Struggling to get up, Ivan eventually faltered. Theo felt his left shoulder, the one hit by Ivan's element, showing some discomfort.
The agents in the audience, even though stunned, applauded both members of the special class.
"Now you can understand why he's rank two," commented an agent with thinning hair.
"Yeah! That spell is incredible. And the other guy's ice element too!"
Putting a little more strength into his arms, Ivan managed to sit on the ground with his legs crossed. Complaining of a pain in his face, he said to Theo:
"You really took that seriously…"
"Me!? You used such a low temperature that it burned my skin!"
"Didn't the vest help at all?"
"No. Your spell surpassed the enchantment of the vest and cloak. Man, that's not ice here, nor in Jotunheim…"
"Are you complaining about that? You used a storm-level spell. Did I exaggerate at the end? And besides, since when do you have that spell?"
"Always?"
"Then why didn't you use it against the arcane crystal, you bastard?! Things would have been much easier!"
"I barely used any energy that day and ended up in a coma… How would I be if I spent my energy on spells? Ether is much more complex than mana, I can't just go around spending my source on anything," Theo explained, extending his hand to Ivan.
"But you used it on me…" Ivan retorted, accepting the gesture and getting up.
"Obviously. My pride was at stake." He clicked his tongue. "And now I have the amplifier, so it won't make that much difference if I spend it on spells. Even if I don't want to…"
Ivan leaned on Theo's shoulder and accidentally bumped where it was burning.
"Sorry… But if you don't use spells, how do you…"
"Manipulate the direction, precision, force, and speed of the wind around me? Having a neutral core makes that possible. I've just mastered it perfectly… By the way, it's 1-1-0 now."
"What do you mean?"
"One win for me, one draw, and one loss for you."
"Seriously? So these confrontations will be frequent?" Ivan inquired, smiling.
"Yes."
"Are you two alright?!" Clifford exclaimed, followed by an inquiry.
Theo makes an "okay" sign with his thumb.
"Great! Gentlemen… what a thunderous fight for two freshmen! I wasn't expecting all that. Who will be the next to battle?"
The agents began to whisper, asking who would be interested in fighting now, who wasn't in the mood, etc.
Ivan and Theo arrived in front of the stands, where some agents gave up their seats for the two boys, since they had been injured in the fight.
"You two should take it easy…" said an agent. "I understand you want to impress the others, but all that was irresponsible."
"I agree. Even so, it was awesome! Do you want help getting to the hospital? We can take you…"
"No need," Sigmore retorted. "Heimdr, help heal them."
"Agent Sigmore…" Theo murmured.
"Hey there, Lumen! You're quite loose, aren't you?"
"Were you watching the fight, sir?…" A drop of sweat ran down Theo's face.
Sigmore nodded yes. "Kid, you two are incredible. The only problem is your energy handling."
"A lecture?" Theo thought, looking at Sigmore comically.
"Each of your movements was very obvious. It's easy to predict the energy moving through your veins and…"
"Sir Sigmore, don't you think it's time to fight?" Heimdr commented, cutting off his leader as he approached with a briefcase.
"Should I?"
"Where are you hurt?" Heimdr asked Theo.
"My left shoulder," Theo replied.
Carefully, Heimdr removed Theo's cloak and vest. Underneath the vest, all his casual clothes were frozen by something similar to ice.
"It might hurt…"
"It's okay."
Turning his face to the side, Theo tried to fill his mind with anything, just to avoid suffering from the pain of the burn. Applying a little pressure, Heimdr broke the element easily, at the cost of immense pain for the boy.
"I warned you. Alright, now I'll have to bandage your shoulder. Apparently, it's a third-degree burn…"
"Third degree?" Ivan inquired. "How…"
"Told you. Your element isn't just ice…" Theo retorted.
"Can you take care of them, Heimdr?" Sigmore inquired, even though he knew the answer.
"Of course."
"Great. Clifford! I'll fight next."
Clifford turned around, shuffled, and looked for the source of that voice, even though he knew who it was. Just for added drama.
"But already? Are you absolutely sure, Sir Sigmore?" Clifford questioned.
"Yes. You can announce it," Sigmore affirmed.
Clifford smiled happily. He cleared his throat and filled his lungs with air.
"Gentlemen! The one who always ends the day will be the second to fight today! For those who desire first place, this is the time! The one who will be challenged is none other than Sir Sigmore of Hardian!"
Theo was impressed for a moment. Sigmore was a soldier of Gran-Empire, but upon learning that he was actually from one of the three states of Romerian, his mind cleared like the sun coming out from behind the clouds.
On the other hand, another doubt lingered in Ivan's mind.
"What do you mean, first place? Is there a ranking here?" Ivan inquired.
"Yes. Currently, Sir Sigmore is in first place. With two hundred and forty wins, six losses, and four draws," Heimdr explained.
"He's only lost six times in two hundred and fifty battles?"
"Who were the draws against?" Theo asked, showing considerable curiosity.
"An agent named Paul Llamarada."
"Paul!?" the two boys thought in surprise.
"In the past, they could be called rivals. However, Paul evolved like lightning… he must be rank… six or seven now, I don't know."
"He's rank eight," Theo corrected.
"You know him?" He frowned.
"Paul Llamarada is our mentor," Ivan said. "I didn't think he frequented places like this…"
"Paul used to come when he was rank four. However, like everyone who rises to rank six, he became too busy to attend…"
"As for the losses, who were they against?" Theo tried to find a more comfortable position with the bandage on his shoulder.
"Two are against Paul. One is against General Amiah Neidr, and the other losses are old, almost twenty years ago…"
"Amiah!?" Theo thought, and Ivan was stunned. Sigmore had fought against both of their mentors, and even though he had lost, it was incredible to them.
"They were against Duke Ethan Lawrence, Emperor Caesar's nephew."
"Father?" A surprised murmur escaped Theo's lips.
"What?" The agents turned to him.
"Ethan Lawrence, the Duke of Loureto. He's my father."
Heimdr cleared his throat respectfully, but, like all the agents around them, he couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Theo isn't lying," Ivan assumed. "The blondie's full name is: Theo Augustus De Lawrence."
Sigmore's healer looked at Theo, analyzing him completely.
"Is that true?" a young man next to Heimdr inquired.
"Yes," Theo replied. "Why would I joke about a duke's name? Especially someone like Duke Lawrence?"
"You have a point, but there are people who do that."
"Surely there are. So, what's the relationship between Sigmore and my father?"
"It happened twenty years ago. I still remember it. Duke Ethan was only twenty years old, but he was already the greatest monster humanity had created. Among all the royal houses, he was already the most powerful and the one with the greatest potential. Sir Sigmore was at the beginning of his career, the same age you are today. He was only rank 1, not knowing the difference in power back then. Sigmore challenged the duke to a friendly match, and then… it only took one slip to defeat him. He challenged him twice more, but was also defeated. He wasn't defeated more times because Ethan's first daughter was born, so he had to move permanently to Loureto."
"So Thays saved Sir Sigmore from further humiliations? Incredible," Theo ironized, unable to contain his laughter.
Heimdr smiled and let out a muffled laugh. Turning to Ivan, he asked:
"Are you in any pain?"
"Just where he punched me," he retorted, pointing to his cheek, where Theo had hit him. Heimdr, in turn, placed a bandage imbued with a regeneration enchantment.
A group of agents began to beat their chests and stomp their feet, resembling an opening festival. They followed a sequence of: a chest beat, a stomp, and an exclamation:
"Hum, hey, hey, hey!"
Coming out from behind the soldiers, a robust and tall man, approximately Sigmore's height (1.88 meters), threw his red cloak to the ground and walked up to the agent.
"Well, well!" Clifford exclaimed. "We have here a possible rematch! On one side, everyone's favorite: Sir Sigmore, a rank five agent of the Lotus order! And on the other…"
A needle pricked Theo's head, making him perplexed.
"The lieutenant of the Fulmenbour garrison: Sir Cassidy!"
Cassidy's group of soldiers exclaimed one last time, ending the "Show Opening."
"You like something extravagant, don't you?" Sigmore commented, annoyed by the general commotion.
"Sigmore, I challenge you again," Cassidy said in his hoarse voice.
"Alright, challenger. It's already accepted." He made little of the lieutenant.
Theo rethought and thought again. Something bothered him, something perhaps silly, but that couldn't go unnoticed.
"Rank five? But Sir Sigmore was rank four until last week…" Theo concluded.
"He was recognized by the leader of our order, the grandmaster Lincoln. Having recognition from the royal family is the main point for being promoted to rank five…" Heimdr explained.
"On the other hand, he's the princess's babysitter now," commented a soldier of Sigmore's, with a dissatisfied and slightly envious tone.
"Well, Dimon. Are you jealous of your leader?"
"Never." In a not-so-convincing tone, Dimon nodded towards the field where the fight would take place.
Clifford pointed to the center of the field, inquiring: "Ready!?" Both nodded yes. "Then, let it begin!"
Without giving any openings, Cassidy advanced with intimidating speed. With a perfect stance, his guard completely closed, making it impossible to land any planned attack on him. With his right fist, Cassidy delivered a strong and thunderous punch against Sigmore.
In turn, Sir Sigmore simply caught the lieutenant's punch with his left hand, and with his right fist, he counterattacked with a blow similar to Cassidy's. The pressure of the blow alone was enough to disorient Cassidy.
"Wow! As expected from our first place! Sir Sigmore counterattacked the lieutenant with his own blow! By all indications, Sir Cassidy is disoriented!" Clifford narrated.
Trying to recover, but still with blurred vision, Cassidy tried to kick Sigmore's stomach perpendicularly. Only metaphysical contact was needed; Cassidy's energy came into contact with Sigmore's energy, where the latter returned the same kick to the stomach.
Theo's right leg became restless, tapping the ground constantly. The boy's eyes widened in a mixture of perplexity, discovery, and anxiety.
"Is this serious?" he asked himself.
Cassidy recovered again, and again, tried to throw a punch. However, this punch emanated a blue energy and appeared to be more powerful than any other blow thrown previously. Once again, the energies of the two combatants collided.
Sigmore grabbed Cassidy's fist and counterattacked with a punch having the same power delivered by the lieutenant. Hitting Cassidy in the stomach, Sigmore lifted his opponent up, about fifty centimeters. The pressure created a turbulence in the wind and cracks in the ground.
Dropping the vice-lieutenant to the ground, Sigmore provoked:
"What fragility… I used the force of your own blows and yet you were easily defeated…"
"The technique he used…" Theo thought. "Cassidy's energy only came into contact with Sigmore's essence… It's as if Sigmore's body was counterattacking upon energetic contact… That technique is similar to the one Selina used!"
With Sigmore returning to the stands, Theo corrected himself:
"No. It's not just similar… it's the same! If I understand how this works, I can definitely beat her! That was the sea of difference between me and Selina!"
A glimmer of hope illuminated everything for the boy.