Chapter 61: The tournament begins!
The Elders eventually reached a decision, though it wasn't one made with any great certainty. They still hadn't elected a Tribal Chief, and without someone occupying the position Gre Ka Go had once held, they weren't willing to make any drastic decisions regarding the strange Magnari who had suddenly appeared within their settlement.
For the time being, they would simply be kept separate.
The surviving Magnari were provided with food, shelter, and clothing, allowing their exhausted bodies some time to recover while the Elders attempted to understand who they were and where they had come from. They weren't imprisoned, but neither were they immediately allowed to freely mingle with the rest of the tribe. Until the Elders could determine whether they truly were the divided Magnari from years ago, keeping them isolated seemed like the safest choice.
Communication, however, proved to be far more troublesome than anyone had anticipated.
The language of these Magnari had clearly originated from the same source as their own, yet the similarities had been buried beneath so many years of separation that communicating with one another was surprisingly difficult. Certain words could still be recognized, some meanings could be inferred through gestures, and occasionally an entire sentence would contain something familiar enough for the other side to understand its general meaning.
But that was about it.
The two groups had changed independently for far too long.
What had once been a single language had gradually split into two different branches, leaving both sides with enough similarities to recognize their shared origin but enough differences to make an ordinary conversation feel like trying to piece together a broken memory.
Volcano found the whole thing rather fascinating.
Days passed into weeks.
Weeks passed into months.
And throughout all of it, Volcano continued watching.
He monitored his world whenever he could, occasionally providing a little assistance whenever the Magnari or Silicari encountered difficulties that could be solved without directly interfering with their lives. Sometimes he would spend his Faith Points to create a small opportunity for them, while other times he would simply observe and allow them to figure things out themselves.
That part had gradually become one of his favorite things about being a God.
There was something strangely satisfying about watching his little lifeforms make decisions without him telling them what to do.
They made mistakes, argued, experimented, succeeded, failed, and then learned from those failures before trying again.
Volcano had originally thought of them primarily as a means to increase his Faith Points and improve his ranking among the other Gods, but after spending so much time observing their lives, he had begun finding himself genuinely interested in what they would do next.
He was no longer merely watching numbers increase on his status screen.
He was watching a civilization grow.
And eventually, one of the biggest developments since Gre Ka Go's disappearance finally arrived.
The tournament began.
The Magnari gathered together as warriors stepped forward one after another, each believing that they possessed what it took to replace their First Tribal Chief. The atmosphere surrounding the settlement became noticeably different as the battles began, with excitement, tension, and pride spreading among the gathered Magnari, all of them eager to see who would eventually stand at the top.
Beneath all of that excitement, however, was something more important.
Hope.
The Magnari had been without their Tribal Chief for months, and while the Elders had managed to keep the settlement functioning, everyone understood that things had changed since Gre Ka Go's disappearance. They needed someone to stand above the rest again, someone whose strength could settle disputes and whose authority could bring the tribe together.
To everyone's relief, Gre Ka Chu still hadn't appeared.
She remained inside the Tribal Chief's house.
Still refusing to leave.
Still refusing to participate.
Still seemingly uninterested in everything happening outside.
The Magnari didn't know whether they should be relieved or terrified by that fact.
For now, however, they were simply grateful.
The tournament began with a chaotic brawl.
Dozens of warriors clashed against one another, stone weapons striking against stone weapons as the Magnari fought with considerably more discipline than they would have possessed only a few years earlier. There was still plenty of raw aggression involved, but their attacks weren't simply reckless attempts to overpower one another anymore.
They watched, adapted and exploited openings.
And most importantly, they understood how to use the weapons they had created.
One by one, warriors were eliminated until the field was reduced to eight.
Then four.
Among those four were three of the most recognizable warriors in the settlement.
Gre Ma Go.
Gre Ka So.
Gre So Ner.
And a female warrior named Gre Mi Na.
Gre Mi Na had surprised more than a few Magnari by making it this far. She wasn't considered one of the absolute strongest warriors of the settlement, but she possessed something that had allowed her to survive every battle she had entered.
Patience.
She didn't rush into fights.
Instead, she waited and watched.
And whenever her opponent became careless, she struck.
That had been enough to carry her through the earlier rounds.
But now there was nowhere left to hide.
The four warriors stood opposite one another as the Elders announced the semifinal matches.
Gre Ma Go would fight Gre Ka So.
Gre So Ner would fight Gre Mi Na.
The first battle began.
Gre Ma Go entered the fight carrying his stone-clad spear, the long weapon extending several times farther than the crude daggers many of the Magnari had once relied upon. He had become particularly proficient with it over the past several months, and the weapon suited him perfectly.
Gre Ka So, however, used a short sword and had no intention of allowing the reach of the spear to decide the battle.
The moment the fight began, he charged.
Gre Ma Go thrust the spear forward.
Gre Ka So twisted aside, allowing the stone tip to pass dangerously close to his body before immediately closing the distance.
Gre Ma Go pulled the spear backward and swung the shaft toward him.
The impact forced Gre Ka So to retreat several steps.
The surrounding Magnari roared.
Gre Ma Go didn't pursue recklessly.
He simply adjusted his grip and waited.
That was one of the lessons Gre Ka Go had unintentionally carved into their minds over the years.
Don't attack simply because you can.
Attack because you have an opening.
Gre Ka So eventually rushed him again.
This time, Gre Ma Go changed his stance.
The spear thrust forward.
Gre Ka So attempted to evade it once more, but the moment he moved to the side, Gre Ma Go rotated the weapon in his hands and swept its shaft toward his legs.
Gre Ka So stumbled.
Before he could regain his balance, the spear's blunt side struck his chest and sent him crashing onto his back.
A brief silence followed.
Then the surrounding Magnari erupted.
Gre Ka So attempted to rise, but Gre Ma Go's spear was already positioned against his chest.
The result was clear.
Gre Ma Go had won and just like that, the second semifinal began.