Chapter 84: The Coldest Flame
The stadium was drowned in silence after they had just witnessed the fight in front of them.
The stands were filled with the students from the second and third year, as well as the ones from the first that had already lost their matches and were patched up and sent back.
Now they were sitting all together and bore witness to the first fight in the semi-finals. And none of them could have expected it to be so insane.
Valerian was sitting among the other students; he observed every movement and the smallest mana flow inside the fighting ground. And now he was staring at the two figures in the middle of the colosseum, the two people that had everyone’s attention.
"Bwah!"
Arthur spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the ground red.
His breath was ragged and shallow. A deep gash ran from his right collarbone to the left of his hip.
Blood was flowing out of it in streams; the wound hurt like hell.
But the barrier didn’t activate for him.
The barrier would only activate if he were to die, so even if the wound opened up his chest, as long as it didn’t kill him, the barrier would stay dormant and he would feel all the pain.
Seraphine was in a different situation. She wasn’t injured much besides the wounds that she already had before the last clash, and a soft white light surrounded her body.
The clear indication that she lost, and Arthur would move on to the finals.
"Everyone... Give some applause to our first finalist!! Arthur von Pendragon!!"
The silence was ripped away by the loud cheers of the crowd. Restraint ceased to exist as they celebrated the fight they had just witnessed.
But Arthur ignored them; he was too occupied by the pain he was feeling right now.
’Fuck, it feels worse than just a normal injury.’
The swords Seraphine used obviously weren’t just normal steel, but they were enchanted so that every wound they inflict would slowly worsen until the person would die from just a scratch.
But Arthur didn’t have to writhe in pain for long, as he could feel his flesh knitting back together and his mana refilling.
After every fight, the principal would reverse time on the winner’s body to both refill their mana and heal their bodies so that they are in top condition for their next fight.
After the wound closed, Arthur slowly stood up with shaking legs. The fight against Seraphine was much harder than he initially expected. He saw her status, he knew that she had a lot of affinities, that she was [Loved by Mana], that she was the greatest talent on Eldoria.
And he also read the description of her unique skill, but nothing could prepare him for her intelligence and her ability to plan multiple steps ahead during the fight.
The rune that she had placed on his leg was the perfect example of her ability to think ahead. Even looking back, Arthur couldn’t pinpoint the moment when she placed the rune.
’Maybe when she was in my shadow?’
The final moment when the rune didn’t just suck away the mana in the atmosphere, but also directly out of his core, was still fresh in his mind.
’So enhancing the body with mana activated the core drain... that’s dangerous.’
Arthur looked around at the other students that cheered for him, the other freshmen that all looked up to him, that showered him with praise and awe.
Even the older students either had an expression of respect or were just outright cheering for him.
For the first time in his life, first and second, he felt like he was seen, like he mattered.
His gaze went over all the different faces of the students; it wasn’t just humans that cheered for the human anomaly that beat the elven princess.
Beastmen, Vampires, Dwarves, Elves, Dragons, Orcs, Sirens, and so many more, all of them forgot about the racial differences and just were excited to watch an interesting fight.
And among the crowd of millions of students, there was one area that stuck out. To be more specific, one seat that demanded his attention.
Sitting among the other students, Valerian looked down on Arthur in the colosseum, and everything around them disappeared as their eyes locked.
Arthur would be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit nervous. Maybe Valerian would be angry that he beat and hurt Seraphine pretty badly; after all, even if Valerian wasn’t aware of it himself, Arthur already knew what he felt for her.
So he was scared that his only friend would turn his back on him after the fight, that he would take Seraphine’s side and leave him behind.
But contrary to his belief, instead of the cold eyes he dreaded to see, he was met with an expression he hadn’t seen on Valerian’s face before.
Their friendship had been more on the teasing side, where both would make light fun of each other, knowing that the other one didn’t mean anything they said.
But now there was no teasing face, or maybe a sarcastic remark Valerian wanted to offer.
He looked at Arthur with a face filled with respect.
Respect for having such an amazing fight. Valerian knew that Arthur was ahead of Seraphine stat-wise, but he also knew just how terrifyingly smart Seraphine is.
While others might think that it was bad of Arthur to only barely win against someone of lower rank, he knew just how great the feat was. And he fully respected him for that as a fighter.
And that look of respect meant so much more to Arthur than all the praise the other students could offer him. The person he regarded as the greatest, as the one that is beyond the rules of the world, respected him.
"Everyone, give our finalist one final round of applause!"
Serene was doing her job to hype up the stadium, but Arthur didn’t hear any of it, just enjoying the warm feeling he had in his chest.
His form disappeared from the arena and reappeared in the stands.
The broken floors of the arena began to reconstruct themselves. The places where the stone was melted or completely destroyed, new stone formed out of thin air, and in the span of 10 seconds, the whole arena turned back to normal.
"And with that, we come to the next battle of the semi-finals!! Lucian Frost versus Valerian von Astrea!!"
The two figures appeared on the stage below, standing 20 meters away from each other.
Valerian looked at his opponent.
Short light-blue hair, crystal-clear blue eyes, a tall but lean frame, and a handsome face. Lucian’s whole appearance screamed noble, and he was.
Lucian was the heir of the Grand Duke Frost of the Aldenor Kingdom; his family was known as the House of Glacial Cinder for their unique affinity that was passed down for generations and served as the clear indicator that someone belonged to the Frosts.
’He’s at the very peak of B+; maybe this fight will help him break through.’
Lucian took out his weapon from his spatial ring. It was a spear that was made from pure ice; the cold coming off the spear made the air around him turn frigid.
He looked at Valerian with a cold and calculating expression. He could clearly feel the difference in strength. He wasn’t an overconfident idiot; the waves of mana coming off Valerian’s body felt like a heavy blanket was laid over the surroundings.
Valerian looked at Lucian and his fierce face.
’Let me help you then.’
He took his hands out of his pockets for the first time during the tournament. Something Serene didn’t miss to point out.
"It seems that Valerian von Astrea is getting serious! I wonder what he will show us first!"
Arthur sat high in the stands and looked down on Valerian’s opponent.
’[Analyze]’
[Name: Lucian Frost]
[Age: 16]
[Titles: Heir of House Frost, Bearer of the Frostflame]
[Race: High Human]
[Bloodline: Ancient Glacial Brand]
[Physique: -]
[Core: Rank B+]
[Affinities: Frostfire, Water]
[Attributes]
[Vitality: B+]
[Strength: B+]
[Agility: A-]
[Dexterity: A]
[Intelligence: A]
[Mana: A-]
[Charm: S-]
[Unique Skill]
[-]
’He’s about to break through to A-, and this affinity is weird.’
[Description]
[Affinity: Frostfire]
[Silent, pale flames that carry no warmth. It burns not with heat, but with biting frost, devouring the surrounding warmth like kindling and turning living flesh into brittle ash.]
’That sounds really strong.’
Fire that doesn’t burn, but instead freezes everything it touches. It is the mutated trademark affinity of the Frost duchy. It is an ancient combination of the fire and frost affinity that the founder of the Frost house had and then gave to his descendants.
Down in the arena, Lucian lowered his spear, aiming for Valerian.
Valerian, on the other hand, didn’t take out a weapon or form one with twilight. Instead, a thin layer of ice formed on his palms.
"Everyone! The next match of the semi-finals begins in 10!"
"9!"
"8!"
"7!"
Both lowered their bodies to begin the fight as soon as the timer hits 0.
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"FIGHT!"