Chapter 25: Chapter 24

Arlan was able to defeat the first event with ease. The crowd was surprised at the turn of events before them. The rumors of Arlan’s strength were no longer rumors. Eyes of both his opponents and teammates fixated upon him. He simply waltzed back to his seat.

Nicolas asked Lady Dafni, “Headmistress, what is the Warlord’s Regalia?”

Lady Dafni answered, “A Regalia is an awakened power from inside a specialized core. It’s a new power that many haven’t spoken of. The Regalias range from specializing in magic, to combat-related powers or even powers that affect the very world around the wielder. One must transcend the conditions set out by the Regalia to attain its power. Arlan’s Regalia has many different properties. The first property is that his power is amplified by the weight of his armor and weapons. That’s why he’s chosen to use a blacksteel claymore. It’s on par with adamantium weapons at the moment.”

Hector Hawkwell inquired as well, “Headmistress, what is Arlan’s specific Regalia entail? And how do you know you have it?”

Lady Dafni smiled and answered, “Arlan has the Warlord Regalia. Its primary power doesn’t actually enhance him. It’s a power that greatly enhances the essence and mana usage of everyone around him that he deems to be an ally. There are other powers within the Warlord’s Regalia that vastly enhance his fighting abilities but that primary power is the most prominent. As for how to tell if someone has a Regalia, their core emits an aura that is a vastly different color and pattern. Based on that pattern, it can define the type of Regalia you control.”

“Headmistress,” said Hector, “who else has an awakened Regalia?”

“At the very moment, no one else,” answered the Headmistress.

After Arlan was Warmane Academy’s first year. He was a greataxe-wielding student who was also proficient with enhancement magic. The pair of devastating abilities allowed the golem to be defeated in the same timely manner, just like the Maginus Academy’s mage student.

Storm Coast Academy’s Baron Luther Kaiser was the last up. He took the stage with a mithril longsword. As the golem rose to his feet, Luther instantly thrust his weapon and danced with the rock elemental. A series of thunderous strikes punctured the golem causing it to fall over. Luther had defeated the golem almost as fast as Arlan had.

Luther is likely my strongest competition.

The Kaiser Baron returned to his seat after the match against the golem and cheers from all over signified the end of the first event. The first-year exhibition was now over. It was time for the duels. The third-years were the first.

Warmane Academy’s third-year squared off against the Maginus Academy’s third-year. While the match was intense, the Maginus Academy’s third-year managed to disarm Warmane’s third-year after two minutes of fighting. The Maginus Academy’s third-year was actually weaker than that of the first-year.

Hector was Lancel High’s third-year and he took center stage against Storm Coast’s third-year. Hector’s fighting style was to use speed, precision, and a constant barrage of rune attacks from his two swords. Hector was a fierce fighter and he was relentless. Storm Coast’s third-year used a sword and shield combination to constantly deflect against Hector. An ability no one has seen before erupted from the shield. It created a massive essence barrier that was even wider than the shield.

The shield-bearer would counter Hector’s attacks with a thrust from his sword. Hector was able to sidestep the counter with ease. The continued fight was almost like an immovable object colliding with an unstoppable force. It was simply continuous back and forth.

Hector’s face showed a hint of frustration while the shield-bearer was struggling to keep Hector off him. Hector channeled his essence to the maximum and turned into a blur. His strikes were hard for most to keep up with. A flurry of attacks struck at the essence barrier but it began to falter. The shield-bearer was brought to one knee and before he could regain his defenses, Hector’s blades were already at his neck. Hector’s eyes were black and his killing intent flourished. Everyone thought Hector would behead the shield-bearer before him.

Arlan even instinctively got up from his seat to try and stop Hector but Hector’s eyes returned to their original color and he smiled and lowered his blades. Lancel High Academy took their win over Storm Coast’s third-year.

Next was the duel between Hector and the Maginus Academy’s third-year mage. While the third-year mage was strong, he wasn’t proficient at fighting in close quarters as the first-year. Hector was able to subdue the mage with speed and precision. The mage put up less of a fight than the shield-bearer. Hector was proclaimed the third-year champion.

The second-years took to the stage and fought it out. Nicolas was the rank-one second-year for Lancel High Academy but lost in the first round against Warmane’s second-year. The Storm Coast second-year lost to Maginus’ second-year. The final bout between Warmane and Maginus second-years came out with Warmane’s victory. Warmane claimed the second-year champion.

Arlan approached Nicolas to counsel him and to congratulate Hector. “Didn’t think you’d be knocked out in the first round,” stated Arlan.

“That Warmane guy was something else. He used some kind of enhancement magic I didn’t think was possible,” replied Nicolas.

Come to think of it, Warmane’s students aren’t adept at magic. For some reason, all three Warmane students can use high-level enhancement magic.

Arlan pondered for a moment and answered, “It is quite strange, I’ve seen that kind of enhancement magic before with adventurers but I wouldn’t expect it from Warmane.”

Hector who was nearby inserted himself, “That kind of enhancement magic was used quite often in the Hanbi Sultanate. Maybe they’ve received a magic instructor from that kingdom.”

“Congratulations by the way,” said Arlan to Hector.

“I feel as though I didn’t fight to my fullest. The Storm Coast student was the toughest but only because he withstood my barrage of attacks,” answered Hector with disappointment.

Arlan was about to respond but was called to the stage. It was time for the first-year’s bracket. Arlan was to face off against the Maginus Academy’s first-year whose fighting style was unique, a very mobile mage who could fight close quarters.

The young lion stood before the teal-haired mage. After being closer and staring his opponent down, the teal-haired mage was actually a girl with short hair under the steel mage plate armor. This took Arlan by surprise but it didn’t change his demeanor. “I’m Baron Arlan Reeve.”

Intel didn’t mention her. They said the Maginus first-year was to be a boy.

“Baroness Yuna Argold. I’ve heard the rumors about you,” answered Yuna.

That’s not him. I wonder what happened.

“Good ones I presume?” asked Arlan sarcastically.

“Yes, actually, you're the only opponent here whom I hold respect for.”

“Well here’s to the best between us. Good luck, Yuna.”

Arlan didn’t draw his claymore. He assumed a stance with his blacksteel gauntlets ready to strike at her with magic. Yuna smiled and knew that this duel was going to be interesting. A spell exploded over their head signifying the start of the match. Both Arlan and Yuna acted at the same time.

Yuna fired her [Arc Shock] at Arlan with one hand while channeling another spell the other. Arlan was able to deflect the attack with a mana-infused barrier. If Arlan was directly behind it, it would’ve hit. The spell merely altered it’s course. Not only do these spells have elemental properties, but Yuna was somehow able to add kinetic force behind her spells. Arlan had never seen anything like it.

The young lion countered the attack with a flurry of fireballs. Yuna drew a wand with her left and simply redirected the fireballs away from her using [Wind Shear]. Arlan wasn’t trying to hit her but only keeping her somewhat busy so he could prepare his spell in his left hand to counter Yuna’s channeled spell in her hand.

Right as Yuna’s spell in her right hand finished, she released it with ferocity. The spell that erupted was a fifth-tier spell called [Red Ice] a red lightning-based attack that also turned anyone it hit into a red ice tomb. Arlan responded with his own fourth-tier magic spell, [Arc Flare] and the two spells exploded upon meeting each other.

A field of ice flowered from the epicenter. The fire spell was powerful enough to match the fifth-tier spell which shocked Yuna and everyone who watched. Arlan was left untouched and Yuna asked, “How was that possible?!”

“While my mana lanes aren’t as efficient and I don’t have access to fifth-tier spells. That mana that I do use, is multiplied to a greater effect. Meaning every spell I cast, is elevated to a higher tier.”

Yuna was speechless. Her whole life, she thought she was a prodigy mage. Taken in by the Maginus Academy as an orphan and adopted into a respected family because of her talents, just like Arlan. She thought she knew magic better than anyone and this was the first time she’s ever felt like someone has become an insurmountable mountain to her.

Frustration and sadness overtook her composure and she started hurling more spells lower-tier fast spells at Arlan. From icebolts to manabolts. Arlan was able to use his mana barrier to deflect the spells to alter their course. He could detect her frustration.

Arlan decided to close the gap and attempt to see her abilities in close quarters. He dashed closely and used his instant cast fireballs to zone Yuna and keep her on the defensive. Yuna knew what Arlan was trying to do but couldn’t think of a countermeasure, right as she thought of one, she felt a force connect with her stomach. It knocked her on her back. Arlan used a simple punch. She didn’t expect it due to the number of fireballs keeping her busy.

“Winner, Arlan Reeve!” announced a Lansley mage who was the acting referee.

Yuna was shocked to hear it because she didn’t think she lost yet but looked up to see Arlan with his two palms pointed at her with [Arc Flare] pre-channeled in each hand. She had lost so fast. As Arlan started walking back towards his side, Yuna called out to him, “We’ll meet again Arlan Reeve! I swear that we will fight again!”

Arlan sat down at his seat and watched as the arena’s platform returned to its normal state with regenerative runes placed. These regenerative runes weren’t cheap and required a vast amount of mana to maintain. The Lansleys though could definitely afford them.

The next match was between Storm Coast’s Luther Kaiser and Warmane’s George Hartland. George was the greataxe wielder who could use enhancement magic to increase his capabilities on top of his massive essence capacity. Luther Kaiser on the other hand was much more versatile. He could use both essence and mana equally.

As the pair took to the stage, cheers could be heard from both sides. The match could be taken by either participant. Luther and George were quite equally powerful but Arlan knew Luther was hiding something.

Hector stood beside Arlan and asked, “Do you also sense something off about Luther?”

I knew you could tell also.

“Yes. Luther has something up his sleeve. At the way things stand, I’m pretty sure Luther will win,” answered Arlan.

Luther assumed a peculiar stance that Arlan studied intently. He held the longsword in his right hand while leaving his left hand behind him. The young lion deduced that Luther channeled spells behind him and used them as a feint to strike with the mithril longsword.

George on the other hand, held his greataxe with both hands with the blade end overhead as if it was ready to strike at any moment. George donned a full mithril plate armor as well. They were both equally equipped.

The battle began when George dashed forward on the offensive. Luther held his position while channeling both essence and mana. Arlan was the only one who knew what spell Luther was preparing.

As the Warmane student reached his opponent, he swung his deathly weapon overhead and made an impact with Luther’s mana barrier. The force recoiled George back a few meters but his recovery was top notch. He managed to use the momentum from being pushed back to angle an upward swing into Luther.

The Storm Coast Baron was unaffected by the first attack and sidestepped the second. Mana barriers were tricky to fight with. It required smart usage of when to deploy them. They worked both ways, so attacking with a mana barrier up was impossible.

Mana barriers also absorbed impact and damage directly into the caster’s mana capacity. Similar to an essence barrier but essence barriers enveloped the user’s armor or skin while mana barriers were projected outward a few meters based on the caster’s skill and mana capacity.

The strengths of a mana barrier were that it can be used to protect multiple people and it was easier to deploy and control. The strength of an essence barrier allowed the user to move and fight unhindered. Both barriers redirected the damage to the capacity. The downside to mana barriers and essence barriers were quite different.

Arlan knew that Luther was utilizing both extremely well. The moment George had swung his second attack, Luther let down his mana barrier and prepared an essence barrier in place as a failsafe measure.

George’s upward swing missed and Luther was on his left flank. The Storm Coast student thrust forward with his mithril longsword at his opponent. George saw this and used the hilt’s pommel to riposte the attack. It was an amazing recovery by George. Everyone watched in awe as the two continued dancing back and forth.

After ten seconds of back and forth dancing, Luther lept up and fired the spell that he had been channeling. A spear-sized pylon of ice with a sharp end flew out towards George. The spell was quite powerful and could potentially kill George if he didn’t move or deployed a countermeasure.

The spell was called [Glacial Spike] and right before it would hit George, the Warmane student swing his greataxe with precision into the pylon and shattered it. The only way that this course of action was successful was due to George’s ability to time his swing. You could tell George was quite talented at combat but his moment of talent only lasted a few seconds.

Luther was right behind the shattered missile and used the spell as a feint. The real attack came from Luther’s mithril longsword. The teal blade swung forth and stopped only an inch from striking George’s neck. The match was over and Luther had won.

Arlan noticed something strange about Luther. It was his directional control while in the air. Unless wind magic is used, it’s impossible to alter your movements mid-air. Arlan’s [Battle Trance] detected no wind magic though. Hector noticed it as well.

George left back towards his side and took his loss really well. He held his head high. Before Arlan was to be matched against Luther, a short five-minute intermission took place to allow Luther to rest before their next match.

After the intermission was over, the two rivals finally got the chance to meet on the stage. The pair were only five meters from each other. Arlan introduced himself, “I’m Baron Arlan Reeve, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Baron Luther Kaiser.”

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“Please, spare me the pleasantries. I know of your involvement with my betrothed,” declared Luther.

Straight to it, I guess.

“What is your fixation on Iris? Doesn’t the heir to House Kaiser have plenty of options? Why Iris Hawkwell, a much smaller House?”

“She’s merely a means to an end. I’ve many other choices for concubines as well but Iris will rightfully be mine along with her entire House. And I’ll be the one who gets to taste her,” answered Luther with a sharp tone.

Anger rose in Arlan’s heart as Luther’s words struck a nerve, Arlan could do nothing about the arranged marriage of Luther and Iris. The young lion answered back, “You better treat her well, or I swear I will fucking kill you.”

“Oh, is that a threat?” asked Luther.

“It’s a promise,” declared Arlan as his emotions released his killing intent and flourished. Luther felt a cold sweat drip down the back of his neck. Everyone else in the arena could feel the animosity between the two.

Both of the barons took to their fighting stances, and Arlan drew his blacksteel claymore. While Luther was quite sharp, he was definitely prideful and fell into noble arrogance. He knew of Arlan’s power and yet still assumed he would beat Arlan with his core being higher.

A manabolt exploded overhead signifying the start of the match. Arlan knew Iris was in the stands watching over this fight. This drove his conviction even further to beat down Luther as best he could.

Arlan charged toward Luther with such blazing speed that Luther barely reacted in time. The young lion swung the chunk of blacksteel metal overhead with such force that if Luther hadn’t dodged in time, it would’ve killed him. The claymore cratered the ground a few meters and the shockwave caused Luther to be knocked off balance.

The young lion capitalized on this and rushed to Luther to connect a fierce kick. The Kaiser Heir flew six meters back and landed on his feet. His mithril armor had absorbed most of the damage but a bit of the concussive force reverberated through.

Luther looked up to see Arlan standing where he had kicked Luther and noticed he wasn’t holding his blacksteel claymore. It was still in the ground where it had cratered. Arlan raised his right arm and the blacksteel claymore’s blade lit up with golden runes. The two hundred pound sword flew through the air like an arrow. The hilt connected with Arlan’s right hand.

Everyone in the arena except Lady Dafni was speechless at what they saw. A young boy holding a two hundred pound claymore with ease in one hand. Luther was now scared. Arlan stared at Luther with such a terrifying glance that the aura penetrated his soul.

Luther decided Arlan was no easy target despite having more essence. The Kaiser Heir had to make a stand or he would dishonor his House. Luther raised his mithril longsword and pointed it at Arlan to launch icebolts. Luther’s sword was enchanted with frost properties.

Arlan raised his claymore and hid behind the flat side of the claymore while projecting a small mana barrier around him. The icebolts did nothing to the young lion but they did allow Luther to channel another spell in his other hand.

The Kaiser Heir grinned as he knew this spell would kill Arlan if it connected. Luther channeled all of his mana into his left hand and aimed it at his opponent. At Luther’s palm, a dark red fireball spun. Arlan didn’t recognize this spell and his [Battle Trance] began to warn him of the amount of mana being used. It was enough mana to be qualified as a sixth-tier magic spell.

Luther laughed and said, “You better move or you’ll die.”

The dark crimson red fire formed into an arrow and launched toward Arlan. The young lion sidestepped immediately but noticed the arrow followed his movements. Arlan had barely a hundred milliseconds to deploy his mana barrier. The arrow made an impact and exploded into a tornado of crimson fire.

Everyone in the stands gasped. Duke Louis looked on in horror as his heart sank at his son’s death. Lady Dafni was the only one who didn’t react this way. The tornado of fire dissipated after a few seconds and revealed Arlan still standing and alive. But his armor was scorched, and a few drops of blood left his helmet.

Luther was in shock as well at the sight of his opponent still standing. The mage referee was about to interrupt the duel but Arlan yelled out, “I’m fine!”

The Kaiser Heir channeled his crimson fire spell once more and said, “I’m surprised you survived my [Crimson Flare] but you should’ve given up. I can do even more.”

I can’t let an attack like that hit me again. I won’t die but I’ll be hurt enough that it would be considered lost. I need to be aggressive and pull out the other trump card he’s hiding.

The young lion sprinted forward once more and swung his blacksteel claymore at Luther but the attack missed as Luther somehow sidestepped. Arlan was sure that Luther wouldn’t be able to dodge the attack but he is.

There’s something aiding his movements.

Arlan’s relentlessness did put Luther on the defensive and [Crimson Flare] wouldn’t work on Arlan if he was so close. Luther was starting to tire as Arlan’s endurance and training kept him going at the same speed. The Kaiser Heir noticed this and used more of his mana from the longsword to fire at Arlan and keep him at a distance for another [Crimson Flare] as it was now ready.

The young lion knew that the spell would lock onto him.

Think, Arlan, think. What can I do against that spell?

Arlan’s mind came up with an idea but it was quite an insane idea. Arlan was behind a mana barrier as another flurry of icebolts connected. Luther grinned and assumed victory was his as he fired [Crimson Flare] at Arlan once more. This time Arlan lowered his mana barrier and started sprinting to the side of the platform. The arrow spell changed its trajectory to follow Arlan but Arlan was moving fast enough that it would now take some time for the arrow to connect.

Luther was confused at what was happening but noticed Arlan left his claymore behind. While the spell was midair, Luther had to channel mana with his left hand. Once the fire arrow was between Arlan and his claymore, he recalled the claymore to his right hand and the sword struck the arrow on its way back.

A fire tornado erupted where it made contact and Arlan’s claymore flew through just fine. Luther was shocked at what had just happened but readied himself to defend against Arlan.

The young lion appeared once more in front of Luther with incredible speed and swung his claymore horizontally. Luther tried to deflect it but was sent flying and his mithril armor absorbed the blow. A small dent was now visible in his armor.

Luther was gasping for air as the kinetic force knocked the wind out of his lungs. Arlan followed up with another swing but Luther immediately glowed red and lept up ten meters before the attack connected.

This is it. He’s using some kind of enchantment that allows him control over his movements in the air. It has to be some kind of gravity magic.

Luther countered by diving straight down with his mithril longsword onto Arlan. The young lion sidestepped the attack. Arlan’s [Battle Trance] picked up an anomaly of essence radiating from Luther. It was nothing Arlan had ever seen before. The dive-bomb left a crater at where Arlan had been standing, similar to the one he makes when using his blacksteel claymore.

“I thought I would’ve killed you there,” smiled Luther.

“You thought the same earlier,” answered Arlan.

The young lion kept trying to swing at Luther but every time he did, Luther was able to leap high into the air and dive down. The two traded blows for a bit before finally, Luther decided it was enough. Luther emitted a black spherical zone that spanned over the whole platform.

“You’re the only one who's ever forced me to use this,” exclaimed Luther.

“I get that a lot,” said Arlan slyly.

This is some kind of gravity magic zone. Everything feels heavier.

Luther was now much faster inside the zone and was on the offensive swinging his teal sword while launching smaller spells at Arlan. In response, the young lion activated his [Automatic Parry] to keep up with the unrelenting assault.

He can’t use high-tier magic in this zone or he would’ve cast [Crimson Flare] on me already.

Arlan was going to lose if this stayed the course.

But I can’t keep deflecting his blows, their getting faster with every hit. It has to be a rune similar to Hector’s where the attacks get faster for every hit. I may need to use, ‘it.’

Arlan depleted all his mana to create a barrier. Luther continuously struck it to bring it down but it was going to take several seconds. Arlan closed his eyes and black markings enveloped his armor and body. His face was also marked with black lines like a tattoo.

Arlan activated his trump card, [Undying Zeal], his first unique skill gained from being the Ashra. The ability combined his essence and mana lanes into “true lanes” that allowed any amount of essence or mana to travel either route. This allowed him to further enhance his strength and speed and channel extreme amounts of mana.

Luther finally shattered the mana barrier but right as it dropped, Arlan used [Titanstrike] and launched Luther back. The ability shotgunned forward and penetrated parts of Luther’s armor. He was now bleeding and unconscious on the ground.

“Winner, Arlan Reeve,” announced a Lansley mage. Arlan retracted his [Undying Zeal] and the black marks were gone. After turning off the ability, Arlan felt immense fatigue take over. Using the unique skill took a toll on his body.

A cheer erupted from Lancel High’s students and numerous Houses that supported Arlan. The young lion waltzed back to his seat and crashed at the chair. He was breathing heavily and Lady Dafni handed him a flask of water.

The Headmistress said, “I didn’t think you needed to utilize that to win.”

“I didn’t either,” answered Arlan, “But you saw how he was moving. That was gravity magic. You said that no one in Midland knows of it. How was it that Luther was easily able to manipulate such magic?”

“The last time I saw Luther a year ago, he wasn’t even able to cast first-tier spells,”

“Something changed him,” stated Arlan.

I need to investigate how some of these students far surpassed the intel reports a few weeks ago.

The winners of each bracket were now brought to the stage and to be given their rewards by the King. The exhibition matches were to take place after the rewards. The three champions were lined up and King Richard brought forth trophies and bestowed them each a hundred gold coins.

King Richard gave each champion a moment to address the crowd. But when the King reached Arlan, the young lion announced, “Your Grace, I wish to dedicate the honor of my victory to Princess Emmeline.”

Everyone gasped, including King Richard. The King was under the impression that Arlan wasn’t interested in marrying his daughter at all. But with this revelation, King Richard was quite ecstatic. He knew of the benefits by publicly endorsing Arlan as his daughter’s fiance.

King Richard’s voice boomed through the arena with wind magic, “Baron Arlan Reeve, you wish to dedicate this honor to Princess Emmeline?”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

“Then let it be known that Baron Arlan Reeve is whom I’ve decided to wed Princess Emmeline to!”

What? That’s not what I said! This old man is way too unpredictable.

Of all things everyone saw that day, this was the most shocking. The Tetrasan Tournament had three matches left but King Richard decided to cancel the matches in honor of his new son-in-law. Lady Dafni, Duke Frank, Duke Louis, Count Emile, and Count Daxton all smiled and immediately knew the importance of this. Arlan not only won the Tetrasan Tournament in his bracket but he also got the best outcome possible.

Duke Louis smiled at the thought of his boy being married. Arlan’s heart sank that he knew Iris was somewhere in the stands. But Arlan figured Iris knew this day would come when they would be officially separated. They would no longer be able to continue their relationship as they were now both betrothed to another for reasons regarding the kingdom.

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