Viola's laughter was all that could be heard in the room. She could barely stay upright in her seat anymore.
"D-did you guys see that?" she asked while pointing at the screen. On the display, Emil Gluthand was trying to justify himself. He had tried to explain to the crowd why nobles truly were superior. Zeke almost felt bad for him. He could tell that the boy didn't mean to be malicious with his words. This was likely what he had been taught his entire life.
Emil had likely never questioned the teachings of his elders. He seemed shocked that the superiority of nobles was even called into question. He was stumbling over his words as he tried to explain his point of view. However, the crowd was having none of it. The intensity of the protest got louder with every new attempt he made. Finally, he slumped his shoulders and walked away.
"Damn!" Viola exclaimed."There goes another one. I'm so glad I don't have to go up there after you, Zeke."
Zeke's expression turned bashful. He had not intended to turn the crowd against all the other contestants. He liked Edmund and Tanya just fine.
"I didn't know the crowd would get this worked up over it," Zeke defended himself.
Sophia gave him a dubious look. "That's not how Mind Mages operate," she said. "We always have a rough idea of how our words influence the other party. Don't even try to deny it."
Zeke's face turned red upon being seen through like this.
"You are right. I did have the intention of riling up the spectators. I felt like they should know the kind of people they are cheering for. I didn't think it all the way through, however. I had not considered that Edmund and Tanya would also suffer for my actions," he confessed honestly.
"That's curious," Sophia remarked thoughtfully. "I guess that comes from you having mixed affinities. When I consider my words, I instinctively know who my words are going to affect and in what way."
"That sounds horrible," Zeke exclaimed. "Doesn't that take all the fun out of talking to other people?"
Sophia remained silent. She averted her eyes and busied herself with her drink instead. The somewhat awkward atmosphere was alleviated when Jorgel stepped in front of the screen.
"Ladies and gentlemen. I regret to inform you that most other contestants have chosen not to take part in the interview for… personal reasons," the announcer said diplomatically. "The only other contestant that was willing to be interviewed is this young man."
Jorgel stepped away from the screen. A moment later, Leo appeared. He seemed excited to see himself on screen and was waving animatedly at everyone. His appearance was immediately met by loud cheers.
"Wow, you seem to be really popular!" Jorgel commented. "Let's begin with the first question. Do you wish to comment on the words Ezekiel said in his interview earlier?"
"Yes," Leo exclaimed, "Zeke was wrong with what he said!"
The entire atmosphere changed. The crowd was silenced in an instant. Even Sophia and Viola quieted down upon hearing Leo's words. They shot Zeke worried glances. Zeke for his part, had a slight smile on his face. He had expected as much.
Jorgel was intrigued. "Can you elaborate on that?" he asked.
"I am not talking about the nobles. Took the words right out of my mouth when it comes to that. But he was wrong about something else. It is going to be me that stands victorious in the end!" Leo stated with full confidence. His lips had curled into a feral smile, exposing his canines.
The crowd took a moment to catch up with what the boy had said. After a moment of silence, the cheers redoubled. Yells of support could be heard from everywhere. Leo was waving wildly at the crowd again.
"That sounds very promising," Jorgel started. "And how do you feel about your next-"
"I don't wanna talk about anything else," Leo interrupted. "I don't like wasting time on words when it is time to fight. Let's end the interview and get to the good part."
After his words, Leo turned and walked away, leaving Jorgel stunned. The crowd seemed to agree with Leo though. The masses started to chant Leo's slogan.
"TIME TO FIGHT!" they repeated again and again. With nobody left to interview and the crowd fired up, there was nothing else the announcer could do.
"We are a bit ahead of schedule, but fine," Jorgel announced with a sigh. But as he continued speaking, there was a growing sense of anticipation in his voice. "Let us see who is going to stand victorious in the end! Will it be Leo and Ezekiel? Or will it be the noble-born students? Ladies and gentlemen, let's bear witness to this historic event! The first fight of the quarterfinals is going to start in half an hour's time! Contestants, prepare yourselves!"
The atmosphere of the tournament affected everybody. Even Viola and Sophia were getting excited. All of a sudden, Sophia tilted her head as if she had heard something. She got up and left the area. Viola and Zeke exchanged confused glances but shrugged it off a moment later. The girl knew what she was doing.
"You better not lose before the finals, Zeke!" Viola reminded him. "That would be such a disappointment."
"I won't," Zeke stated calmly, "especially not against somebody like Roland."
"That's right. You'll save that part for when you are fighting me," a new voice chimed in.
Zeke looked over and saw Sophia had returned with an enthusiastic Leo following behind. He was looking around the luxurious area with wide eyes.
"So this is where you have been spending your time?" Leo said while still taking in the room, "I had no idea you lived in such luxury. Being a noble comes with a lot of benefits it seems."
Zeke scoffed at the accusation, "If you think my place is anywhere near as nice as this then you are sorely mistaken. Maximilian's house might as well be a dump compared to this."
Sophia sat back down and motioned for Leo to take a seat as well. Leo didn't hesitate either and took one of the armchairs. Zeke remembered his own reaction when he had first sat in one of them and waited for Leo's reaction. He was not disapointed.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Leo moaned. "What is this sensation? Is this cushion made of clouds?"
Zeke started chuckling at the expected reaction. He was soon joined by an equally amused Viola. Even Sophia couldn't stifle a short giggle at the boy's dramatic reaction.
Zeke broke the silence first after they had all calmed down. "You are going to be up in the next fight. Shouldn't you get ready?" he asked.
Leo just waved him off while melting even deeper into the armchair. "Don't worry about me. I'm already wearing my armor, thanks to that stupid gathering. What more do I need to prepare?"
"Emil is a versatile fighter, don't you need to think up a strategy? What's your approach gonna be like?" Zeke asked.
"Who knows," Leo replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
"What do you mean 'Who knows'? You should know! You are fighting him in about 15 minutes!" Zeke exclaimed.
"I'll know what I'll do when I stand across from him," Leo explained. "This 'planning and strategizing' thing never really worked for me. I'm usually a lot better off just listening to my gut."
Sophia and Zeke exchanged a glance. They both had the same disbelieving look on their face. Viola, on the other hand, nodded sagely at Leo's words as if she completely agreed. She floated over and patted Leo's head while saying, "Good boy! I have a good feeling about you. You are going to go far as a Mage!"
A moment later the ring of a bell chimed. This signal indicated that there were only ten minutes remaining before the next fight. Leo groaned. Reluctantly he got up from his comfortable position. With a last, longing look towards the armchair, he made his way toward the arena.
"Good luck," Zeke called after him. Without turning around, Leo lifted one of his arms to wave them farewell.
"Don't need it," he called back in a lighthearted tone.
Zeke couldn't suppress a smile at his friend's easygoing attitude. The three relocated onto the balcony, eagerly awaiting the coming fight. A short while later Jorgel announced the two fighters. Emil and Leo stepped into the arena at the same time. They both looked confident in their victory.
Zeke had to admit that there were no weak contestants left in this round. He figured that this was the seer's work. The man had paired the opponents so that the weaker contestants would all lose in the first round. He wondered how much a Time Mage could see about the future. Did they know everything that would happen? There must be limitations on such an ability, surely? His train of thought was interrupted when Jorgel announced the start of the fight.
Zeke had been worried about how Leo would perform in this round without any preparation. His worry turned out to be for nothing as the two Mages on stage began their exchange. Leo countered each of Emil's spells with an equal cast of his own. Even though Emil seemed to have a slightly higher fire affinity, Leo's mastery over the basic spells came out on top.
Zeke was astounded by how effortlessly Leo managed to cast the basic fire spells. He had to identify the opponent's spell and still finish his cast at the same time to pull off this strategy. This was not something just anybody could do. It seemed Leo had not wasted his month of preparation either. He must have spent every single day practicing his spells. Without a family to teach him more advanced techniques, this was all he could do, after all.
Two [Fire Lances] clashed in the middle of the arena. The two projectiles detonated and washed the ground in torrents of flames. Emil came to a stop. He must have realized that this sort of exchange wouldn't lead him to victory.
"Not bad, Leo," he yelled over the noise of the arena. "Your grasp over the basic spells is formidable, I'll give you that. It's no wonder the great families are fighting over you."
"Thanks," Leo responded in a laid-back tone.
"But you don't honestly think that this is enough to win against me, do you?" Emil asked.
"If you've got something else to show me, now would be the time," Leo said. His tone made it clear that he didn't take the threat seriously.
Emil gritted his teeth. "Aren't you looking down on my Gluthand family too much? Very well, let's see how you deal with this!" he yelled.
The Fire Mage extended his right arm backward. The way he splayed his fingers made it look like he was ready to scratch Leo. He whipped his arm forward in a clawing motion. At the same time, a giant hand made of flames appeared. The spell mimicked the motion of Emil's hand. It flew towards Leo from the left. Just before it was about to make contact, Emil closed his fist. The giant firey hand again copied the motion.
Leo dodged to the side. He had not been idle either. A pillar of stone blocked the hand's path. The two spells collided. It was immediately clear who would win in this contest. In an explosion of dust, the pillar detonated. It had barely slowed the hand down. Still, it had been enough to allow Leo to get out of the way. The hand continued on its course. It seemed that Emil only had limited control over the trajectory, once the spell was cast.
A huge shadow fell on Leo's new position and he rolled to the side without delay. Five fingers slapped the ground where he had just been standing. The scene was akin to a giant swatting a fly. The hand dissipated upon striking the arena floor. A deep imprint was left on the ground. If Leo had been hit by this attack, the fight would have been over.
Leo's gaze turned solemn. This was a formidable spell and he didn't have a readily available way to counter it. Emil was smirking at him. "Didn't see that coming, did you?" he asked in a sarcastic tone. "This is the reason why so many people join my Gluthand family. There is not a single spell that can match our [Gluthand] at the True Mage level in terms of power!"
"We'll see," was all that Leo said.
"You've gotten the wrong idea, Leo," Emil explained. "You might have been the strongest fighter on the training field, but there is a reason for that. We were meant to only spar with the spells the school taught us. It was about the basics back then. None of us nobles used the spells our families are famous for. Do you think you would have stood a chance against the true elites otherwise?"
"I think," Leo began, "that you talk too much. How about you save the preaching for when you have actually won?"
"Very well," Emil said with a self-assured smile. "Let me demonstrate the difference between the basic spells and the specialty Magic my family has been perfecting for centuries."
Without another word, he started to cast again. Leo remained standing where he was. He didn't seem to do anything. Moments later, two hands approached his position from the left and right. It seemed that Emil intended to crush him like a pesky mosquito. Leo crouched down and put one of his palms on the ground. Just before the hands collided, a pillar sprung up under Leo's feet with immense speed. The spell managed to catapult Leo into the air. The earthen construct was utterly obliterated by the two colliding hands.
Leo was already airborne at this point. The trajectory of his arc brought him on a course toward Emil. He didn't waste any time and started throwing [Fire lances] toward his opponent. He didn't want to give him any time to cast the spell again. Emil seemed flustered for a moment. But before the first projectile could reach him, a firey palm appeared to shield him from damage. It seemed the spell could be used defensively as well.
The glint in Emil's eyes let Leo know that he had miscalculated. He could see a giant fist of flames forming behind the other boy. As Emil threw a punch forward, the fist shot out as well. Leo reacted instantly. He started to cast his [Earthen Armor] and focused on covering his arms. He held them protectively in front of his body as he braced for impact. The spell hit Leo in midair. A nasty crack could be heard as he was sent flying. Leo landed on his feet but was still sent sliding back on the ground. His feet left deep furrows on the arena floor as he tried to arrest his momentum.
After sliding for a couple of meters, he finally came to a standstill. One of his arms was hanging limp. It was clearly broken. Leo looked like he had been hit by a battering ram. His leather armor was still holding up somehow, but many sections were deformed and burnt beyond recognition. His head was lowered, making it impossible to see his expression.
"I told you, didn't I?" Emil said with a smile as he walked toward Leo. "There is no way you can keep up with the true elite."
There was silence in the arena after this declaration. Nobody moved. The people waited with bated breath. The gazes of the entire stadium fixed on the hunched-over form of Leo. It seemed as if Zeke's words had been nothing but hot air after all.
The silence was broken by a low chuckle that quickly turned into a full-on laugh. Leo was done inspecting the damage to his body and armor. He raised his head and looked straight at Emil. He was laughing without abandon. It seemed as if the boy could not even feel his injuries. The feral grin was back on his face. With a voice that had lost none of its former confidence, he responded to Emil's words.
"And didn't I tell you to save your preaching for when you have actually won?"