My Soul card was a Reaper: The Founder's Tale

The grand tournament in Camelot had officially begun, with a sea of eager young contestants, aged 8 to 12, crowding the registration counter, each ready to prove their worth in this rookie tournament.

Rael felt the excitement buzzing through the air, but despite the atmosphere, a knot of unease settled in his stomach. Despite its physical prowess regarding soul energy reserves, at best, he had reached the advanced stage of the 3-star realm. Compared to the others, he was just a mediocre contestant, someone not taken into consideration to have any chances of even top 32.

Beside him, Eon radiated an air of calm confidence. Having maintained the peak-rank-4 stage of her soul energy at the tender age of 8, she stood with the other top contestants, though she still seemed eager to see just how far her brother would go in this tournament. She never aspired to win anything. She only cares about Rael.

As the two lined up to register, a familiar face caught Eon's eye. She turned, spotting Raphael—their eldest brother—approaching the counter with a recommendation letter in hand. He was focused, his expression unreadable. He was also the same as her and many other opponents, maintaining the peak stage of the 4-star soul realm in order to stay in the competition. After all, this competition isn't just for those below 12 years of age but also only for those who haven't reached the 5-star soul realm.

"Eldest Brother!" she called out, her voice carrying over the noise of the crowd. "Raphael!" She shouted when there is no response.

Raphael stopped mid-step and turned around, his piercing gaze meeting theirs. But, instead of the familiar smirk or greeting, his eyes simply flicked over them before he continued on his way without a word. Yes, he blatantly ignored their existence.

"What!" Eon stood frozen for a moment, her hand still raised in the air, but Rael patted her shoulder, breaking her from her brief surprise.

"Forget it," he said, his voice low but comforting. "It's not worth it. Let's just focus on the tournament."

"Yeah. That's right." Eon clenched her jaw but nodded. They were here to compete, not to chase after the boy who never acknowledged them since they were born.

The line of contestants continued to shrink as they signed up for the tournament. It might be a rookie tournament for children between the ages of 8 and 12, but the rules were quite strict.

In order to even qualify for the tournament, every participant had to have a recommendation from a knight who had overseen their awakening ceremony.

A total of 128 competitors had entered the tournament, and the format was a one-on-one knockout battle. So, there is no second chance here. Those who win go forward and those who lose return home.

The Proctor, standing at the center of the battle platform in the heart of the arena, began explaining the rules to the gathered children.

"Okay, seeing that every one of you has arrived, let me brief you about the rules of the competition. Only one's own skill and power can be used. No external weapons or equipment except for re-use skill scrolls, which draw from your own soul energy and also soul energy recovery potions," the Proctor called out. "If you are unable to continue the battle or step outside the platform, you lose. Flight is restricted unless you possess a wind element or an Arcana spirit with flight abilities. And there is no time limit for each fight."

Rael's stomach churned. He had trained relentlessly and was confident that he could defeat most of the kids around him. However, the bet with his dad put enormous pressure on his shoulders.

Soon, the battles started.

"Vorithan, Kaelgor"

"Vorithan is out of bounds. The winner is Kaelgor."

"Elythria, Vanysra."

"Elythria is unable to fight. The winner is Kaelgor.

One after another, the battles went on. Despite the fact that no time limit was announced, they were quite short. In a span of 60 minutes, 7 battles were already finished.

Now for the eighth battle, the Proctor announced. "Next, Azrael Garcia, Nezha."

The Garcia house is pretty much a famous surname in the kingdom, to the point that even those living in the mountains might have heard it once or twice.

Hence, it goes without saying that murmurs began amongst the contestants as well as the spectators in the stands as Rael stepped onto the platform.

His opponent, Nezha, was a head taller than him. A pale-faced boy with almond-shaped, monolid eyes leaped onto the stage, landing effortlessly in the center with a single, fluid motion.

Rael's ears perked up, listening to the murmurs of the contestants around. "Hmm… so this guy reached the top 16 in the previous edition? He seems to be also at the peak stage of the 4-star soul realm. So, I guess it isn't a surprise." He thought.

Meanwhile, Nezha's eyes gleamed with arrogance as he glared at Rael. "I don't know how a Garcia is so weak," he sneered. "You know, it is a dream of every commoner to beat the hell out of a noble like you. The official competition is the only place I can beat you without facing any repercussions."

Rael clenched his fists, his muscles tense, but his expression remained calm. "Good luck."

With a shot of exploding energy blast into the sky, the battle started.

Nezha made the first move with a swift charge toward Rael without bothering to summon his Arcana spirit.

His powerful fist swung towards Rael, but Rael cleanly dodged at the last second, his movements fluid and precise.

"Wha…" As Nezha stumbled forward from his missed strike, Rael stretched his leg and swept it to the side, attacking Nezha's legs and losing his balance.

As Nezha helplessly fell to the floor with a thud, without missing a beat, Rael followed up with a sharp kick to Nezha's abdomen like a soccer player kicked the ball.

The crowd gasped as Nezha flew out of the arena, unconscious. Rael stood at the same spot, his chest heaving with controlled breaths as the Proctor became stunned for a moment before making the announcement.

"Nezha is out of bounds. The winner is Azrael Garcia!"

A murmur rippled through the gathered contestants and, likewise the spectators. An advanced stage 3-star soul realm kid won against a peak stage 4-star soul realm Arcana Master.

Nezha had been a strong contender in previous years. To see him taken out so quickly by an 8-year-old kid, nonetheless, was something no one expected to happen.

Rael's name was momentarily etched into the contestant's minds, terming him as someone worth watching out for. On the other hand, there are some with stereotypical views of the wealthy. This set of kids thought that Rael probably fixed the match by buying off his opponent. Some people, alas, refuse to admit that Rael had more talent than themselves.

The tournament continued, with Rael steadily knocking out his opponents with one-punch victories, each more effortless than the last. His enhanced physical strength and precise combat skills were enough to overwhelm any opponent who was not as fast or experienced. With each win, the whispers about the quiet Garcia boy grew louder. He reached the top 8 with ease.

Meanwhile, Eon fought with her usual flair. Her style of fighting was different from her brother's. She didn't bother with brute strength.

Instead, she froze time with her time-manipulation abilities and struck with deadly precision with rapid kicks and punches. Her opponents had no chance of even reacting until they were down.

As for the eldest triplet—Raphael, it goes without saying that he was the most impressive of all. His zodiac beast defeated his opponents with a One-hit knockout. Raphael didn't even lift a finger to reach the quarterfinals.

By Day 2 at noon, the top 8 were decided.