Chapter 57: Fifty silver
Thanks DaeshirNecromancer for the golden ticket.
....
Akin nodded. "You trapped him."
Ore smiled. "I’ve been watching him since his first match."
Temi laughed. "You’re becoming scary."
Ore shrugged. "I’ll take that as a compliment."
---
Akin’s quarterfinal was much more violent.
His opponent was a close-combat fighter with a large wooden sword.
The two collided almost immediately.
Akin raised his weapon.
The wooden sword struck.
Akin blocked.
The impact pushed him backward.
The opponent swung again.
Akin ducked.
He struck.
The man blocked.
Akin attacked again.
The man countered.
Akin stepped backward.
Their weapons collided again.
The sound echoed across the arena.
Akin’s opponent was stronger.
Akin knew it.
So he stopped trying to overpower him.
He waited.
Blocked.
Dodged.
Blocked.
Dodged.
Then he found an opening.
Akin slammed his palm against his weapon.
A faint layer of cold spread across it.
Ice crawled along the blade.
The opponent’s eyes widened.
Akin swung.
The frozen edge struck his weapon.
CRACK!
A thin layer of frost spread across the wood.
The opponent pulled back.
Akin stepped forward.
The second strike hit.
More frost.
The third strike shattered the opponent’s weapon.
The man stared at the broken pieces.
Akin pointed his weapon at his chest.
The referee stepped forward.
"Victory!"
Akin smiled."Finally."
Tolu laughed from outside the arena. "That was clean."
Akin walked toward them."Of course."
Temi punched his shoulder.
"Don’t get arrogant."
"I’ve earned it."
---
Then came Temi.
Her opponent was a young man with a metal weapon and a defensive style.
He had clearly studied her earlier fights.
He didn’t rush.
He waited.
Temi walked into the arena.
The crowd began cheering.
She had become one of the more entertaining fighters in the tournament.
The referee raised his hand.
"Begin!"
Temi’s flames appeared.
She rushed.
Her opponent blocked.
The impact pushed him backward.
Temi attacked again.
He blocked.
Again.
Again.
He kept retreating.
Temi’s eyes narrowed.
He’s waiting for something.
She threw a fireball.
He moved aside.
She followed.
He blocked.
Temi attacked from another angle.
He blocked again.
She suddenly stopped.
The man hesitated.
Temi smiled. "Got you."
She slammed her foot against the ground.
A burst of flame exploded outward.
The man jumped backward.
Temi was already there.
Her fist slammed into his chest.
He flew backward.
He landed heavily.
The crowd roared.
The young man struggled to rise.
Temi approached.
Flames danced around her fists.
He raised his weapon.
She struck it.
The metal glowed.
He dropped it.
Temi’s fist stopped inches from his face.
The referee raised his hand.
"Victory!"
Temi stepped back.
Her opponent looked at her.
Then laughed weakly.
"You’re insane."
Temi smiled.
"I’ve heard that before."
---
The four gathered afterward.
They had all advanced.
Tolu looked toward the remaining bracket.
Only a handful of names remained.
His eyes stopped on one.
A name that had been appearing repeatedly throughout the tournament.
A name accompanied by murmurs from the spectators.
A genius.
Someone who had barely struggled in any of his matches.
Someone who seemed to be operating at a completely different level from the other Novices.
Tolu swallowed. "That’s probably who I’ll face."
Ore looked at the name. "Probably."
Akin smiled. "Then give him a good fight."
Temi crossed her arms. "Don’t lose too quickly."
Tolu laughed.
"I’ll try."
---
Several rows above them, the young man who had been watching the tournament since the beginning remained seated.
He hadn’t cheered.
He hadn’t shouted.
He hadn’t even moved much.
But his attention had become increasingly focused.
Especially whenever Tolu fought.
Beside him stood an older man dressed neatly in the colors of the Kolade family.
The older man had watched his young master carefully throughout the tournament.
"Sir."
The young man glanced at him.
"Hm?"
"You have been watching that earth cultivator."
"I have."
"Is there something unusual about him?"
The young man smiled faintly.
"His technique isn’t particularly impressive."
The butler waited.
"But?"
The young man leaned back.
"He doesn’t get tired."
The butler looked toward the arena.
The young man continued.
"Look at how much energy he spends."
Tolu had already fought several times.
He had cast multiple spells.
He had defended.
He had moved.
Yet he was still standing.
"Most Novices would need considerable time to recover after a fight like that."
The young man tapped his finger against the armrest.
"He barely seems bothered."
The butler nodded.
"I understand."
The young man smiled.
"Find out who he is."
"Yes, sir."
"And the other three."
"All four?"
"All four."
The butler bowed.
"Yes, sir."
The young man looked back toward the arena.
His expression was carefree again.
But his eyes remained sharp.
"Something about them is interesting."
---
The semifinal brackets were announced.
Tolu’s name appeared.
Then the name of the genius.
The crowd immediately became louder.
People began discussing the match.
Some were already predicting the winner.
Most favored the genius.
Tolu looked at his opponent from across the arena.
The young man looked completely relaxed.
No fear.
No arrogance.
Just confidence.
The referee stepped forward.
"Prepare yourselves."
Tolu raised his hand.
The earth beneath his feet trembled.
His opponent lowered his stance.
The crowd became silent.
"Begin!"
Tolu moved.
His first Earth Spike erupted.
The genius dodged before it had completely formed.
Tolu’s eyes widened.
He fired an Earth Shoot.
The projectile missed.
The genius was already moving.
Tolu raised an Earth Wall.
The genius struck it.
The wall shattered.
Tolu stepped backward.
Another wall.
Shattered.
Another.
Shattered.
Tolu’s breathing became heavier.
For the first time in the tournament, he could feel himself being pushed backward from the very beginning.
Still, his energy remained.
He could keep going.
So he did.
He cast again.
And again.
And again.
The genius kept dismantling his attacks.
Tolu refused to stop.
The fight lasted far longer than anyone expected.
Eventually, however, technique overcame endurance.
A precise strike caught Tolu’s opening.
He was thrown outside the boundary.
The referee raised his hand.
"Victory!"
Tolu lay on the ground for a moment.
Then laughed.
He had lost.
But he had learned something.
There were people in Ilebi who were simply on another level.
He stood.
The crowd applauded.
And among them, the young man from earlier watched quietly.
His interest in Tolu had become something much stronger than curiosity.
---
The tournament ended later that afternoon.
Tolu and his friends received their rewards.
They hadn’t won the grand prize.
But they had made it far enough to earn a respectable amount.
More money than they usually saw in weeks.
They stood together outside the tournament grounds.
Akin counted the coins.
Ore stared at them.
Temi smiled.
Tolu looked at the money.
For the first time since arriving in Ilebi, they had enough money to do something other than survive.
They could improve their weapons.
Buy better food.
Purchase proper healing potions.
Train more often.
Save.
Maybe even move somewhere better eventually.
It wasn’t wealth.
Not yet.
But it was the first crack in the wall that had kept them poor.
They just didn’t know that the tournament had given them something far more valuable than the money.
Someone had noticed them.
---
That evening, the young man finally stood.
His butler followed.
The young man stretched lazily. "Let’s go."
"Yes, sir."
They left the arena.
The butler glanced toward him. "Do you intend to meet them?"
"Not yet."
"Why?"
The young man smiled. "I want to know what they’re like when they aren’t fighting."
The butler nodded. "As you wish."
They disappeared into the streets of Ilebi.
And none of the four young adventurers knew that the most important thing they had gained from the tournament had not been the prize money.
It was the attention of Folami of the Kolade family.
A family famous throughout this part of Ilebi for its blacksmiths.
A family whose weapons and armor were used by cultivators far more powerful than any of them.
And a young man who had just begun to wonder what four poor Novices might become if someone finally gave them the opportunity to grow.
The tournament grounds were still buzzing when Tolu and the others finally stepped away from the crowd.
They had won money.
Not enough to change their lives.
But enough to make the four of them feel, for the first time in a while, that perhaps they were finally getting somewhere.
Akin was still counting the coins in his palm.
"Fifty silver."
Temi looked at him.
"You’ve counted that three times."
"I like making sure."
"You’ve counted it three times."
"And?"
Ore laughed.
"Let him enjoy it."
Tolu looked down at the coins.
Thirty silver wasn’t much to the wealthy cultivators of Ilebi.
But to them, it meant food for days.
It meant repairs.
It meant training.
It meant they could actually put some aside instead of watching every coin disappear immediately after earning it.
Akin closed his hand around the coins.
"We should buy better food."
Temi immediately nodded.
"Definitely."
Ore looked at Tolu.
"And medicine."
Tolu sighed.
"You’re both going to spend everything."
"No."
Akin shook his head. "We’ll spend some."
Temi smiled. "And save the rest."
"That’s better."
Tolu looked toward the arena one last time.
He had lost his semifinal.
It still bothered him.
Not because he had expected to win.
But because the fight had shown him how wide the world actually was.
He had thought that after two months of training, he and his friends had become pretty good.
They had.
But there were people their age who were already far beyond them.
And there were cultivators far above those people.
Tolu exhaled.
"We need to train harder."
Akin looked at him.
"After today?"
"Especially after today."
Temi nodded.
"Agreed."
Ore smiled.
"We’re getting stronger."
They started walking home.
None of them noticed the young man watching them from across the street.