I am Just an Average Tamer

As the announcement echoed, a second stone disc detached from the central ring—this one covered in lush green moss, twisted roots crawling along its edges. Circle Five, known as the Verdant Hollow, was a mimicry of nature: raised stones, thick vines, and waist-high underbrush that obscured vision.

Rashira stood on the platform, pale but resolute. Her green eyes glinted, and behind her fluttered five beasts, partially manifested—among them, her Riverwake Serpent, swirling in spectral blue.

Aria cracked her knuckles beside her. Her Ironfang Panther prowled ahead, tail twitching. Her other two beasts—still unnamed—rumbled with anticipation.

Across from them appeared their opponents—Mira and Dain of House Velmora, a prestigious noble house known for precision and control. Mira was a beast tamer with two floating glass owls around her, while Dain was a whip-wielding tactician who commanded a Wraith Lizard, a creature of stealth and venom.

> "Begin."

---

❖ Scene: The Opening Clash

Mira's owls surged into the air instantly, glowing like miniature moons, projecting waves of sound that disrupted beast focus.

Rashira winced. Her serpent recoiled in the air, eyes blinking rapidly.

> "They're disrupting the bond link!" she gasped.

Aria didn't flinch. "Then we kill the damn owls."

She surged forward, Panther beside her—a blur of shadows and muscle.

Dain cracked his whip—barbed and infused with toxin—sending it coiling toward Aria's feet.

She leapt, flipping mid-air, landing atop one of the raised rocks. Her fingers moved in a blur.

> "Brutus, now!"

One of her unnamed beasts—a Steelhide Gorilla, massive and grey-skinned—charged into the fray, taking the whip strike directly to the chest.

It growled, unharmed.

Dain cursed. "A tank?"

Rashira, steadying her breath, drew her fingers across the air. Magical runes lit up around her.

> "Sura, dive low. Vex, scatter formation."

Her Riverwake Serpent burst into a flickering blur of watery light, slithering low under the brush. The Storm Peeper, another of her beasts—a bird with electric wingtips—darted up to harass the owls.

Mira struggled to control both beasts in the chaos. "Suppress the serpent! Get—!"

But it was too late.

The Riverwake Serpent reared from beneath the moss, jaw wide, and unleashed a high-pressure jet of water that blasted one owl into the rock wall.

The second owl shattered from the Storm Peeper's electric dive.

The sensory field broke. Rashira's connection snapped back—clean and unfiltered.

She breathed again.

> "I've got them now."

---

❖ Scene: The Turning Tide

With the disruption field down, Rashira's coordination surged.

Her final beast, a moss-coated Terrabeast, emerged from the ground itself and lunged for Dain. The ground rumbled beneath him as vines lashed up and snared his boots.

> "Shit!"

Aria, meanwhile, was all aggression.

> "Panther—circle. Brutus, pin."

The gorilla slammed both fists into the ground, cracking the arena floor. Dain rolled backward, barely dodging.

Then came the real blow—Aria herself.

She dropped from above, twin sabers drawn, slashing toward his shoulder.

Clang.

He blocked with the whip's reinforced hilt but staggered. Aria grinned, her eyes wild.

> "You're fast. But not fast enough."

Rashira's Storm Peeper dove again—this time at Mira. Lightning crackled.

Mira screamed and fell, her beast link severed in panic. She slammed a fist into her emergency rune—

> "I YIELD!"

The runes around the circle flared red. Mira disappeared in a blink of light.

Dain was alone.

"Coward!" he roared—but it was useless.

Rashira's Terrabeast dragged him into the dirt, vines choking his limbs.

The Panther landed beside his head, growling.

Aria stood over him.

> "Last chance."

> "...Fine. I yield," Dain spat, bitter.

---

❖ Scene: Circle Five – Victory Declared

> "Circle Five: Victory—Rashira and Aria."

The audience buzzed.

"She's not as fragile as she looks," one noble muttered, watching Rashira collect herself.

"She coordinated five beasts mid-battle under disruption. That's terrifying," said another.

Professor Marell, one of the elder Beast Master instructors, smiled proudly.

> "They underestimated her. Classic mistake."

From the viewing tower, Kai watched it all unfold with silent approval.

Rashira's hands trembled slightly after the fight, but her control had sharpened with each command. The shy girl he once met in the trial's first phase was no more.

And Aria?

Her instincts were lethal.

They weren't just fighters now—they were contenders.

---

❖ Scene: Back at the Holding Platform

Aria let out a sharp breath as she reappeared beside Corrin and Kai.

Rashira appeared a moment later, rubbing her eyes.

Corrin whistled. "That was some damn good teamwork."

Aria shrugged. "Tried and tested. She keeps her beasts in line, I keep the pressure up."

Rashira glanced at Kai. "Did… did we do okay?"

Kai gave a small nod. "Better than okay. You adapted. You didn't freeze. That means more than raw power."

She flushed slightly and nodded.

From overhead, the fourth Circle finished—a brutal draw, both pairs forced to yield from injuries.

That left two final matches—and then the grand pairings for the final showdown.

Circle Six rose higher than the others—a floating disc ringed by shards of crystal, each humming with static charge. It was dubbed the Skyglass Arena, famed for its instability. Lightning surged between spires, and air currents could shift at a whim, controlled by the underlying formation stones.

Sevyr, silver hair dancing in the charged air, stepped into the circle with his usual playful smile.

His cloak billowed as he stretched.

> "So. I get to have fun this time."

Across from him stood Laeron of House Virell, an air-mage prodigy flanked by his partner, a cold-eyed fire conjurer named Kessira. They wore matching violet armor etched with their house's sigil: a coiled serpent ringed by thunderbolts.

> "You're the elf who plays around too much," Laeron said, sneering. "This won't be a joke."

Sevyr winked. "I agree. You're not very funny."

---

❖ Scene: Battle Commences

> "Begin."

The platform thrummed with power as Sevyr raised his staff. Three of his elemental familiars—miniature sentient spirits—spiraled out: Zephyra (wind), Glint (light), and Nix (frost).

Kessira opened with a roaring wall of flame, forcing Sevyr back immediately. Laeron followed with a sweeping gale, aiming to throw him off balance toward an unstable crystal spire.

> "Predictable," Sevyr murmured.

He tapped the platform, his wind spirit pulsing.

> "Zephyra—updraft, counter."

The wind around him surged in reverse, canceling Laeron's blast. He backflipped onto a floating shard, using it as a vantage.

> "Glint—blind them."

His light elemental exploded into a burst of pure white radiance. Kessira covered her eyes, cursing, and Laeron stumbled, momentarily dazed.

Sevyr didn't stop.

> "Nix—bind their feet."

Icy tendrils burst from beneath Kessira and crept around Laeron's ankles, spreading rapidly.

They both retaliated—flames countered the frost, and wind blew away some of the creeping cold.

But Sevyr had moved again.

Now he stood atop a narrow pillar rising from the disc's edge.

His silver eyes narrowed.

> "You came in thinking this would be a clash of brute elements. But I'm an elf, dear friends. I dance with them."

Laeron's next spell was a storm spiral, a coalesced vortex that sought to tear Sevyr from the sky.

Kessira sent a fire lance through its center, a piercing spear that could punch through most shields.

> "Too slow."

Sevyr's body split into three afterimages, weaving through the storm. One was real—the other two illusions conjured by Glint, his light elemental.

The fire lance struck a fake.

The real Sevyr landed beside Kessira.

> "Boo."

She screamed.

He tapped her shoulder—then released a pulse of frost from his palm. Ice crawled up her torso, locking her left side in place.

She dropped her wand, cursing.

> "Laeron—do something!"

Laeron summoned a blade of wind, slicing horizontally.

Sevyr vanished mid-slice, flickering across the field to rejoin his familiars.

He spun his staff once and pointed it skyward.

The crystals around the arena began to hum.

Lightning gathered.

Laeron's eyes widened. "Wait—he's syncing with the arena—?! That's forbidden!"

It wasn't. Not technically.

Sevyr grinned. "You forgot the rules."

A burst of artificial lightning surged from the arena's edge—then redirected by Sevyr's command. It split and twisted, arcing around him like dragons of white fire before slamming into Laeron's barrier.

> CRASH.

The barrier cracked, then shattered.

Laeron dropped to one knee, coughing blood.

Kessira tried to stand—only for Nix to trip her again with a final pulse of frost.

Sevyr approached calmly.

> "Do you yield?"

Laeron hesitated. He glared—noble pride blazing.

Then Sevyr gently flicked a spark toward his face.

It exploded with a loud pop—harmless, but humiliating.

> "I said," Sevyr repeated, "do you yield?"

Laeron growled, face red.

> "...Fine. I yield."

The crowd wasn't just impressed—they were awed.

Many had expected him to be showy but weak. But this? It was surgical, strategic, and elegant.

Even the professors looked impressed.

> "The Silvergrove elves never send unworthy heirs," murmured Headmaster Ilvaron. "He's clearly been taught by one of their old Circle Masters."

Kai, watching from above, smirked faintly.

He'd expected Sevyr to do well, but this was on another level.

Aria raised a brow. "Okay, he's officially flashier than me. I don't like it."

Rashira giggled.

Corrin cracked his knuckles. "Wouldn't wanna fight him in a duel."

Kai didn't comment.

But inside, his mind was already placing Sevyr into the puzzle.

> "If he's this strong… and still hiding tricks… then what the hell is the Academy planning for the finals?"

Kessira bit her tongue and followed suit.