Chapter 69: Quarter finals!

When the crowd saw the match lineup, their hearts beat wildly in their chests. Of course, the name that had gotten them riled up like this was none other than the Nyx vs. Wendy match.

"Who are you placing your bet on?" a spectator said at the top of his voice.

Nyx had finished all three of her matches within seconds—five seconds for the first two and just four for the third, more impressive than the previous two. Since they hadn't seen Nox in action yet, the crowd was split on who was the stronger twin and believed the organizers should have given the wild card to Nyx.

"This fight is going to be tough. I don't even know who I would bet my money on," a man said. "Nyx seems to improve with each fight. I wouldn't be surprised if she beats Wendy."

Another scoffed, "Even if you're doubting Wendy, put some respect on the Vermilion Royal Academy... Besides, she's nine years older than Nyx. I say this match won't even last a minute."

"Nathan, what do you think?" Gordon, the druid, asked. He had been spectating the matches ever since he saw Nyx improve with each fight in the tournament; it would be a lie to say he wasn't impressed by her performance. However, now that she was paired up against Wendy, he was having second thoughts.

"It's quite tough, but I'm not worried," Nathan nodded with a confident expression as the match started.

The first match was Nox vs. Rab.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're my commander," Rab said as he took a stance.

"Hmph, don't flatter yourself. You'll lose," Nox stated with a cocky grin.

"Watch me win!" Rab had awakened the Warrior class and had pretty high strength and agility stats. With the additional agility, he exploded forward, closing the gap between him and Nox in a fraction of a second.

Because he was merely a fighter, Rab wanted to close the gap with his opponent, hoping to overwhelm Nox. What he didn't know, however, was that Nox trained mostly with daggers, requiring him to fight in close proximity, which meant he could fight effectively at close range just like warriors.

As he drew closer, Nox didn't flinch or move from his spot. A harmless smile adorned his face, yet for some reason, it made Rab feel a shiver run down his spine. The closer Rab got, the wider the harmless smile slowly grew.

Then Rab noticed something—one of Nox's legs was pulled back. Rab panicked; the speed he was running at was lightning-fast, too fast for him to stop himself. If he got any closer, he would be kicked in the stomach. The only thing he could do was turn his momentum into an attack.

However, just as Rab was about to strike, Nox used Phantom Cloak and immediately turned invisible, stunning both the crowd and Rab.

"Huh, I thought... h-he vanished, but how?" Even the spectators were astonished, standing up from their seats. Before their very eyes, Nox had seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Rab was very confused; he felt as if he had passed through something just now, but he couldn't wrap his head around the feeling. It felt as if a spirit had passed through him.

Just then, he felt a cold hand caress his shiny, bald head. Rab's scalp went numb, and he stiffly turned around. All he saw was a blur as Nox, who had phased through, delivered a swift fist to Rab's stomach, followed by a lightning-fast punch to his jaw.

A loud crack resounded as Rab collapsed to the ground with an incredulous expression. He tried to move his limbs, but he couldn't; the match had ended in two moves, and the crowd rose to their feet, giving a standing ovation.

Nox helped Rab stand on his feet and bowed to the crowd.

"Was that second hit necessary?" Rab complained as he flexed his jaw.

"I thought it looked cool," Nox said as he continued to smile at the spectators.

***

The next fight was between Cole and Drake. Drake was fat with plump, chubby cheeks. He had awakened the Tanker class and held a round shield in his hand. The fight started, and Drake used his shield to bash Cole on the head.

Although Drake appeared chubby, his stats were much more impressive than Cole's, making it easier for him to land the first attack.

"Hmm, I've watched all your fights. That fireball won't save you from my shield," Drake smirked.

Cole felt disoriented for a split second. Drake took advantage of this opportunity and bashed Cole's head again. His tactic was pretty simple: bash Cole's head until he was knocked out.

However, Cole regained his bearings and distanced himself. Then he started to spam fireballs.

Drake struggled to deflect the barrage of fireballs with his shield. Initially, it had been easy, but when Cole started spamming multiple fireballs at once, it became annoying.

"Why don't you come closer and fight like a man, you twerp!"

"Mages don't fight at close range, you dumb skull," Cole retorted as he stretched out his hand.

"Bring it on!" Drake sneered as he readied his shield, thinking it would be another fireball. But his face soon scrunched up at what he saw the next moment.

A powerful blast of flame erupted from Cole's hand, striking Drake's shield with incredible force.

"Oi oi, the kid's got another trick up his sleeve!" a spectator commented.

"Yeah, but a skill as powerful as that would certainly take a lot of mana points... Skills like this should be reserved for finishing moves," an old Awakened with experienced eyes pointed out.

The spectators hadn't thought much about Cole at the beginning of the tournament, but now they were beginning to take notice of him and thought he was a promising kid.

Meanwhile, Drake stumbled back, his shield arm trembling from the impact. The shield began to glow with an intense light, radiating searing heat. It was so intense that Drake had no choice but to throw away his only source of protection—a big mistake, as he was now exposed. All Cole had to do was spam fireballs to win the fight, advancing to the semifinals.

Finally, the main event of the quarterfinals arrived—the moment the crowd had been waiting for.

***

AN: Power stone and Golden Ticket goal has been hit, so I'm currently owning 3 Chapters which I plan to fufil when I return to the city. But the goal still remain for this week.

100 Golden Tickets = 3 Chapters S~eaʀᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

For every 200 Power Stones +1 Chapter

Castle = 5 Chapters