The Villain's Sword Is Sharp

Isaac fought in a very professional manner. He used the Snowshoe Anima to dodge everything without any wasted moves, and his swordsmanship was efficient and not flashy. All in all, he seemed like a fighter with very strong fundamentals but no flair.

Some of the more experienced onlookers in the crowd chattered amongst themselves. Most of them had seen fighters like this before, and they all made predictions on how well Isaac would do. Most bet that he would do well, but then flame out when he met one of the more 'special' or 'creative' fighters who could overcome his efficient and mechanical style.

Of course, Isaac didn't hear their mumblings. Even if he could, he wouldn't have cared. He 'efficiently' and 'mechanically' defeated the 3 opponents in front of him, then made his way back to the stands.

He watched a few more fights, but his was one of the last. Soon the day's fighting was over and everybody headed back home.

Isaac had another good night's sleep, then came back to the Ring of Life and Death the next day. Today was when the tournament started to get much harder. There were only 125 of the original 2500 participants; anybody who reached this stage could become renowned as a strong newcomer, and potentially join a mid-level faction if they caught one's eye today.

You could say this was the cream of the crop for newcomers, but now they would be pitted against each other in brutal combat. Isaac watched the battles intensively. With only 125 people left, it was much easier to pick out the strongest candidates and pick those who might be a future threat.

Soon, it was Isaac's turn. He heard 5 other numbers being called out with his: he hadn't been lucky enough to be put in one of the few fights which only had 5 people.

'It's in luck's nature to be unreliable; that's why I never have and never will count on getting lucky. I already know what to do, so now all I need to do is execute it.'

Isaac walked down to the stage, casting a glance across at the 5 others who'd risen from their seats. All of them were staring at him. When they noticed his gaze, they all looked away. Then they began casting icy glances at each other.

This battle was different to the previous 2: two people would go through, not just one. Most people had already decided to avoid Isaac and compete for the second spot.

They all assembled in the ring. There was a nervous silence. Then,

"Begin!"

Everybody sprang into action. Isaac backed off towards one side of the stage, while the others formed a circle away from him. They gritted their teeth and stared nervously at one another, waiting for somebody to make the first move.

Isaac had a good opportunity to attack one of them from behind, but he decided not to get involved. He stayed to the side and watched the fight develop.

Eventually somebody struck forwards. They immediately faced attacks from the other 4 and were forced to retreat. They were injured slightly and someone else leapt at them to try and eliminate them before they could adjust. Then the other 3 also got involved and the whole thing devolved into a melee Isaac could barely follow.

Out of the flashing mess of used Anima and striking limbs, Isaac saw somebody get pushed out of the ring. Then the remaining 4 backed off and revaluated the situation.

One had an injury running down her forearm, but the other 3 seemed relatively unharmed. All of them were breathing heavily.

They faced off for a tense moment, then one of them suddenly turned around. He dashed towards Isaac as light shone through the gaps of his clenched fist.

Isaac wore a surprised expression and hesitated slightly as if he didn't know what to do. A toothy grin spread across the man's face as he prepared to unleash the light on Isaac.

Unfortunately, the man didn't notice the last of the ring's snow cover Isaac's boots.

Isaac's expression changed as he shot forwards and a sword appeared in his hand. The man couldn't even react as the sword slashed towards his neck.

He pissed himself as the sword approached. He didn't want to die yet. His eyes clamped themselves shut and he counted the moments until his death. Wait... moments? Shouldn't he have died in an instant?

The man tentatively prised one of his eyes open. His pupil flitted left, and then right. There was no sword to be seen. In fact, there wasn't even a swordman. Had he been dreaming? Or was this the afterlife?

He opened both eyes and looked around. He spotted Isaac standing off to the side and his knees went weak. He fell to the floor despite the referee's shouts of, "Get off the stage!"

Meanwhile, Isaac had returned to his spot on the side of the ring. His eyes were half-lidded as if he didn't care what was happening on the other side of the ring, but the orange spirit sword remained in his right hand as a warning to the others.

They'd all been watching the man attack Isaac. They'd seen how he'd been defeated in a second and had to be saved by the instructor. In that moment, they dispelled any thoughts of attacking Isaac.

The fight between the 3 of them resumed, and Isaac watched them all duke it out. In the end, an average-looking man with brown hair, a thin moustache, and a slightly shifty gaze won the fight.

After knocking his final opponent out of the ring, he glanced up at the referee with jubilation and exhaustion in his eyes. Then the referee called Isaac and the man to come over and give their contestant numbers. Once he'd recorded them, he ushered for the pair to leave.

As they walked away from the stage, the man tried to start up a conversation with Isaac. However, Isaac ignored him and walked back to his seat. The man was fuming, but was none of Isaac's concern. He didn't have time to waste on petty little people.

Isaac closely scrutinized the remaining fights. He paid particular attention to Erik, the muscular man who'd ended up in his trial. Isaac and Erik had some minor conflicts during the trials, but they hadn't seen much of each other since then. Isaac only knew that he'd done extraordinarily well in the academy, awakened as a 2nd class talent, then formed a team which included Hayden, whom he'd tried to recruit himself.

Watching the man fight, Isaac immediately saw how he'd made a name for himself in the academy. His fist-fighting style was ruthless and brutal, completely crushing anybody who stood in his way.

Isaac quite admired this straightforward style. It was ruthless and efficient, just like his fighting style, but in a very different way.

Isaac watched carefully as Erik quickly won his fight. A big cheer rose from the crowds as he walked back to the stands.

After that, there were only a couple more fights before today's combat was finished. However, none of the participants left. Their gazes were all drawn by something floating down from the sky. No, it wasn't a thing... it was a person!

As the person drew nearer, everybody could see it was a woman in a white and red-tipped coat. She had a crescent moon badge pinned to the collar of her coat, and everybody recognised her as the elder who'd greeted them at the beginning of the tournament.

She landed in the middle of the stage, but didn't say a word. Everyone watched as the official walked over and handed her a medium-sized box. After taking the box, the elder finally announced,

"To those 48 of you who still remain, congratulations. Those who can make it to this stage of the tournament are typically regarded as the 'elites' of the newcomers; the very best of the young blood which has joined our sect."

She paused for a moment,

"But I do not see it that way. Our sect has thousands of Rank 3 members, let alone Rank 2s, but we have less than 60 Rank 4s. That means, on average, about 3 people from each class of newcomers reach Rank 3 – the rest just disappear into mediocrity. It is not enough to merely reach this stage. For true renown, for true strength, for true future success, you must strive for a higher place beyond this. You cannot be satisfied with reaching the group stage. This is not the end of the tournament."

She looked over at the participants, most of whom had heated expressions. They were ready to fight and earn a brighter future! Of course, some such as Isaac and Erik remained calm. The elder's motivational speech meant nothing to them, since they already knew this. They also knew that somebody could win the tournament but never reach Rank 4, or come last and still reach elder status. Talent was still the most important factor.

However, that was also why the tournament was so important for Isaac. He needed access to the sect's 1-star library where he could access information about awakenings and start devising a way to improve his talent.

His gaze was cold and concentrated as he watched the elder. She reached towards the official's box as she spoke,

"With that said, this marks the end of the tournament's first stage. Now I will be performing the draw for the 2nd stage – the group stage."