Several hours earlier
'Bloody hell, where on earth have they all gone?' wondered Kaen
Kaen scanned the corridor; just a minute earlier, it had been packed with dozens of students rushing about in all directions to avoid being late. Some were panicking, others were excited, but everyone felt they didn't have a second to spare.
And now, no one was there.
He'd just popped to the loo – a quick detour, a minute or two at most.
'Impressive,' he thought,'truly impressive efficiency when it comes to leaks.'
He wandered through the academy's corridors, or rather, he roamed, which was different. Roaming implied not knowing one's destination; he, Kaen, knew it; he simply chose not to go there for the moment.
His sense of direction confirmed that the arena was indeed not far from his current location.
He didn't really know how much time he had left before taking to the stage, but given the basic probability of going first, without factoring Alice's personality into the calculations.
He continued to wander aimlessly around the academy.
It was as he turned a corner that he caught a certain scent, the smell of meat and spices—and, of course, that smell reminded him of something fundamental: he was hungry.
His stomach confirmed the fact.
'I'm starving' he realised. 'Why on earth do I have to suddenly get ravenous just before an exam?'
He pushed open the door.
The restaurant was neither large nor small, nor particularly grand; it reminded him of his life before he met his uncle.
'This really isn't the time to be haunting me, old man.'
An old lady was behind the counter.
She looked up at him with that expression people have when they've seen too much, too many people come and go in one way or another.
Kaen sat down in a corner; even when there was no one else there, he didn't really like being in the centre.
Then he noticed a screen showing the tournament live.
He didn't really pay attention to the menu anymore.
'Convenient,' he thought.
His meal arrived. He ate slowly while watching the screen.
The tenth match: two strangers he'd never met. He didn't bother watching their bout properly and carried on eating without stopping.
The thirtieth match was of a higher standard than the previous ones; this one at least put on a decent fight.
Then the screen changed, and he recognised the figure.
Solvane.
She was fighting in a way that was different from what he'd expected. It wasn't a strategy. It was something he hadn't seen during their week of training: pure determination; no calculations, no strategy, just sheer willpower. At that moment, she was no longer a prisoner of all those distracting thoughts; it was precisely those thoughts that had allowed him to hold his own against her despite the difference in their cultivation levels.
'Truly impressive,' he thought with a smile he would never dare admit, 'for someone who was crying in the carriage just a few hours ago.'
He began to eat normally again.
A few fights later, the one in the spotlight this time was Leon Vesper.
Kaen stopped chewing and watched the beginnings of a man destined to be a hero of a world in ruins.
He watched him lose; he watched Kaelgar wrest the weapon from his hands and press his own sword to his throat; he watched Leon nod his head ,not out of resignation, but as if acknowledging that he still had much to learn.
'He's learning,' thought Kaen, 'too slowly for today, but enough to be of use tomorrow.'
After what felt like an eternity of fighting, it was finally the turn of a truly majestic woman.
Azriel.
Kaen put down his fork; even he was blown away by what he was seeing.
He watched her fight with her bare hands. She was incredibly cold, directing the entire fight like an orchestra of death. Every movement was calculated and served a specific purpose.
He remained frozen in his chair as if he were witnessing heresy unfolding before his eyes… well, if a normal person saw heresy before them, they would panic; he probably wouldn't care.
'Since when has she been doing this?'
The question remained unanswered; it wasn't in the original novel, and he had no other information from his previous life in this one.
He knew it was his turn now.
He put down his cup, finished his meal, and paid the old lady, even though normally you could only pay with currency from the academy; it was a festive day with plenty of tourists about
Outside, the air was cool, almost refreshing; he raised his arms to stretch.
A few minutes before being disqualified.
'I've got time,' thought Kaen