Generally, a good match between two competitors in this tournament lasts for an average duration of half an hour.
Of course, there are exceptions. Some are ended in seconds and some even take a whole hour to decide the victor.
And right now, I was engaged in one such exceptional fight.
This fallen Noble's movements in front of me were unpredictable and lethal, beautiful and elegant, scary and sinister at the same time.
He was none other than Morgan of the Rosewood Family.
And it had been more than two hours since we were facing each other.
Normally people would get bored of a match that lasted even for an hour, but now, nobody was moving from their seats. They even stopped going to the washrooms.
It was because the match in front of their eyes, in one word, was breathtaking. The same was for me as well.
'So this is the 'Dance of the Dragon'! I can't believe I am facing this deadly technique.'
The 'Dance of the Dragon' was such a famous and beautiful technique that even I, a demigod from Elysium, has heard of it.
The one who created the technique, a Patriarch of the Rosewood Family, was one of the strongest humans of a certain time. Unfortunately, he died before reaching level 90 and only a portion of the technique got passed down.
If he was still alive, the Rosewood family wouldn't be any less than the seven Great Imperial Family.
And Morgan in front of me was using the incomplete version of that 'Dance of the Dragon.'
Even though it was incomplete, it was still enough to beat most of the powerful sword techniques out there and it was almost impossible for someone to master it if they weren't born in the Rosewood family and were not taught the basics of this technique from their childhood.
That should have been the case, at least.
The only reason I was extending this match so long was because a message was constantly shining in front of my eyes.
[Stigmata of Void (2-star) is activated]
Slowly but surely, I was learning his sword art.
Although Morgan was incomparably strong in sword art, he had a massive flaw.
He can't use skills.
He reached solely relying on his sword as his stigmata was only 2-star and didn't have any useful skills to help him to assist him while using the sword.
"You are really a worthy opponent, Marcel. I am honoured."
"The honor is all mine. But you don't have any problem if I steal your technique, right?"
"Don't worry. Nobody can steal our technique. But if you think you can still learn it just by watching, it's your technique, not someone else."
My eyes suddenly widened from his words. He was someone who had true respect for his sword.
'Clank! Clank! '
'Clank! Clank!'
I was trying to copy every step he has shown. He lifts a leg, I lift a leg. He rotates his left arm, I do so too.
Time passed and my moves became far more profound. The arena was filled with two beautiful and deadly dances tackling each other.
But this was my limit. I was not a sword monster like him and my mana also wouldn't last much more.
I stopped and looked at my opponent with a smile filled with only respect.
"It was fun, Morgan. You really are the best swordsman I ever met. I can't beat you without using my skill so I'll end here."
"Yeah... Show me what you've got."
{Mana Borrow}
Mana filled my body and I sent them towards the sword. The bright ethereal glowing sword clashed with Morgan's sword and his face showed a slightly pained expression.
{Iron will}
The weight further increased and Morgan's grip faltered slightly. Right then, I shot a fireball towards his legs.
{Fireball}
Morgan jumped back to avoid the fireball but it was the moment I was waiting for. Before his legs could land on the ground I plunged at him directly.
{Stretch}
The length of the sword also increased reducing my distance. My sword left a scar on his chest and he avoided being greatly harmed by changing his posture.
But this was just the beginning.
Soon, the one scar changed to two scars and then three. It continued for a little while until Morgan finally stopped.
'Although he is very strong, he can't beat me without skills. Because I am not someone who was weak too. Another thing is that I can already see through all his attacks because I learned his technique to a great extent with my stigmata.'
Still, I couldn't use this art nearly as good as Morgan.
Morgan was also smart and so after he became covered with wounds, he realised his position.
"I surrender. You win, Marcel. Congratulations."
"The winner of the fourth Top 8 match is Marcel Mistmer. Congratulations on reaching the Semi Final."
3 hours and 23 minutes. That was how long the fight lasted. Although I was very tired, I felt greatly relaxed at the same time.
Morgan was also smiling as he looked really relieved. But I was not happy at all seeing his face. Since I could tell it was just a facade to hide his real sadness.
Looking at his eyes, I knew what he intended to do. There was a time I had the same eyes as him.
"Are you going to abandon your sword?"
His eyes faltered for a second but soon returned to normal.
"I can't become any better than this with the sword. I know my limitations with this 2-star stigmata of mine."
I thought for a bit before answering carefully.
"....My stigmata is also 2-stars."
Although my stigmata was very unusual and was able to grow, it was not a lie when I said that.
'It is 2-star right now and I even started it from 0-star'
"I don't have any qualifications to give you any advice but what I did was to create my own way of fighting with the few skills I have. So...um... don't give up. Like I said, you're the strongest swordsman I ever fought."
He looked really shocked at first and then slowly his eyes became blurry as tears began to fall down.
"I see. I shall remember your words, Marcel. Win this tournament."
"You bet!"
***
As my match was the second one of the day, it was very late when I left the stadium. I decided to explore the market again but my real goal was to search for anything suspicious.
If the Doctor was behind Penelope's incident and the veil lady left without doing anything that means there's a possibility that they already succeeded in their plan.
But, what was their plan?
'Is it to gather information from Penelope? She said the lady tried to start a conversation with her. '
I looked through the stalls with all these thoughts.
It was only a little more than four hours since my match ended but the catalogues available in the market already showed the schedule for upcoming matches.
'I also haven't seen it. I wonder who my opponent is. '
"50 silvers, sir"
'I just want to see my opponent, you robbers! '
I picked up a catalogue from a shop after paying 50 silvers with a heartbreaking feeling.
I skipped all the useless information and looked for the fixtures of the semi-final.
Sylas Zyair vs Victoria Chauvet
Marcel Mistmer vs Ava Edenheart
'An Edenheart? For God's sake, why? Is she related to Rowan?'
So many questions filled my brain as I looked at the catalogue.
But before I could even think about anything, another bombshell dropped on me.
'Found you!'
I saw a lady wearing a veil moving hurriedly among the crown. I dropped all my grilled chicken as well as the catelogue and started chasing after her.
But to my surprise, after following her for a little while, she disappeared.
'Again? No way!'
It was making me anxious now as she might have guessed I was following her.
"Marcel?"
"Aaaahhh... Geez! You scared me."
"Oh I am sorry, but what are you doing here? "
The pale red eyed boy asked me in a curious voice. Sylas Zyair also looked exhausted as if he was chasing someone.
Sigh!
"Nothing. I was trying to track someone but forget it now. "
"Wait! You too? "
"And what is that supposed to mean?
"No, I mean I was also tracking someone. I don't know who it is but they reeked of blood"
"You know how they smell without knowing their face? "
''Haha! I am a little different. By the way, I found your secret by your smell too. You had the faint scent of a God".
'What the hell is that supposed to mean? He can smell people? '
"Anyway, that person's smell stopped here so I think they used a skill. Most probably it is skill that hides the presence."
Just then my eyes spotted something just beside the road."Or maybe she went to a place where others can't track using her scent."
"The manhole... No more importantly, 'she'? You've seen that person?" Sylas asked.
"Yeah! I had a certain incident with her. My guess is that she can turn invisible, otherwise, others would have seen and reacted to a well dressed lady using the manhole in the middle of such a crowd." I proposed my theory.
"So she knew she was being followed based on her scent, and she decided to get rid of her scent"
"My words exactly."
We soon returned to our inns and also exchanged our addresses just in case we found something.
***
"Aah! This tastes so bland. When I think about all the delicacies our other members are having in Lumina Town..."
Gulp!
Esmeralda found it really hard to control her urges hearing Kathryn's words.
"Wow! You're gulping now, Captain, even when you said you don't care about food earlier."
"S-shut up! It's not like that."
"By the way, what about the kids you taught? How are they doing? "
"They just sent me a letter yesterday. Three of them were eliminated quite early in the competition. To be honest, I had no doubt they would be eliminated so I am not surprised. But Victoria..."
"Yeah... She's your disciple, isn't she? What about her? "
"She's not my disciple! I just taught her a little of my Saint Sword Style. Anyway, she reached the semifinals and I'm not surprised to hear that too"
"Do you think she can win, Captain? "
"Yes, of course. She's a genius. She already surpassed 'the me from seventeen years' and I don't think anyone in that competition can beat her."
"Well, let's not be so sure, Captain. There's no limit to geniuses in this world. "
"Well, that may be true but I believe she will win. Okay, here's to Victoria reaching the semis"
Both of them cheered a cup of wine and chugged them down.
***
Day 1 of the Semi-Finals, Sylas Zyair vs Victoria Chauvet
It was just one minute and sixteen seconds to the match and the victor was already decided.
With his pale red eyes burning even redder, Sylas Zyair looked at his opponent Victoria who was on the brink of death, barely breathing while lying on the ground.