“Alright,” said Aurin, his hair standing on end as he scratched behind Tuptup’s ears. “You were born to win tournaments, little buddy. Literally. You’ve been training hard over the past few weeks and you’ve already come along way. Because we’re limited to three events per tamer, most of the people entering this one are inexperienced. You’ve got this.”

  Tuptup barked happily while Shamtile performed what he thought was an encouraging dance. In truth, it was like most of his other dances; erratic and with lots of arm swinging. Skrow was more encouraging with his invigorating caw.

  The square outside Hazelton Stadium was to be the battlefield for the unevolved tournament owing to the stadium being required for a bigger event in the afternoon. Aurin noted that the unevolved tournament was more of a battle royale than anything else, but that did not deter him. If anything, that meant Tuptup could play to his strength; short bursts of intensity.

  “Tuptup, Tuptup!” chanted Gardner, drawing a curious look from a tamer with a Tuptup of his own nearby. He swiftly clarified the target of his support. “Aurin’s Tuptup! Aurin’s Tuptup!”

  A referee stood in the centre of the square with the tamers and the Minakai surrounding him, but giving him a large berth. He blew his whistle to draw the attention of the crowd. “We covered the rules already, but let me reiterate,” he said. “Last Minakai standing wins. Three. Two. One. Begin!”

  Tuptup sprang into action immediately, darting to the side and shocking a Driftseed out of the sky as tried to get airborne. It was caught by surprise and the direct hit knocked the flying plant to the ground, where it smacked the ground.

  “Yes,” grunted Aurin, pumping his fist. “Lay waste to your enemies, Tuptup!”

  The event, which started with seventy-three patiently waiting competitors, quickly turned chaotic. Fire whooshed through the air, small pillars of stone broke through the cobblestones, and hail rained down in targeted blasts. In a matter of thirty seconds, the numbers were thinned to fifty-two.

  Tuptup clung to an Eyegloo, who tried escape with a rapid sliding manoeuvre, but the blue beast was unwilling to release his foe. He jammed his pointed golden tail into the Eyegloo’s back and sent a surge of electricity into the ice elemental. The attack was strong, but Tuptup’s elemental advantage caused a massive chunk of snow-coated ice to be blasted from the Eyegloo, knocking it out and leaving its tamer crying in anguish.

  The battle did not let up and by the end of the first three minutes, the number of competitors had dropped to twenty-three. Precious few of the remaining Minakai had not taken at least one hard knock, but they were all still standing and eager to keep going.

  One tamer in particular caught Aurin’s eye. He was a tall young man with black hair, the top layer of which was dyed silver. He wore a grey leather jacket and had a look of determination on his face. Of all the tamers left in the battle, Aurin sensed that this one was the one to beat.

  “Who is that guy?” Aurin asked Gardner, nodding towards the tamer.

  “His name’s Gray,” replied Gardner. “I don’t know much about him other than he rolled into town about a fortnight ago and signed up at the dojo. My best guess? He heard you were back in town and wanted to battle.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “You’re quite the tourist attraction these days,” said Gardner with a smug grin. “Everyone wants a piece of you. Don’t pretend that you don’t know that. I say, give the guy a show.”

  Gray thrust out a fist. “Piggun!” he called to the small orange pig before him. “Blast it away!”

  Piggun spat a large fireball from its mouth, making a booming burst as it did so. Its tail ignited in a large flame and then began smoking heavily as the fireball soared through the air. It struck an encroaching Tormech, sending it tumbling across the square and rendering it unable to battle.

  As Tuptup continued to whittle down the numbers, Piggun did the same. Neither Aurin nor Gray made any moves towards each other, for they both knew that they were the strongest in the match. The final showdown was going to be between them and neither would accept anything else.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  With the simultaneous fall of a Rabbacat and a Cubtem, there were only two contenders remaining; Aurin’s Tuptup and Gray’s Piggun. Both Minakai were looking worse for the wear, their furs dishevelled and their chests heaving up and down as they tried to catch their breaths.

  “Don’t give him the chance to recover,” said Gray, holding out a finger gun. He pretend-fired as his Piggun spat another fearsome fireball from its mouth.

  “Move!” ordered Aurin, but Tuptup did not need told. He rolled aside and quickly righted himself before unleashing a sharp lightning bolt. It collided in mid-air with a second fireball and both attacks fizzled out.

  Piggun’s attack were notably slower than Tuptup’s despite being stronger, and the piglet tried to close the gap. Tuptup, however, would not permit it and strafed around the edge of the battlefield, seizing his opportunities to snuff out any incoming fireballs and counterattack when the openings presented themselves.

  At last, he landed the necessary blow to bring the battle to an end. A weak lightning bolt struck Piggun’s snout, but the Minakai was so exhausted that it was enough to bring it to the ground. With a pathetic oink, it fell flat on its face and lay there motionless.

  “And we have our winner!” called the referee, upon blowing his whistle. “It may not come as much of a shock, but Aurin’s Tuptup is the victor of the unevolved tournament.”

  The audience of both onlookers and competitors burst into applause with Gardner hoisting Aurin onto his shoulders, letting him be seen by all. It was embarrassing, but Aurin figured he should play to the crowd. He gave them a salute and then threw his arms into the air.

  As everyone trickled away from the stadium and made their way back into the town centre to see the next of the events—the pageant which Luna and Emily were entering—Gray remained behind. He walked towards Aurin, slowly clapping, with a semi-conscious Piggun tucked underneath his arm.

  “Well done,” he said to Aurin. He voice was drawling, but he sounded sincere..

  “Thank you,” said Aurin. “Gray, is that right?”

  “Gray Gamble,” said Gray, extending a hand for Aurin to shake. “I’m from Ludonia.”

  “Nice to meet you,” said Aurin, accepting the handshake. “Aurin.”

  Gray smirked. “I’m sure you are doing it out of politeness, but there is no need to introduce yourself. In fact, you are half the reason I’m here in Hazelton, Aurin.”

  “Told you,” said Gardner.

  “Is that a good thing?” asked Aurin, unsure of what to make of the silvery young man. Seeing him up close, Aurin took him to be in his early twenties.

  “That depends on what I can learn. Everything I do is to improve myself and hone my taming abilities. I already believe I have learned from you in such a short time. I hope to learn from you more.”

  “Sorry, but I don’t take students.”

  Gray let out a piercing laugh. “I must apologise,” he said, “but I do not mean to study under you. I mean to learn from you by observing yours, tracing your steps, and battling you again. My Piggun, as high-potential as he is, is far from my strongest Minakai. While I am studying at the Underground Dojo, I will strive to harness the power of my best and brightest. Perhaps soon, they will be worthy of your attention.”

  Aurin felt uncomfortable. He had been praised so often lately that he was used to it, despite not being a huge fan of it, but this was something else. He felt like he was being idolised; exalted beyond what most powerful tamers experience. If this was what being the National Champion was like, he could understand why Tobias both did and didn’t like it. The Bretonian Champion’s Sir Mask alter ego only made more sense to Aurin as time passed.

  “Well, I’m sure we can battle again before too long,” said Aurin. “I look forward to seeing what your Minakai can do. Honestly? I want to fight someone who can give me a run for my money.”

  “Then I shall reach for that star,” said Gray with a bow of his head. “Farewell, Aurin. And enjoy the rest of your day.”

  Gray smiled widely as he departed. Once he was gone, Gardner looked at Aurin with a raised eyebrow. “He’s a bit of a weirdo, isn’t he?”

  “He has a strange way about him, I’ll admit,” replied Aurin, “but he doesn’t seem like a bad guy?”

  “Are you asking me?”

  “I think so?”

  Gardner nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know. He seems alright, but there’s something off about him too.”

  Aurin snorted. “That doesn’t help.”

  “I don’t know the guy!”

  Shamtile looked from tamer to tamer and then let out a screechy sigh. He hoisted Tuptup onto his back and started skipping across the cobblestones in celebration of his teammate’s victory.

  “Oh yeah,” said Aurin, feeling guilty for his lack of attentiveness to his victorious monster. “Well done, Tuptup. That’s two tournament wins to your name already. You were quite literally born for this, my friend.”

  Tuptup yapped merrily as he rode around on Shamtile’s back. Shamtile’s strength never failed to surprise, considering Tuptup was a similar size to him and certainly heavier, yet there was the little lizard prancing around as though he was carrying a stuffed animal. Aurin did think that Tuptup looked a lot like a stuffed animal, but the yappy little creature was anything but. He was gaining power and taking onboard everything Aurin and the rest of his team were teaching him.

  Skrow descended from the sky and let out a loud caw, signalling that the pageant was due to commence. Aurin and Gardner hurried through the streets, not wanting to miss Luna and Emily’s showcases.

  right here.

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: