The fight was exciting and the crowd loved it but Soverick was bored quickly. He could already guess who would win. The blue warrior is undoubtedly strong and full of energy but most of his power is being wasted in the fight. He is fast but his opponent is able to weave through the barrage of ax strikes with a calm that is rare for someone with an affinity to fire. Instead, the explosiveness that is expected of their behavior is concentrated within the blade strikes of the red warrior.
"He is playing with him." Soverick shook his head.
There were many occasions where the red-furred warrior could have dispatched the blue one but he held back. It is probably due to caution or a decision to tire out the other. He doubted it is because of ineptness since the red fur warrior has shown impeccable judgment during the fight in disabling attacks with minimal effort. It might be risky but he could slip that blade of his behind the guard of the ax wielder. Still, the red warrior was holding back.
The fight was entertaining to watch even though he already knew the outcome of the fight. The two of them are better warriors than him, but he would still beat them. They weren't fighting with spells at all, which is his forte. He would blow them away with spells.
The trainees might have learned how to use spells but they favor physical weapons more. There are two major reasons for it this preference. While physical fighting requires stamina, and spells require spiritual energy, both of them require concentration. Spell casting and moving the body are very difficult to achieve at this stage.
Concentration is a limited resource that can not be spent on both options at the same, at this stage of refinement. The other reason is casting time. One second is too long to be casting a spell while you're still. Fighters at this stage can move at a top speed upwards of 150m/s. It might take a while for them to accelerate to that point, but their acceleration is enough to dodge whatever you throw at them easily and their momentum is enough to break defenses with a single hit. This disparity isn't the case in all races, but battle sage monkeys have an advantage in physical combat.
Things will change when they become mana entities. At that stage, an individual archives a unification with mana like no other. They breathe in mana and mana flows within their veins. The strength of spells will skyrocket and the casting time can become instantaneous. It becomes a necessity to be familiar with spells at that point.
A lesser reason why they don't focus on both is time and effort. Focus on both spells and physical might will mean less time spent on each for training and honing. Spell crafting requires time and practice to become an expert in the spells, it also needs constant meditation to increase Soul power.
Soverick isn't plagued by these inadequacies. He has enough concentration to move laws, casting spells and moving is nothing but peanuts to him. He doesn't need to practice spells either and his soul power is not lacking. It is the opposite, he is trying to tamp down on his soul to let his body keep up.
The red warrior won just like Soverick suspected. The crowd cheered while some booed. The noise increased to another level as the red-furred warrior held his blade to the neck of the kneeling blue warrior. He had finally beaten the blue warrior. The red waited for his opponent to become tired and sloppy before he went on the attack. His attacks were swift and precise as his defense. He didn't waste time in disabling the arms of his opponent with explosive blade strikes.
They were both panting from the exertion but the blur warrior was visibly weaker than the other. His arms were dangling powerless at his side. They had a deep cut that reached the bone on each of them and blood was leaking uncontrollably. He wasn't in danger of dying but he will be weakened for a while until he heals. The red warrior was panting after that burst of exertion.
"Hmm, seems he has poor stamina so he was waiting for the right time." Soverick finally understood why the red warrior was holding back.
The red warrior spoke. "You have been bested again by me. This is your fifth loss against me. Concede and admit that my bloodline is superior to yours."
Soverick rolled his eyes. "It's a bloodline rivalry. I thought it was something serious."
The blur fur warrior looked like he would swallow his feces rather than admit the inferiority of his bloodline.
He shouted with what little energy he had and said, "Never. I'll never admit such a thing. It is an absurdity and I'll rather die than let such dishonor to my bloodline be allowed."
Other similarly blue-furred battle sage monkeys stood out of the crowd to cheer his bravery. Some red-furred ones also stood up in support of the other. These people don't have the same parents but the bond of their bloodline has brought them closer more than having the same parents could. It has also made them acquire lifetime rivals.
Red fur raised his hand to silence the crowd. Then he said, "How much loss will you receive before you admit your inferiority?"
The blue warrior snorted. "What inferiority? For generations, my bloodline has triumphed over yours. You just got lucky enough to beat me. Your small victory cannot turn the tide in your favor. It only proved that poor people can have their lucky days too."
The red warrior got angry at that, then he kicked the struggling blue warrior in the side of the head, knocking him out. It is one thing to refuse to admit inferiority but to call your superior a lucky poor person is something else. Then the red warrior left the fighting ring and the arena. Some people went to check up on the blue warrior while most others started leaving.
Soverick remained in his seat and watched while people left the arena. There is only one exit and he is hoping to find his siblings by watching it. He should be able to spot them unless they didn't come here to watch the fight. People threw him odd looks as they passed by him. It was probably about his fur but he didn't care about their opinion of him so he maintained his vigil instead.
He spotted Ghaster talking to another battle sage that wasn't Litori. They seem to be arguing about something. Ghaster was so engrossed in it that he didn't notice Soverick. He didn't notice that there was an odd golden fur battle sage monkey with multicolored eyes sitting by the entrance. Soverick reached out with his divine sense and tugged mentally at Ghaster.
Ghaster immediately turned to him. "Eldest, it is a nice surprise. What are you doing here?"
Soverick noticed that Ghaster's body was full of vitality. His cell activity was as high as the time Soverick was trying to form his vitality core. The weird part is that Ghaster already has a vitality core. So all that extra vitality is just sitting around doing nothing. Soverick could already guess what was going on with Ghaster but he ignored it.
"Came to watch the match and hoped to find you," Soverick answered.
The one that Ghaster was arguing with noticed that Ghaster was paying attention to someone else. He also noticed Soverick and he began to examine him. Then he said to Soverick, "Freak, are you related to this loser in any way?"
Soverick's expression didn't change at all and he didn't spare this guy his attention. He could be polite if he wanted to, but he certainly won't be polite to a brat that doesn't know what's good for him.
"Where is Litori?" He asked Ghaster.
Ghaster scratched his head in annoyance before answering. "She is in the training room."
Soverick stood up. "That is good. Are you done here? I was hoping to hear how well you're doing before I become engrossed in training."
"I'm almost done."
The third wheel finally couldn't take it anymore. His breathing increased but he didn't lash out. "I see. You have chosen to ignore me. I must not be worth your attention. I will change that when you reach the fighting proficiency stage. True warriors talk with their fists anyway. Consider it your luck that you missed me if I graduate before you can reach that stage. But if you're so unlucky as to meet me there, then I'll repay this humiliation by many folds. Good day." He said while fuming. Then he left immediately.
Soverick finally spared the guy a glance. "Who is he?" He asked Ghaster as they left the arena too.
Ghaster deliberated before answering. "It's a she. Her name is Viki. I wanted to fight her and was hoping to arrange it."
Soverick coughed. "She's female? Is she the same one that has been beating you or another one?"
Ghaster blushed. "You heard about that huh."
Soverick nodded. "Everyone was talking about it. I heard the fights were sensational."