BRAND NEW WORLD

The day was turning to evening, and the sky began to lose its light as Al finished his match. Although there were a few fights left, we decided to call it a day. Everyone could feel the sweat sticking to their backs. Therefore, Rima invited everyone to have dinner together and soak in a hot spring to relieve their fatigue and recover their lost stamina.

The next morning, we went to the coliseum together again. On this second day, because the number of participants had been halved, each contestant would only fight twice if they won the first round. In the initial matches, Elise and the others managed to win again. However, in the second match, Elise and Phina faced opponents who were quite strong, forcing them to accept defeat.

Today was also not a lucky day for Kyle; whether by chance or not, he faced Gale, the person who had defeated Al the day before. While everyone else lost in their second fight, Lynn was able to secure a victory and advance to the semi-finals.

The next day, we all went to the coliseum to support Lynn in her match. This time, her opponent was a man carrying two daggers, like a ninja.

As the match began, the man immediately ran forward, throwing several small knives. With her agility, Lynn was able to dodge them. Lynn then retaliated by shooting several arrows at him, but he was just as agile and mobile, easily avoiding her shots.

While dodging, the man dashed toward Lynn and attacked with his daggers. Lynn began to cast a spell. Knowing this…

"I won't let you cast a spell," the man said.

He moved closer and attacked Lynn several times. Lynn tried to dodge while casting her spell. Just as the man was about to kick Lynn, a wall of ice suddenly formed between them, and his kick slammed into the ice wall.

CRACK!

The wall of ice shattered from the impact. However, thanks to this, Lynn was able to jump back and create some distance. Once the distance was sufficient, she fired several arrows at the man. Using both his daggers, he parried each arrow that flew toward him.

What he didn't realize, however, was that while he was busy parrying her arrows, Lynn had already cast another spell. Shortly after, a blue magic circle appeared at his feet, instantly freezing them. Startled, the man let his guard down for a moment. Seizing the opportunity, Lynn shot an arrow enveloped in the wind element, causing it to fly with great speed.

Wind Shot!—Lynn said in her mind.

The wind-cloaked arrow shot forward at high speed, aimed directly at a vital point. The man tried to break free from the ice binding his feet, but the arrow came faster than he expected. Forced to react, he leaned his body to the side to avoid it, but the arrow still managed to graze his left cheek. Once free, he took a few steps back to stabilize himself.

"How dare you wound me," the man said, his eyes glaring. After he spoke, his aura changed.

A killing aura?!

"It seems that man is going to kill Miss Lynn," Lusserina said. Elise and the others grew worried upon seeing this.

In the arena, the man cast a spell and threw more knives at Lynn. What was originally a single knife suddenly multiplied, all heading for her. Seeing this, Lynn's face turned pale with shock. She tried to dodge the multitude of knives coming at her. But because there were too many, a few managed to graze her clothes, revealing her smooth, fair skin.

Busy avoiding the knives, Lynn didn't notice a punch coming from the side.

THUD!

The blow landed squarely on her stomach, sending her flying several meters away.

"Lynn!" Elise and the others cried out.

Lynn coughed up a mouthful of blood as she staggered to her feet. But the man quickly closed in and kicked her in the stomach, sending her rolling several more meters before she stopped. The coliseum fell silent. Only Elise and the others had pale faces.

"This is just too cruel," Elise said, trembling.

Lynn coughed up another mouthful of blood. The man walked toward her with a vicious look on his face. He walked while licking his knife. When he was just one step in front of Lynn, he launched a stabbing attack toward her.

When the knife was just thirty centimeters from Lynn's face, the attack suddenly stopped. Someone was standing there, holding the man's hand.

"That's enough. She can no longer fight," said the newcomer.

It was Gale, the Wind Swordsman. At this sight, a wave of whispers filled the entire coliseum. The man tried to pull his hand free from Gale's grasp, but he couldn't break loose.

"Damn you! How dare you interfere in my business!" the man shouted. But Gale ignored him.

"Miss, are you alright?" Gale asked.

"I... I'm alright," Lynn answered.

"You fought well. It's best to stop now," Gale said.

"..."

Hearing this, Lynn fell silent for a moment. It was surely due to her reluctance to give up, but she could no longer continue the match.

"Alright, I surrender," Lynn said with a disappointed look.

"Referee?" Gale said.

The referee, who was a bit confused by what had happened, finally made a decision.

"The-the winner is..." the announcer said.

After the announcement, Gale released the man's hand.

"Tch!" the man grunted as he left the arena.

Gale helped Lynn to her feet and supported her as she struggled to walk. Seeing this, Elise and the others immediately ran to the back of the arena to meet Lynn. As soon as they saw her in the waiting area, Elise and Phina rushed to hug her.

"Ow!" Lynn cried out.

"Oops, sorry. Lynn, are you okay? Here, let me heal you," Elise and Phina said.

Elise cast a healing spell on Lynn. A white light glowed from Elise's hands, covering Lynn's entire body.

"Yes, I must thank Sir Gale for saving me," Lynn answered, her face pale with a bit of blood at the corner of her mouth.

"Don't worry... and you don't have to call me Sir, just call me Gale," Gale replied.

"Alright, Gale... thank you for before," Lynn said.

"Sir Gale, thank you for saving our friend," said Elise.

"Yes, thank you for saving our best friend," the others added.

"You're welcome... Besides, I was upholding justice, that's all," Gale answered.

After that, the announcer's voice was heard calling Gale's name to return to the arena.

"It seems I have to go. See you again," Gale said. As he was about to leave, our eyes met. Gale looked at me for a moment before nodding his head and walking away.

After a while...

"I'm better now. I'm sorry for troubling all of you," said Lynn.

"What do you mean? You're talking like a stranger," Phina replied.

"Phina's right. We've known each other for a long time and have been together for so long that there shouldn't be any awkwardness between us. Why start now?" said Elise.

"It's just that... no. I'm sorry for disappointing you all," Lynn said again with a gloomy expression.

"What are you talking about? I should be the one saying that," Al added.

"Remember what Miss Luna said yesterday, don't give up just because of one defeat. Use that defeat as a learning opportunity to become better in the future," said Kyle.

"Guys..." Lynn said, her eyes welling up with tears.

Elise and Phina immediately hugged Lynn. In the middle of this touching moment, an announcement was suddenly heard that Gale had won his match again. That meant Gale would face the man Lynn had fought earlier.

After this, we used the remaining time to explore the city, trying out various entertainments at the festival and sampling the food on offer. This was Rima's suggestion. She said it was to treat the emotional wounds Lynn had suffered so that she wouldn't drown in sadness over her defeat. Whether it worked or not, Lynn seemed to enjoy our walk exploring the capital.

[The next day]

Rima and I had to return to the coliseum to watch the final match as honored guests. Lynn and the others also came to watch from the commercial or public stands. Initially, Elise and the others told Lynn to just rest, but Lynn insisted on watching the match between Gale and the man nicknamed "the Twin Daggers."

As the match began, the Twin Daggers immediately started by throwing knives while dashing toward Gale. Seeing this, Gale shifted his body a few times to dodge. Once he was close, the Twin Daggers attacked Gale with a barrage of attacks, but Gale was able to dodge and parry them. When there was an opening, Gale countered by kicking forward toward his chest.

By reflex, the Twin Daggers immediately crossed his arms over his chest, forced to block Gale's kick. His body was pushed back several meters.

Not stopping there, Gale launched a slash of energy toward the Twin Daggers. Surprised, he did a backflip in the air to avoid the attack. While he was in mid-air, Gale suddenly dashed in and unleashed a heavy attack from above. Unable to dodge in the air, the man could only block it with his two daggers.

Clang!

The man was sent hurtling toward the ground after the impact.

CRASH!

The sound of the Twin Daggers' body hitting the ground. He immediately stood up and stabilized himself. Annoyed at being cornered, the man again threw knives at Gale, multiplying them.

Seeing this, Gale just stood still. When the knives were just a few meters away, he swung his sword at the empty air in front of him. The force created a blast of high-pressure wind that blocked all the incoming knives. After the knives were blocked, several of them vanished like illusions, while the real ones fell to the ground.

Then, Gale raised his sword above his head with both hands and unleashed a wind slash at the Twin Daggers. A gash was left on the ground where the wind slash passed. The Twin Daggers couldn't withstand the attack and were sent flying until they crashed into the coliseum wall.

He was instantly knocked unconscious. With this, Gale once again became the champion of the coliseum tournament.