Elias knelt beside Bobian Craw, his hands hovering over the wounded man's chest. A soft, warm light emanated from his fingertips, bathing Bobian in its gentle glow. Gradually, Bobian's breathing steadied, and his eyes fluttered open.
[ +10 000 FWP ]
The murmurings of the crowd filled the arena yet again.
Disoriented, Bobian struggled to make sense of his surroundings. His gaze finally settled on Elias, who was leaning over him with a broad, triumphant smile.
A shiver ran down Bobian's spine as fear gripped him. That unsettling smile haunted him, and a troubling thought crossed his mind: 'Did he just heal me, after knocking me unconscious?'
Elias extended a hand to Bobian, his voice firm and unyielding. "Get up and try again," he commanded. "We aren't done yet."
'I still have more FWPs to beat out of you'
Bobian scrambled to his feet, and instinctively created space between them. His mind raced as he began to chant again, and summon the energy for another fire-based spell, the heat building in his palms.
"That's the spirit," Elias remarked, a hint of approval in his tone. He planted his sword into the ground, standing back with a calm, almost casual demeanor as he waited for Bobian to cast.
"The weakness of you Casters, is that you spend too much time casting that anyone faster than you can land attack before your spell is ready...at least for low level Casters like you" He explained
Bobian gathered his strength, channeling a more powerful fire spell this time. With a determined shout, "Blazing Hell", he launched a blazing torrent at Elias
Elias stood his ground, his eyes narrowing as he cast, "[Ward of fire resistance], [Ice shell]", Elias whispered
A transparent barrier materialised, and air around him cooled down immediately as a thick sheet of Ice coated the barrier.
Bobian's spell crashed into Elias dome, Elias' spell absorbed the flames, dissipating their heat harmlessly around him.
"That's cool,"
[+ 78 000 FWP]
Eventually, Bobian's resistance faltered, his will to fight diminishing with each defeat, "No...more...", Bobian said, his voice cracking and his eyes no longer had its earlier confidence.
Alan, observing with a surprised expression as the rest of the crowd, he stepped forward and declared, "E-Elias Ashdown wins this round, the next round will begin shortly,"
With heavy steps and a defeated posture, Bobian was escorted out of the arena, his gaze lowered and his spirit broken, "Monster..." he muttered
"Damn it!" Thane barked, "This, this has to be some kind of trickery. There's no way a farm boy with no magical background should be capable of besting an expert-level mage with such ease. I call foul play" he added, his head steaming with anger and he complained
"Which one of your fighters is up next?" Lady Selene asked the king and the other family heads with a smile
"Haha, what an interesting boy. I will send out my fighter," Lord Varric announced as he laughed heartily.
While the King remained silent, his gaze unmoving from Elias' figure, "Troublesome..." he muttered to himself
"In the end, I was only able to get a few thousand FWP from him." Elias sighed, "Not enough. Bring on the next"
As the next fighter stepped forward to be tested for their mana well, Elias scanned the crowd and his eyes narrowed in frustration.
Even here, among the spectators, he could see collared flares. The sight of them made his blood boil as he remembered the day the flares' hideout had been raided.
He had spent hours afterward, desperately trying to track down Carius and the others, but to no avail.
And even if he did manage to find them, he doubted they would ever trust him again, not after what had happened with Theodore.
'I can't shake this uneasy feeling that Carius is going to pull something here. Even if he does, would I stand in his way, or try to help him?' Elias pondered