As the next morning arrived, Serrie was waiting for their next pick.
"Lastly, we will have Kal here, a stage two flame user content as our champion." Triss said, as she was technically now in charge based on seniority
"… seriously—" Serrie said with a face palm
"Is there a problem?" Triss asked with a smug look
"Give us until the afternoon to find someone then…" Serrie said before leaving with an annoyed expression
Whilst the council of Tuatri had smug looks on their faces, Markus had a big sword coming straight for his head as he gathered water from the river.
He jumped back and placed a barrier where he stood— a barrier with a hole in it!
The swordfish leaped through with his sword in the hole and got stuck. Instantly Markus bound the fish up with wind chains!
"I'm eating grilled fish this morning!" He said with a wicked laugh as he created a sword of whirlwind
A while later, the smell of grilled fish filled the area.
"This is the best! Oh man— this day is going to be amazing!" Markus said as he ate the beast that's been terrorising his water breaks for the last several days
After having his fill, he went to drink water again. Something deeper and larger linked in the water and as Markus approached it jumped forward and tried to catch him between its jaws! It was a crocodile!
"Oh come on!" Markus said as he flew in the air.
Then he had an idea—
Making a swirling straw of wind, he drank from the river from five metres above the water line
"Ha! Take that!" Markus said after having his fill
"You know— it dawned on me that non-awakened people can't simply drink from the river. You shouldn't really drink from the river either because of all the illnesses you can get from it but your essence is potent enough to kill anything that enters your system." Anax said
"Oh- right… that kind of slipped my mind to be honest—" Markus said as he went in deeper. Eventually as he headed deeper into the forest, he flew high up. In the distance he saw a large clearing of trees. The centre was not far!
After about another 100 metres however, he ran into a barrier.
"The hell is this—" he mumbled
"Do. Not. Touch. It." Anax said slowly and clearly
'What is it…' Markus asked with a gulp
"The domain of the lesser spirit. It woke up. That is what scared those monsters… this abomination woke up. Go around the barrier— if you go past it, the spirit will know you are here… and then you will be it's food." Anax said
Markus gulped and bolted parallel to the barrier.
It was afternoon now and he was still going around the barrier.
'Imagine this thing put the cabin in its domain— it would be crazy right… right!?' Markus asked
Naturally he was not the only one asking questions
"Do we know yet who they're putting up against Kal?" Meer asked
"No. But they should come forth soon—" Triss said as there was a knock at the door
"We are ready for the final matchup…" Risse said, although the pale expression on her face made the rest worried
As they walked down to the colosseum, they saw a lot of guards. And within the colosseum, there were plenty of students now, over 130 in attendance along with over 100 guards.
These guards were there for the safety of the contender.
In the middle of the colosseum, Princess Anastasia Crystallia stood in her golden combat suit. Her golden hair and eyes matched it perfectly.
The student council of Tuatri Academy nearly fainted right there. They weren't expecting an easy win by any means but this was borderline outrageous.
"Oh man— I wouldn't want to be you right now—" Meer said looking at Kal
"What do I even do—" Kal said
The administrator looked at him with pity and spoke
"Can the champions stand in the middle. We are in the presence of her royal highness, Princess Anastasia Crystallia, heir to the throne and council lady of the royal academy. With respect to her highness, her personal guard, Master Jessica Windbourne, will be in the barrier." He said as Kal approached
"Begin…" he said once Kal was in close proximity
Kal simply froze. His mind just broke from the pressure
Anastasia spinned and created a mount of crystals which lifted and immodibilised Kal.
The crowd burst in cheers.
"W-winner— Her royal highness, Princess Anastasia Crystallia!" He said anxiously
The council of Tuatri couldn't even blame him—
"the royal academy really pulled the royal card—" Haroldson mumbled
The barrier fell and Kal was let go. He fell to his knees and remained there on all fours.
Anastasia walked up to her opponents.
She looked among them
'I suppose he was not allowed to come.' She thought to herself before leaving
Once she left, everyone sighed with relief
The administrator spoke up
"Considering the results, the competition shall henceforth end in a draw overall." He said conclusively
Serrie walked up to Tuatri
"For the record— we did not choose her. She heard of your requirements and… 'persuaded' her way into the spot of champion… on behalf of the rest of the council, thank you for coming and apologies that they could not all attend and get to know you." Serrie said with a bow
"It's alright… thank you for hosting us." Triss said with a bow
Serrie stood up, nodded and left
Ultimately, the competition had a rather anticlimactic end. Now they had to tell Helen and Amy the news.
"The princess!?" Both ladies exclaimed
"Right!?" Triss exclaimed
"Can't wait to tell Markus we actually got a draw— I bet he will lose his mind!" They said
As the evening fell, they all celebrated a draw by food and drinks (non-alcoholic) in the capital.
Markus however, could very much wait. As a matter of fact— he was already losing his mind as he realised the lesser spirit had placed the entire damn camp in its domain.
"Great— so I need to cross the domain of a small deity…" Markus said as he looked at the barrier
"And you said today was going to be a great day— not so great now is it—" Anax quipped
"I sometimes wish there was a way to mute you—" Markus said with a sigh
He camped the night out just outside the barrier. The next day, he would invade the territory of a deity.