Hazelton was packed to the brim with people from citizens of the town to tourists. Aurin and Luna walked through the bustling streets on the way to his first tournament match, both of them filled with excitement at what the day might bring. Aurin was supposed to meet his parents before going to the stadium, but he hadn’t a hope of finding them in the chaos. He decided it would be better to seek them out after his battle with Conrad.

  “You still haven’t answered me,” said Luna.

  Aurin had no idea what she was talking about. “What was the question?”

  “Do you think this match will be easy or not?”

  “When did you ask that?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “Oh,” said Aurin. “I think he looked nervous, but that doesn’t mean much. He could have years of experience and just get the jitters, but this could also be his first professional battle for all I know.”

  “Is that a yes?” asked Luna.

  “You’ll have to wait and see,” said Aurin while Luna groaned at him for dodging the question.

  The two arrived at the stadium and Luna wished Aurin luck as he headed to the waiting room where he would await the end of the match before his. He was looking forward to some quiet time alone with his thoughts.

  “Hello,” came a voice from the sofa. Aurin recognised the chestnut-haired young man immediately.

  “Conrad?” asked Aurin, wanting to be polite.

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “What are you doing here? You should be at the other side of the stadium.”

  Conrad leapt to his feet. “Oh no!” he exclaimed. “You must be Aurin. I should have recognised you from the lobby yesterday. Sorry to have intruded, I’ll get out of your hair.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” laughed Aurin. “You have plenty of time to get to your room. How are you feeling about the match?”

  “Oh, um…to be honest…not great.”

  “Why? Am I that scary?”

  “No, no. It’s not that. I’ve just never battled against another tamer before. I don’t know what to expect.”

  Aurin was taken aback. “Not even in the tower? I run into people there all the time, usually at least one or two per run.”

  Conrad shook his head. “I always avoid other tamers and fight the wild Minakai. I should never have signed up for the tournament without pushing myself more. It was stupid of me to think I could handle it.”

  “You have at least three Minakai, right?” asked Aurin. He must have or he wouldn’t have qualified to enter.

  “Three and only three,” said Conrad with a furrowed brow. “They carried me up to the ninth floor, but I think we got very lucky with the monster and item spawns. I’ve heard floor nine was the minimum this year so I only just made the cut. That doesn’t really help my confidence much, I have to say.”

  Aurin knew that he would be able to wipe the floor with the inexperienced tamer, but he didn’t want to seem too presumptuous. “I’m not sure how to say this, but I think my team has a strong advantage going into the battle…”

  “Don’t do me any favours,” said Conrad sternly. “I want you to give me your all, not to patronise me by letting me get a few shots in for my ego. Throw me in at the deep end, alright?”

  “Alright, I will,” said Aurin. “You’d better get moving in case the match finishes early. I’ll see you soon, Conrad.”

  The young man ran off, leaving Aurin alone in the waiting room. He sat on the sofa and took a deep breath. He struggled to remember how he felt before his first tournament match. Having lost so badly to Hunter in a friendly battle in town made him feel out of his depth, but surely he wasn’t that bad?

  However he had felt, he didn’t want to disrespect Conrad and go easy on him. He would begin the match at full throttle and give his opponent exactly what he had asked for. Floor nine was a respectable level so Conrad probably had a hidden spark just waiting to turn into an inferno.

  The intercom buzzed. “Will both tamers enter the tunnel and prepare for battle.”

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  Aurin stood up and opened the door, walking down the dark tunnel towards the tournament official who stood in wait. Aurin was sure he recognised him.

  “I remember you from last year,” he said. He had met the official here a couple of times, one of which was before his first match.

  “So we don’t all look the same?” laughed the official. “Most of you lot can’t tell us apart because of the uniforms. I think it’s mainly the shades and the hat that give that effect.”

  “Nah, I can tell. I actually have a question for you, if you don’t mind?”

  “Go for it.”

  “Was I a nervous wreck the first time we met?”

  “I see a lot of tamers so I can’t remember your first battle in great detail,” said the official. “I remember you were nervous, but not any more or less than anybody else. That friend of yours, Luna, was shaking like a leaf from start to finish so she was the standout from last year in that regard. Why do you ask?”

  Aurin wasn’t sure why he cared so much. “I think I just wanted to remember how it was to start fresh. It’s been a little over a year, but it feels like a lifetime ago already.”

  The two talked while Aurin awaited the call. Once it came through the official’s earpiece, he wished Aurin good luck. The young tamer walked out of the tunnel and remembered to wave to the cheering crowd.

  “Yes, folks. That’s the same Aurin who recovered the prized egg,” said the announcer. “I have it on good authority that he was given that very same egg by last year’s winner, Hunter, as a thank you for recovering it. Perhaps the Minakai it contained is on Aurin’s team today?”

  Aurin and Conrad shook hands before walking back across the grassy field to take their places. Conrad was shaking, but he was otherwise holding strong. If you had only seen his face, you would think that he had all the confidence in the world.

  “Let’s battle!” called the announcer.

  Both tamers raised their gloves into the air and summoned their first Minakai. The announcer had guessed right, Steambot was ready to blast his enemies away. Conrad’s first monster was a cobalt blue lion cub, Cubtem.

  “Steambot, pressure cannon!” ordered Aurin.

  “Cubtem, make sure—”

  It was too late. Cubtem was struck by a pressurised water blast and tossed across the field.

  “Ouch!” cried the announcer. “Conrad’s Cubtem has been dealt an early defeat by Aurin’s Steambot. Last year’s tournament prize is serving him well. How will Conrad retaliate?”

  Conrad, still shaking, summoned a Hornber to the field. Aurin remembered when his Spikruption was a Hornber, two evolutions prior. The small red dinosaur breathed in and spat a large fireball at Steambot who shot a weak jet at it, dampening the fireball in mid-air so all that remained was an upwardly drifting column of steam.

  “We don’t go easy, Steambot,” said Aurin. “Give it a pressure cannon too.”

  Upon Steambot’s attack, Hornber was knocked straight past his tamer and into the stadium wall that surrounded the arena.

  “That’s two down in under a minute!” shouted the announcer. “Aurin isn’t holding back. Conrad has got to pull something out of the bag or it’s game over before it’s even begun.”

  “Hap-happynut,” stammered Conrad, his face unable to hide his terror.

  It was not lost on Aurin that all three of Conrad’s Minakai were also on his own team, albeit at different evolutionary stages. It was with a heavy heart that he ordered Steambot to finish the job. Steambot charged forwards, picked up the Happynut and slammed it into the ground, finishing the match.

  “A complete wipe-out!” cried the announcer while the audience gave a half-hearted applause. Some tamers were even booing Aurin for being so ruthless. “With that, Aurin moves onto the second round and Conrad is sadly eliminated.”

  Aurin walked forward to shake Conrad’s hand, but his opponent rushed back inside his own tunnel. Aurin understood why the audience were displeased; they didn’t know what Conrad had asked of Aurin, but why was Conrad so annoyed about it? He got what he wanted.

  In the stands, Alice looked at her husband. “He was a bit rough, wasn’t he?”

  Edwin shook his head. “That other kid shouldn’t have been there. He didn't have a chance and Aurin finished it nice and quickly for him. It was a mercy, if you ask me.”

  Luna agreed. “Some tamers are sneaky and hit you hardest when you let your guard down. I don’t see the problem.”

  The three stood up from their seats and searched the stadium for Aurin, who himself was looking for Conrad. He eventually found the young man sitting by the river outside.

  “So, it looks like I’m the villain for today,” lamented Aurin. “You could have at least shaken my hand. I did exactly what you asked me to.”

  “Fighting isn’t for me,” said Conrad, looking downcast. “I don’t think I have what it takes to be a good tamer.

  Aurin was confused. “Huh?”

  “I’m sorry about how I reacted in there. I don’t know what I’m even doing here. I think it’s time to pack it in and stick to the tower.”

  “Conrad, it was your first ever fight against another tamer, and you jumped into it at a ranked tournament. Of course, it was going to be a trainwreck, what else would you expect? You didn’t prepare yourself at all.”

  “You’re not holding back, are you?”

  “Why would I?” asked Aurin. “I’m not going to join you in your pity party. If you want to be a good fighter then you need to train, and you need to train against other people. That’s how you’ll get better and be able to stand on your own.”

  The weak tamer looked Aurin in the eye. “You can train me,” he said.

  Aurin initially thought he had misheard Conrad. “Train you? I can put up a decent fight, but I’m not strong enough to be training other people yet. Why would you want to come to me?”

  “You know what you’re doing. Did you see how powerful your Steambot was? He crushed my Minakai without even breaking a sweat. I mean…it was instant! Please, train me.”

  Aurin sighed, but he was sympathetic. “Fine, you can help me prepare for a few matches and maybe you’ll pick up a few things. We’ll start after the second round once I’ve got a foothold on things. We train out at Kyle’s ranch, are you familiar?”

  “Yes, that’s where my three Minakai are kept. I booked them in not too long ago.”

  “I’ll be in touch soon.”

  Aurin took his leave, leaving Conrad alone by the riverside. The young man was quietly satisfied to have Aurin willing to train him, but a devious smile crept over his face as someone else approached him from behind.

  “He agreed?” asked the man.

  “He agreed,” confirmed Conrad.

  “Excellent, my fellow Guardian. We’re one step closer to finding the Ethruki.”

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: