Natasha gave a shorter break in between contests. The contest would be held in the same field as the target contest. There was also very little preparation, and Natasha felt it was appropriate to get the next contest started as soon as possible. After the break, each participant lined up in front of Natasha and the others.
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“This contest will be a little different than the prior ones,” Natasha explained. “This will be held as a tournament. Each of you will create a knife and cut at your opponent’s knife. The knife that takes the least damage will move on to the next round. Those who lose the first round of the tournament will all be eliminated. We will assign you your opponents now. Once you are assigned, please go to the designated area. The five of us will be walking through the area to judge the results.”
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The group split up to talk with the contestants. There were thirty-two contestants left. Which meant after the knife contest, there would only be sixteen left for the final tournament. Natasha would oversee all the areas, while the rest of the group would split the contestants to oversee. Austin quickly grabbed his eight contestants and directed them to his area.
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Austin was impressed to see the variety of contestants that remained. Many of the people who did not regularly fight were still left in the contest. It was a great example that fighting was not the most important thing for Essence development.
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“We are about to start,” Austin said to his group as they took positions against their respective opponent. “Please prepare yourselves.”
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Each of the groups stood across from their opponents. Bright lights flickered from their hands as they each summoned a knife and readied themselves. Austin watched as the contestants looked eager to strike. They had made it this far, and they knew this was their chance to prove themselves. For many, it would be their last chance.
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“Remember, only strike at your opponent’s knife. Any strike at your opponent will be cause for disqualification,” Austin explained. “The moment you strike, I want you to drop your weapon so I can inspect it. Now go!”
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The moment that Austin started the matches, blades flashed through the air. Ringing resonated through the air as the blades clashed nearly simultaneously. If someone blinked, they would miss the knives swinging through the air. There was a moment of pause before the contestants dropped their weapons. Many of them inspected their blades to get an idea of how their knife held up. Various expressions, from pride to worry, covered their faces as they let their knives drop.
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Austin moved quickly to inspect the weapons. He looked over each knife to look for any possible blemish. Some had minor cracks while some took even closer inspection to get an idea of the damage done to their weapon. As Austin assessed the knives, he pointed his hand towards the victor of each match.
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“With that, we will reorganize for your next match,” Austin explained. “Please know that all your knives were impressive, but there can only be one winner. Do not be discouraged by the result.”
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The next two rounds were just as quick as the first round. After Austin’s last inspection, he grabbed the winner’s hand and presented it in the air. The winner was one of the caretakers of the camp, named Joe. He had well-groomed dark hair and wore glasses. Austin recalled him as spending most of his time practicing both alchemy and enchantment. He was definitely an academic type, but his skills were impressive.
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“Very impressive, Joe. Come with me for the next round,” Austin said.
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“It was nothing really. Essence construction is simple when you understand the mechanics behind it,” Joe explained in a haughty tone.
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“Well, good job,” Austin replied awkwardly. He was not sure how to take Joe’s response. Many people had shown confidence before, but Joe’s tone was as if he looked down on everyone else.
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Austin quietly led Joe to the center of the field. The two did not feel like talking much. Especially after Joe’s display of arrogance. As they arrived at the center of the field, Austin saw the other contestants. Maya was able to make it to the round. Austin had been impressed by how well she had performed in each game. The other two contestants were Zoe and Evan.
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Both Zoe and Evan were scouts with two bands. Zoe was an extremely fit woman with short blonde hair. Evan was a dark brown-skinned young man with a shaved head. His muscles were very defined but not large. He was overall very thin despite his muscles.
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“Congratulations to all our semi-finalists!” Natasha announced. “I look forward to seeing your performance. Please take your positions.”
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Zoe and Evan took positions across from each other while Maya and Joe took their positions. After seeing what Joe could do, Austin was worried for Maya. While he had faith in his wife, Austin had seen Joe’s skills, and he could tell that Joe was exceptional at Essence construction.
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Austin focused his attention on Maya and Joe. He was too worried about her to pay any attention to Zoe and Evan’s match. As the match started, everything seemed to move in slow motion to Austin. Maya raised her blade in the air and brought it downward. In that same moment, Joe reeled backward before he moved forward to cut upward.
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Austin’s vision watched as the blades clashed. The blades shook as they made contact. For a moment, Austin was not sure which blade was stronger. Then Joe’s blade broke through Maya’s blade. Half of her blade was sent upward into the air. It spun multiple times before it stabbed into the ground. Maya dropped the rest of her knife to the ground. Her legs shook as she struggled to stay standing. She knew that she not only lost, but she was completely defeated.
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Maya did not wait for her inspection. Instead, she stepped off the field and ran towards Austin. She slammed into him while her arms wrapped around him. As she buried her head into his chest, he could feel tears stain her shirt.
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“I thought I had this one for sure,” Maya’s voice was muffled as she spoke into Austin’s chest. “But I was completely defeated.”
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“It’ll be okay,” Austin said as he brushed Maya’s hair with his hand. “There is one more contest, and Joe is really good at construction.”
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“You think I still have a chance?” Maya lifted her head from Austin’s chest and looked at him.
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“Definitely, I’ve sparred with you. You’re really good,” Austin smiled.
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“Thank you for saying that.” A small smile broke through Maya’s lips. “I’ll do my best in the next one.”
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Maya released her grip on Austin and moved back into the crowd. As she did, Austin turned his gaze back to the game. Because there were others to watch over the next round, the contestants were already in position. Joe and Evan had made it to the final match.
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The final match began at Natasha’s order. The blades flashed through the air, and Joe did the same thing as before. His blade cut through Evan’s blade with ease and sent it flying. The results of the match were obvious.
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“Congratulations, Joe! You are the victor of the third game! Please come and collect your prize,” Natasha announced as she motioned towards the remaining two weapons.
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Evan reached his hand forward for a handshake, but Joe ignored it as he stepped past him. Evan lowered his hand and looked towards Joe with narrowed eyes. Joe looked over the two remaining weapons for a moment before he pulled the spear from the ground. He placed the shaft of the spear in his armpit to steady it and walked back into the crowd.
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“One more contest, everyone! This is your last chance to win!” Natasha announced. “All of you have done excellently so far, but now it’s your final chance to prove yourself. Sixteen contestants remain! Who will claim the final weapon?”
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***
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Austin and Maya spent time together during the next break. Austin spent the majority of the time making sure that Maya was mentally prepared. Joe’s skill killed her confidence, and she needed to be reassured that she still had a chance in the next challenge.
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The rules were made clear to the contestants. Three clean hits were required for a win, and after a clean hit, the contestants would have to separate. The contestants could use any of the three basic Essence skills, but they could not use techniques. The matches would also be held one at a time, so a fair assessment could be done on hits.
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The first match was Maya and Evan. The two walked to the center of the field. Evan’s tall frame towered over Maya as they stood across from each other. The judges stood opposite each other at the sides of the ring. Each judge had a perfect view of the fight. Even though Austin could not judge Maya’s match, he was with the rest of the judges in preparation for the other matches. The crowd formed a circle around the judges and participants. Murmurs carried through the crowd as they grew excited for this final contest.
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“The rules have been explained. Remember, we are all allies in this. The goal is not to kill your opponent,” Natasha explained. “Now begin!”
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As the match began, the murmurs quickly died into absolute silence. Immediately, white light flashed from Evan’s hand as he started to form a weapon. Before the weapon could completely form, Maya had already sprung into action. Essence flowed through her body and boosted her speed. As a white staff formed in Evan’s hand, Maya jumped forward and kneed him in the chest. The force of the hit threw Evan to the ground, and Maya immediately took a step back.
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“One point, Maya. Zero points, Evan,” Natasha said as Evan stood up and reset his stance. “You may start again.”
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Evan raised his staff in a defensive posture. He no longer had to worry about creating it, and could watch Maya carefully. Maya did not immediately rush in, either. Instead, she circled Evan to see if she could find a weakness in his defense. Evan now had the longer weapon, and Maya needed to figure out a way to get past it.
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Their standoff felt as if it lasted forever while they both watched each other. Maya and Evan looked desperately for any flaws in their opponent’s defense. Both of their styles countered each other greatly. Evan had the superior range, but Maya had superior speed and strength. They knew that if either of them attacked, it could create an advantage for their opponent.
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Evan was the first to break the standstill. He did not immediately lunge for an attack, though. Instead, he extended his arm and swung his staff in a sweeping motion. The swings gave off the appearance of test swings as the staff moved through the air harmlessly. As Evan stepped forward and swung his staff, Maya took steps backward to move out of range.
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Maya realized too late what Evan was doing with his swings. She was now at the edge of the ring and was trapped between Evan and the edge. The moment she realized the situation, she kicked forward in a last-ditch effort. She hoped that she could close the gap before Evan could swing his staff once more. As she entered the staff’s range, Maya pulled her fist back and readied a punch. But before she could reach Evan, she was tossed to the side as he swung his staff.
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“One point, Maya. One point, Evan,” Natasha said as Maya managed to land on her feet. Maya and Evan took a step back from each other as they waited for Natasha to begin the match once more. “You may continue.”
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Maya started to grow irritated with the standoff. She realized that if she kept trying to wait for an opening, Evan could force her into a position and win a point. She needed to take the offensive, otherwise Evan would keep the advantage.
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Maya knew exactly how she would gain the advantage, too. She circled Evan for a little more before she sprang into action. She then started to focus Essence into her hand, creating a small golden flame. She did not put too much Essence behind it, just enough for it to look like a bit of a threat.
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Maya swung her hand forward with an underhand throw at Evan. The flame quickly traveled towards him, and he had no other option but to dodge out of the way of the attack. As he stepped to move out of the way, Maya was already on the move. His foot landed, and he quickly realized that Maya was right next to him. Before he could react further, she threw a punch into his gut.
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“Two points, Maya. One point, Evan,” Natasha announced.
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Evan gripped his stomach as he tried to recover from the quick punch. He took a deep breath as he took a few steps backward. After a moment, he recovered and entered a ready stance. His staff was pointed directly at Maya’s eyes as he prepared himself.
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“Continue!” Natasha’s words thundered.
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The two quickly sprang into action. Evan knew that he needed to even the score, and he was not going to do that by waiting around. As he reeled his staff backward to attack, Maya already dashed towards him. He knew that all he had to do was swing his staff downward, and he would get the point. He quickly brought his staff down in a wide arc to catch Maya’s momentum.
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But Maya was no longer charging forward. She had spent a lot of time learning the ins and outs of Essence enhancement. One of the most important things she learned was how she could focus it in different ways. This time, she focused her Essence on specific things. She enhanced her awareness, reflexes, and speed. While she did not have the typical strength she would have from a total awareness, this method gave her a massive increase in her other abilities. As the staff swung down, she already spun her body around and to the side of the staff. Evan did not have time to recover his staff from his strike and was forced to take a quick kick to his side.
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“Maya, three points, Evan, one point. Match over. Maya is the winner,” Natasha announced.
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Maya walked forward to Evan and extended her hand. “Good match, I was unsure if I could win it.”
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“Yes, thank you for the match. You beat me, so now you have to win the whole thing,” Evan smiled as he shook Maya’s hand.
