270 Start of the Tournament
Laura, Jeremy and Richard. These three were the mages of the tenth circle who would take part in the upcoming tournament. Jeremy and Richard had a similar level of power, and Laura was slightly ahead of the two.
It was understandable, considering she was the disciple of a rank 2 mage. Now, the three of them would become Arthur’s disciples for ten days, in which he hoped to make them fight better.
“The first thing you, the three of you, need to understand are the elements.” Arthur said, looking at the three who were in front of him.
“All of you focus on the lightning, and the other major schools have their own elements as well. I don’t see an element being stronger than the other. It is all up to the situation!”
“If you three go up against someone who uses the water element, for example, you will have the advantage. But the story can go the other way around against earth and wood.”
“But what can we do? Some of our enemies will be immune to the lightning element, so what can we do?” Jeremy said.
“Look, you are all stupid. Not only you, but all the other mages who will take part in that tournament. Hear me out,”
“If you go up against someone who you have the advantage regarding the element, then you should win,”
“If you go against someone who has no disadvantage and neither an advantage, then the fight will be set by skill,”
“And if you go against someone who is immune to your attacks, then just give up.”
“Give up?”
They couldn’t understand the logic behind that, not until Arthur explained it to them.
“Your position will be based on the amount of wins you have. Not only you, but all the mages with other elements will have fights with advantage and disadvantage.”
“But most of you, young mages, are both dumb and proud. Not everyone will have the guts to give up in an impossible fight, making it likely for you to just spend energy, or even get beaten up.”
“Remember that I told you there were fights that would be decided by skill? Well, if one steps inside the ring all hurt after an impossible fight, then that would give you an advantage!”
“I get it now! Some fights will be impossible, so we must save up our energy, and fight the fights we have a chance of winning!”
After the explanation, everything became clear! Arthur was not only strolling around the hotel, but was paying close attention to all the other mages from the top schools. Based on what he saw, only the top 1 school would use a similar strategy!
All the others weren’t looking to get a better position. They only wanted to fight against the other schools to prove a point. Their proud would not allow them to give up, even if the fight was virtually impossible!
Arthur was sure of that after observing the other mages and was more sure of it after the argument with that mage from the Phoenix Blood Academy. They could not even control their anger, imagine their proud?
Now that the students he brought to the tournament understood the reason behind it, Arthur tried his best to hone their skills during a fight.
It was impossible for him to teach them spells in such a short time, but he tried his best to improve the way they thought during a battle, as well as their bodies!
The plan was to give up on those impossible fights, but that was not the only part! Those fights were supposed to be impossible because of the element of both fighters. Official Mages could use over one element, so that was only a problem for those weaker mages!
But in the outside world, it was possible to overcome such weaknesses with proper planning and using weapons. Now, inside a ring it was impossible to hide and do surprise attacks, and using weapons was also prohibited in that tournament.
So, Arthur tried his best to hone the bodies of all fighters, and tried to teach them how to fight using their fists!
There was no way he would turn them into professional fighters within just ten days, but it was not impossible to make them good enough to take those mages by surprise and knock them out.
He even spent some money inside the city, buying elixirs, which could improve one’s physique, as well as the recovering process.
“If we get a decent position, then I will just ask Seth to pay the money I spent here. We are aiming for the rank 2 spot!” Arthur thought.
~~~~
After ten days of harsh training, all the students weren’t the same anymore. They now looked more focused, savage, and their aura reached extraordinary levels!
Not only that, but their bodies were completely different, making them look more healthy than most mages, who only focused on their reading and casting.
“The training was a living hell, but I can see the difference already!”
“Right? Remember this. A strengthen body also strengthens your mind!” Arthur said to his students, who were now back at the hotel, looking to rest during this last five days.
Arthur knew that making them train until the last day wasn’t an excellent strategy. They needed a time off not only to recover their bodies, but to relax and get the anxiety off before the tournament.
Most of the mages first came and enjoyed the hotel, then they would go hone their skills afterwards, the complete opposite of what Arthur did with his students.
“People are so dumb. Why rest first and then train afterwards? They will not have the time to rest before the tournament.”
Now, the following days were awesome for all of them. They enjoyed everything the hotel offered, such as the pools, hot tubs and saunas, excellent food, and a soft bed.
Arthur did the same, but he also used his stealthy skills to spy at their adversaries, learning more about their spells and ways of fighting. It was not cheating. The adversaries were just idiots for not realize he was watching them. That was what Arthur told himself to make him feel better about it.
Those five days were of pure joy, but when they were over, it was time for the real thing to begin the tournament!
As it was something which had turned into a festival, the amount of investment it had was extraordinary. They built an entire arena just for the event, with lots of seats for the people to watch and enjoy, as well as vendors selling foods and trinkets to everyone present!
“Whooooaa!”
Screams of excitement could be heard everywhere throughout the city that day. There was not a single person who was not excited about such a majestic event!
Even Arthur, who was not that fan of these sorts of things, was enjoying the atmosphere of the city.
“It feels nice, but losing in such a grand arena with these people watching would be awful. I hope these losers are fewer losers now!”
Arthur made his way to the arena, followed by the six students he had diligently trained during these past days, hoping to get a decent spot at the tournament, as it would be beneficial for his plans!