
Skidding back, Kevin's feet came to a halt near the edge of the arena grounds. A faint red hue enshrouded his sword.
'Eighteen...'
He muttered inside of his head as he slowly lifted his head and his eyes soon paused on the figure before him.
With long silver hair gently cascading down his back, and a haughty look to match his presence, Vaalyun glared in Kevin's direction.
"Is this really the best you can do? Were all the words that arrogant human said lies?"
Despite his words, there was heavy solemness in Vaalyun's voice. They had been fighting for over ten minutes, and neither of them had still gotten the upper hand in their exchanges. Their fight was even, and this enraged Vaalyun to no end.
Raising his hand, the mana in the surroundings converged towards his body. Then, twirling his fingers, a small magic circle manifested in front of him as the mana around him twisted into small sharp funnels that levitated around his body.
As soon as the spikes formed, with a simple wave of his hand, Vaalyun directed his attack in Kevin's direction.
"Die!"
Swooosh—!
Like fast projectiles, Vaalyun's attack shot in Kevin's direction at an unbelievable speed. They were so fast that only a select few from the audience below could see the path of his attack.
"Huuuu..."
With his eyes locked onto the attacks, Kevin took a deep breath. A red hue suddenly enshrouded his body, as he raised his sword in the air and slashed down.
'Nineteen...'
With a sound akin to a paper being cut, the moment Kevin slashed his sword, the area around him froze. Following this, much to the audience's shock, Vaalyun's attack once again became visible for everyone to see.
However, what made the audience gasp in surprise was the fact that the attacks were split into equal halves as they diffused in the air.
Once again, their exchange resulted in a tie. Or at least that was how it seemed at first, however, it soon became clear to the audience that Kevin held the upper hand in the exchange as the energy coming from Kevin's attack still persisted for a bit and was only stopped when Vaalyun chanted another spell to block the attack.
Stopping the attack, his body skidded backward before coming to a halt a couple of meters away from the edge of the arena.
Vaalyun's face twisted when he saw this. It had to be noted that the attack he had just used now was not just a simple attack, but one that was filled with everything that he had within him.
He didn't notice it at first, but only now that he was fighting did he notice that Kevin's attacks were becoming stronger and stronger with each slash. It had gotten to the point where he was now at a disadvantage.
His heart tensed when he realized this.
'I need to finish this quickly.' Vaalyun thought.
After the day he had been humiliated in front of everyone, people started to doubt his abilities.
They even went as far as saying that Kevin might have a shot against him.
This enraged Vaalyun to no end. A <B> rank having a shot against him, someone at the pinnacle of the elven younger generation, and a <A-> ranked individual? Preposterous!
Clenching his fists tightly, mana sprung out from his body. His long silver hair flayed wildly the moment he channeled his mana.
Lowering his head and extending both of his hands outwardly, the mana in the surroundings agglomerated in his direction as his <A-> rank pressure bore down on the arena grounds. As the mana gathered towards him, the pressure that he was emitting strengthened even further as a blue ball the size of a basketball materialized in his hands.
All of this happened within seconds, and not long after the ball of energy materialized, Vaalyun closed his hands together and compressed the energy ball.
"Contract."
He cried out inside of his heart as a circular pressurized wind gale spread out from his body as he contracted his hands together. Then, with a low clapping sound, Vaalyun managed to clasp both of his hands together. Once that happened, a smirk appeared on his face.
"...It's over."
Lifting his head and revealing his delicate and handsome features to the spectators, Vaalyun slowly lifted his palm. On it, a blue whisp was writhing slightly. An instant later, it suddenly shot out in Kevin's direction.
Theoretically speaking, because the whisp was so small and so fast, it should've been extremely hard for the spectators to see its course. However, this was no regular whisp. This whisp was filled with extremely cold energy; Therefore, a white trail of ice formed beneath its course.
Normally this wouldn't have been a good thing as it would allow an opponent to see the course of the attack, but in this case, because the attack was so fast, and so powerful, it made such a small flaw negligible.
"Huuu..."
In that split second that the whisp headed in Kevin's direction, Kevin, who had not been standing idly whilst this was happening, raised his sword in the air. The moment he did, a bright red-colored flame suddenly sprung out from his sword, enveloping the area around him.
'Overdrive'
Kevin muttered inside of his heart as the bright-colored flame became even more vibrant and the energy coming out from Kevin's body exploded.
Clenching his teeth together, Kevin ignored the terrifying energy that was starting to become too strong for him to handle. His hands were entirely focused on moving the sword downwards.
Within an instant, his hands started to bleed profusely as he increased the grip of his sword.
'Twenty...'
Kevin muttered inside of his mind as he cried out inside of his heart and slashed out.
Unlike his previous attacks, something different occurred. With a muffled thunder-like roar, as Kevin's sword fell, a violet flame shot out from its tip.
This was no regular flame, as the moment it shot out it carried a terrifying force. Waves of ripples surfaced in the air as Kevin's attack shot in the direction of Vaalun's attack.
The two attacks soon met.
At the moment when the two energies came into contact with each other, the space around the two attacks distorted. Two different kinds of terrifying energy, one being white and the other being bright red, cold and hot, stood off against each other for a moment before suddenly exploding in the air.
Bang—!
The intense energy explosion sound reverberated throughout the surroundings spreading through every corner of Issanor.
It was so loud that even those that were not actively watching the tournament could hear it.
The arena grounds instantly tore into shreds and the spectator's vision blurred as dust and debris flew everywhere.
It wasn't only the spectators that were unable to see the outcome of the match, but even the referee had a hard time seeing who had won as the energy released by the attack of the two individuals was not something he could take lightly.
Following the massive explosion, silence pervaded the surroundings as everyone eagerly waited to see the outcome of the match.
***
Bang—!
"Ah, shit. Looks like I'm late."
Hearing the loud explosion in the distance, I hurried towards the tournament areas. After having taken a shower, I quickly got dressed and put on the mask to hide my face.
Prior to ingesting the pill, I had taken a copy of my face and therefore, if I wanted to, I could look exactly the same as I did before. The only problem was my weakened state.
That one was actually annoying as it meant that I had to stay away from fighting for a while. Well, it wasn't like I was planning to pick a fight with anyone.
Entering the tournament stands, glancing around the place, my eyes soon paused on a few familiar figures in the distance. I immediately headed in their direction.
Upon arriving close to them, I asked.
"Who won?"
"Who are you?"
Jin's brows furrowed as he looked at me. Before he could say anything else, Amanda softly whispered.
"It's Ren."
"Ren?"
Tilting his head, Jin had a sudden look of understanding.
"I didn't recognize you with your mask."
"That's fine."
Waving my hand, I shrugged it off. Couldn't really blame him. The face I was currently using was the face of one of the guards I had killed back at the Monolith.
What I really was surprised by was how Amanda had been able to recognize me. From what I remembered last time, she had almost mistaken me for a someone that was hitting on her, yet, the moment she saw me now, she was able to instantly recognize me.
Just as I was about to ask her how she knew, seemingly being able to read my thoughts, she moved a bit closer and whispered.
"Since that incident, I've memorized the faces of all the humans that were supposed to be present in Issanor. Your face doesn't belong to anyone on the list."
"Ah."
That made sense.
Sounded like a lot of effort. Not that I was one to speak as I had also done the same.
"Hm?"
Blinking my eyes a couple of times, I suddenly noticed something.
Lowering my head, I was surprised to see Emma sitting down in the stands, watching over the match in the distance.
Currently, her eyes were focused on the arena grounds in the distance that was covered by a large dust cloud.
Seeing the worried look on her face, I decided to not say anything and just focused my attention on the arena grounds.
The dust that was enshrouding the arena grounds did not stay for long as it was soon cleared out by the referee who simply waved his hand. At the exact moment when the dust was cleared, silence pervaded the stands as everyone's eyes locked towards the distance.
'...He didn't disappoint.'
With one knee on the ground and supporting his body up with his sword, Kevin appeared in the middle of the arena. Apart from the fact that his clothes were torn and his hair was messy, he didn't look too injured.
The same couldn't be said for Vaalyun, his opponent. Laying down with his eyes closed, his hair scattered all over the ground, and heavy injuries all over his body, it became clear to everyone watching that Vaalyun had lost.
In the midst of the silence that was enshrouding the place, I turned to look at Jin.
"Hey, is that really the guy that kicked us out of the coffee shop? I kind of feel embarrassed now. Also, now that I think about it since you're here, it must mean you have lost. What place did you get?"
Jin's mouth twitched when he heard my words. Before he could say anything else, the crowd erupted into large cheers, and a relieved look appeared on Emma's face.
Turning my attention away from Jin and staring at Kevin's figure in the distance, a soft smile appeared on my face as I thought to myself.
'...Guess I can finally go back home now.'
