-Reesia-

  If you told me before I started my training I would be among the town’s top youth fighters, I would’ve laughed at you. I used to spend my time running because Callia encouraged me. It was a good basic skill, and if an emergency ever happened, being skilled would make a difference. The years I spent with Callia had brought me more and more disconnected from what was the measuring standard for normal. She was far too energetic, and somehow her enthusiasm seemed to inspire me and Nixie. I couldn’t see how Callia was doing in the qualifier rounds because she finished before me in every fight. However, I was an endurance/counter fighter, and Callia was all about speed. I fought a couple rather ordinary kids at most on track to be at best decent guardsmen.

  As we waited for the next rounds to begin, Callia shared her experiences in the earlier rounds, and I couldn’t help but get a bit excited. It turns out none of the decent fighters had been taken out by either of us, so we would be able to watch each other as we fought all the decent fighters who showed up! There was a delay as a crowd assembled around the arena and the prestigious individuals were given time to settle into their raised platform. The final brackets were posted onto a large board for everyone to see, and the head judge called out.

  “Greetings to the esteemed guests of Port Town! I hereby declare the beginning of the warrior apprentice youth competition! Our first competitor will be Reesia, mentee of Sir Turolf the Stalwart, and facing her will be Kalix, mentee of guardsman Olbert.” The crowd erupted in cheers hearing Turolf’s name. However, there was also a decent amount of support for the guard. I walked into the arena and was brought face-to-face against a well-built boy wielding a spear with a sharp look in his eyes.

  “Fight!”

  Kalix held his ground but pointed his spear, ready to ward me off. I raised my shield and braced my stance and began to carefully step towards my opponent. From his stance I could tell his style was similar to Callia’s dad but with an emphasis on precision. Likely he held a skill similar to Callia’s Vital Target and some kind of attack booster like Power Strike or similar variants.

  I adjust my stance to leverage my run speed to break through. I see him begin to sweat and immediately launch my assault. With a couple quick strides, I close the distance. The boy tries sending a thrust toward my leg to disrupt my approach, but I parry the blow with my shield.

  He holds up the spear shaft, blocking my sword swing, but I use the momentum of my charge to force him off balance. He stumbles back to regain his balance while I pounce and wield my shield as a hammer, knocking the boy to his back. He tries to raise his spear from prone to make space, but I deny him closing in and stomp down on the arm controlling his spear. From there I easily point out with my blade and level it against his throat.

  “Match!”

  I sheath my sword and help pull the boy back onto his feet. He seems a bit dazed from the fight, and all around us the crowds cheer. I can’t help but smile, while he didn’t seem too special. It was a good fight, and the boy hadn’t given up easily. I pat him on the shoulder and head off to the competitor bench.

  I watch the fights pass by; there are only two who catch my interest. One is a competitor dressed in black full plate armor with a covered face. He was announced as the honorable son of Viscount Nox. The second is an Earthkin who is the son of the Grandmaster’s personal guard. Both win their matches, and I can only feel pity as Callia instantly wins her fight by shooting an arrow right into her competitor's mouth the moment he tries to taunt her.

  The boy is rushed off for emergency treatment the moment he starts coughing up blood. I shake my head clear of the pity before the next round is called with 5 competitors. Someone will be getting a bye until the next round. The next round begins, and again I’m called up first. This time I am set up against the Earthkin.

  It’s a focus mirror match. We're both heavy endurance-type fighters, but he knows my side path of mobility. I vaguely consider what I know about Earthkin, most of it coming from Callen. Earthkin prize knowledge and craftsmanship. This individual didn’t follow the path of a craftsman, so maybe intelligence is the focus. I vaguely guess at how an intelligence fighter would fight, but the closest I have ever fought to an intelligence fighter is Callen, and his whole strategy is evasion + weird magic tools and tricks. Whatever, I'll just rush him and try to overwhelm him to force out his tricks.

  “Fight,”

  Right as I set my plan, the fight starts. I rush right at my opponent, testing him with a shield bash, but I’m stopped dead by his block. I see the glowing of runes on his shield. Damn, not being an enchantment means that if I want to overpower his runes, I’ll likely exhaust myself. I immediately break contact and make space. The right call, as the moment I get away, the area I was standing in a moment ago lights up from fire, and the shield releases in retaliation from my hit.

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  Judging from the timing, it wasn’t a personal activation, likely the shield reflecting my attack back as fire to conserve the runic life. The Earthkin begins to steadily march towards me, trying to close the distance gradually, but he’s slow and his movements are clumsy. He is lacking practice with footwork. I break out into another run, but this time I’m circling. At first he doesn’t struggle, but as I build speed, I can see him giving up form to maintain his facing.

  All the running has me panting from exertion, but I see my opening, and I charge straight into the Earthkin’s side, forcibly getting between the Earthkin and his shield. We are too close for weapons, so we begin rolling across the ground in a bout of wrestling. However, my size gives me a distinct advantage, and despite his desperate resistance, I eventually pin him.

  “Match!”

  I stumble to my feet panting, but I hold out a hand, helping the Earthkin up. I can tell he is a lot like me when I see the smile on his face.

  “Dinna think i wou' lose a fight! That was a good match!” The Earthkin called, keeping a hold of my hand after I helped him up, and eagerly shook it.

  “I’ve had plenty of experience with fighting against runic tools. Most openings can only be found in exploiting gaps left before preparation.”

  We both go back to the stands, and Callia expresses her regret at not getting to fight him. The next match goes to the noble, and Callia is given the bye. Again I'm called up, and I can't help but think they are avoiding putting Callia into the ring. Then I vaguely remember someone calling a medic early on in every fight of the preparatory matches. Right, that would make sense for her because she's too used to Callen and me, who are too durable for our own good.

  I move back up to the arena. I’ve mostly recovered from my previous match, and my opponent won without difficulty. From the rounds I’ve watched, he is heavily reactionary, a counterattack specialist. It’s also hard to judge his state because his armor completely covers his face except for a pair of eye slits. The mask has only a couple visible holes, and I remember some of Callen's rants when designing my armor. Sufficient airflow is a challenge when limiting facial access, and while someone won't collapse from small air holes, it does make them tire faster.

  My plan is a back-and-forth brawl. His reaction speed and countering skills will make an impact charge a mistake. I need to get close enough to drag out who can outlast.

  “Fight!”

  I slowly close the distance with my shield up and my blade raised level at my side, ready to stab in retaliation. Once in range, I lash out with a testing stab, and just as I predicted, he bats my blade with ease and tries to shield bash me. Our shields collide, but I come out on top; Callen’s runes make him unable to push me back. Again and again we collide, strike, counter, bash, and shove; sparks fly out as we both bite into each other. Time and again I push him back step by step, but right as I feel assured, I see his sword glow, and the next strike cuts cleanly through my sword and bites deep into my shield. Desperately I twist my shield to try to disarm him, and just as I force him to give up the sword, his shield nails me square in the face.

  I almost expect the blow to knock me down, but Callen comes through, and the armor holds me in place. My nose was probably broken, but that doesn’t matter. My opponent didn’t expect me to hold my ground on a clean blow without bracing. I use that opening to close again and tackle him. Again we hit the ground in a grapple, but this time the strength advantage is against me, and I’m still reeling in dizziness from his earlier blow. I lose my grip, and he reclaims his sword. I can barely get to my feet before his blade is at my throat.

  “Match!”

  No word is spoken between us as I pass out and flop to the ground. I only vaguely feel it as I’m taken to the medic; it seems I got another concussion.

  -Reginald Nox-

  Panting desperately for air, I pull the helm from my head. Deeply gulping in air as I struggle to recover. That girl had pushed me to the brink, but it was that desperation that finally let me claim the Blade Aura skill. I nearly cut her down, but her reflexes and stalwart defense prevailed. The following struggle was perhaps the closest fight I had ever had. The officials give me some time to recover, and as I stabilize, I can’t help but marvel at what a little outskirt town like this has shown from their knight's heirs. Reesia will undoubtedly ascend to knighthood, and while I hadn’t seen much of Callia, the angered nobles encouraging Father to have me slay her before discovering her standing as a knight’s daughter spoke volumes about her skills. The final match is called

  “What a match, everyone! Reesia fought with such dogged determination, but the honorable Reginald Nox prevailed! Now I have the honor of presenting the finale of our tournament! The righteous son of the honorable Viscount Nox, Reginald Nox, standing against the terror of the qualifier rounds, and the daughter of Sir Marek the Withered, Callia!”

  I place my helmet back on, remembering the arrow that flew straight into the mouth of her first opponent had unnerved a lot of competitors. Across the field I see her clearly brimming with fighting spirit, but I notice she didn’t bring her bow. I take my stance as she lazily twirls a knife in her hands. Speed, kicking, grappling, and some kind of strength-boosting skill—those had been the melee warnings I had heard from the nobles.

  “Fight!”

  Right from the start she’s off like an arrow; she closes in, and I try to ward her off with a Blade Aura slash. She flips over the attack, passing it by with contemptuous ease. I try to block her incoming attack with my shield, but she weaves past my guard like a ghost. My sword is already lashing at her, but it's far too late as her knife swings in. I briefly notice a playful smile on her face as she turns her attack away from the match point, instead choosing to parry my sword from the hilt, both avoiding the aura and easily disarming me.

  I try to bash her with my shield, but she just grabs it and uses it as a surface to pull herself over me and lands on my shoulders. I lose my balance falling over, but somehow she easily adjusts her position while standing on me to pin me perfectly. I can barely gasp as a hand holds my head in place and a knife threatens my eye.

  “Match!”

  She gets off me and helps me up and smiles cheerfully.

  “You weren’t half bad! Nowadays only Brother can keep up with me, so it was refreshing to fight someone else! Though you may need to work on your speed, your counterattacks were a bit slow.”

  I don’t really know how to respond, but without a doubt, if Reesia was someone with a promising future, Callia might someday be one of the monsters of humanity.