Chapter 68: I Forfeit

"Nox." The beautiful, petite, light-skinned girl smiled bitterly as she recognized her opponent; it was none other than Nox himself.

"Serana?" Nox blurted out. He had known that entering this tournament would eventually mean facing familiar faces to secure his spot as the Barony's representative, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon. seaʀᴄh thё NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Serana clenched her fist. Like every other kid, she had dreamed of joining the tournament and pummeling the arrogant brats from the Armstrong Duchy. But with this unexpected turn of events, she strongly doubted her chances.

'Why? Why does it have to be him?' she thought, angry at the organizers for pairing her with her best friend, aware that it wasn't a deliberate choice but a random one.

The matches were selected through a random draw, with the names of the participants placed in a large urn and stirred by the Baron himself. The drawing was done before the eyes of everyone, with the participants and spectators watching, so Serana knew it wasn't their fault... her luck was just too shitty.

"You know, my mom doesn't smile at me much, but today she even shed a tear... she was proud of me," Serana said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Nox didn't know what she was trying to do, but he felt a pang of guilt in his heart because, no matter what, he wouldn't step down from this tournament... he needed to smash that Hendrix's face, and to be honest, Serana wouldn't be able to complete the job. Even if he had encountered his sister, he still wouldn't have stepped down.

"I'm sorry, I'll make it quick." The rule to win a fight was by knockout or submission. An expensive, invisible rune, which had nearly drained the town's reserves, surrounded the arena. This rune ensured no child would lose their life; as long as their head wasn't targeted, the barrier would heal them.

Nox intended to end the fight swiftly and painlessly, but before he could make a move, Serana turned to Hans, the official referee for the round 16 matches, and declared in a clear voice, "I forfeit!"

Her voice cut through the crowd, stunning everyone since it was the first time someone had forfeited a match. Murmurs filled the arena; some ridiculed Serana for giving up without a fight, while others praised her decision. Given her struggles in the previous matches, many doubted her chances against one of the tournament's dark horses.

"That girl right there made the right call. You old geezers are much dumber than you look... if I were in her shoes, I'd have done the same... after all, I don't like feeling pain."

"True, even though the barrier is up, they could still feel pain just like in any real-life situation."

"I... thank you, I guess." Nox scratched his head because he felt so selfish, but sometimes in life, one needed to be selfish to achieve their goal. Nox was simply being pragmatic.

"Hmpf, you better beat that Wendy girl and win this thing. If not, I'll personally beat you up myself." She sneered and walked off the stage. Before she left, though, she glanced at Wendy and made a cutthroat gesture.

Wendy found the little girl's actions quite adorable and even giggled, something that rubbed Serana the wrong way because she had noticed the white-haired girl staring in Nox's direction intensely.

As Serana walked off the stage, Nyx, who was looking at her, wondered if she could do the same if she ever got paired up with Nox... it didn't take long for her to realize the answer... it was a resounding no!

Just like that, with Serana forfeiting the match, Nox advanced to the quarterfinals.

The next person to come up on stage was a kid named Cole. He was one of the few who had impressed the audience. Although he hadn't finished his fight lightning fast like Nyx, it was still impressive... some believed he was one of the underdogs.

Cole was a slim, red-haired kid who was filled with vitality and energy. He was none other than Grandma Percy's biological grandson. Because he had also witnessed what Hendrix had done, a fire had been ignited in his heart to take revenge.

When his name was called, Cole eagerly jumped onto the stage. He had awakened as a mage with a high affinity for flame. Since Nathan was also a fire mage, he had taken Cole under his wing, even teaching him a basic fireball skill obtained from a new level 1 dimensional rift.

With the skill, Cole spammed fireball after fireball, overwhelming his opponent, a swordsman. The swordsman cursed in his heart as he didn't even get to use his sword, which was very annoying.

The round sixteen matches continued unhindered. Nathan, sitting at the officials' desk, wore an anxious expression as he scanned the area. He expected something to happen at any moment; the fact that nothing had yet occurred only made him more worried. He had contacted Eve and Elvin, but both reported that everything was fine on their side.

'I should've finished that bastard that night,' Nathan thought, staring at the ongoing match, his mind elsewhere. 'But who would have thought that man had gotten stronger, and what was with that new fighting style? I can clearly remember that Felix's fighting style wasn't like that... why did it feel as if I was fighting a different person entirely?'

During their clash, the Duke had fought with a mask on his face, so Nathan hadn't seen his face, but since their body shape and height were the same, he could just be overthinking.

'I hope the card managed to throw them off my tail,' Nathan thought and looked at the announcer who called out one of the names the spectators had been itching to hear since the beginning of the tournament.

"Next match: Wendy vs. Tim!"

The crowd began to roar when they heard Wendy's name being called. Because of the hype around her name, everyone was on the edge of their seat.

With a soft smile, Wendy jumped from the spectator seat beside her mother and landed on the fighting platform. Wendy was a swordswoman, and her opponent also happened to be one. When the referee gave the go, both of them dashed at each other, blades clanging and flashing through the air.

As expected, Wendy's opponent was no match for her. She dominated the fight easily, even faster than Nyx. She placed her sword on her opponent's neck, prompting him to concede and walk off the stage with a smile.

He didn't feel discouraged about losing to the prodigy of Vermilion Royal Academy. Round 16 passed in a flash, filled with entertaining fights and dramatic moments. Soon, it was over, and the six winners advanced to the quarterfinals. A random draw was made, and the next fights were determined.

Nox vs. Rab

Cole vs. Drake

Wendy vs. Nyx