Euris woke up to the faint buzz of his watch alarm.
For a moment, he didn't move.
Then it all hit him at once.
"…Tournament…"
He sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes before swinging his legs off the bed.
His body felt sore, but not nearly as bad as he expected after last night.
"…Right."
He crouched down next to the outlet and pressed his hand against it.
The familiar surge of energy flowed through him.
Warm.
Steady.
The soreness faded almost instantly, replaced by a clean, refreshed feeling that spread through his muscles.
"…Still not used to that…"
he muttered.
After charging, he went through his normal routine.
Shower.
Uniform.
Quick check of his watch.
Then he headed out.
The cafeteria was already busy.
Euris spotted Harry almost immediately and walked over, sliding into place beside him in line.
"Hey, Harry," Euris said. "You excited for combat class after breakfast?"
Harry looked up, clearly more awake than usual.
"Oh yeah. I can't wait to see what kind of talents everyone has."
Euris smirked.
"You watch combat tournaments, don't you? You seem like the type."
Harry scratched the back of his head, smiling a little.
"Yeah… I kind of do. I'm a bit of a super fan when it comes to that stuff."
"That's actually pretty cool," Euris said. "I wish I had something like that."
Harry shook his head quickly.
"No, no, it's not like that…"
Euris raised an eyebrow but didn't push it.
They grabbed their trays and walked over to their usual corner.
Euris sat down, leaning back slightly.
"…Maybe I should start watching tournaments," he said. "Might help with experience."
Harry nodded.
"Yeah, especially since you've got your own matches today."
Euris sighed.
"Yeah… that's the problem. We don't know anything about the other teams. No data, no strategy. We're basically going in blind."
Harry shrugged.
"Does it really matter? You've got Konner."
Euris let out a short laugh.
"Yeah, that helps a bit."
He paused, then added, "Yesterday he was fighting this insanely fast girl. I couldn't even follow half of it. I just stood there watching like an idiot."
Harry's eyes widened slightly.
"That sounds amazing…"
"It was," Euris admitted. "Terrifying, but amazing."
Harry smiled.
"I wish I could see your matches."
Euris pointed at him.
"Hey, you've got your own class. You'll get to practice your talent and those gauntlets."
Harry nodded.
"Yeah. I'm actually looking forward to that."
"Good," Euris said. "You should be."
They finished eating and tossed their trays.
Euris stretched slightly.
"Well, I'm heading out early," he said. "Konner takes this stuff seriously, and I don't feel like getting yelled at."
Harry laughed nervously.
"Yeah… that sounds like a good idea."
"See you later," Euris said, waving as he walked off.
"Good luck!" Harry called after him.
The fighting hall was quieter than usual when Euris arrived.
Only a few students had shown up early.
And, of course—
Konner was already there.
Training.
Euris slowed his steps slightly.
"…Of course he is…"
He considered walking over.
Saying something.
Then shook his head.
"…Yeah, no. Not interrupting that."
Instead, he took a seat on the bleachers.
More students began to trickle in.
Groups formed.
Conversations started.
Eventually, the room filled.
Then the bell rang.
The doors swung open.
More students poured in, filling the remaining space.
Euris leaned forward slightly, waiting.
Then—
Silas walked in.
Completely calm.
Like he hadn't shown up late to his own class.
Whispers spread immediately.
"Is he even qualified?"
"How does the school allow this?"
Silas stopped in the center of the room.
"QUIET."
The single word slammed through the room like a shockwave.
Silence followed instantly.
Silas looked around, clearly unimpressed.
"Finally," he muttered. "I thought you'd never stop talking."
He pulled out a small remote.
"I'm sure you're all wondering how this works," he said. "So I'll explain."
He clicked the button.
A massive screen unfolded from the wall.
A bracket appeared.
Teams.
Names.
Numbers.
"Sixteen teams remain out of the original thirty-two," Silas continued. "You are now in the preliminaries."
Euris leaned forward.
His eyes scanned the list.
Then stopped.
"…There…"
Earthquakers
Konner glanced at it briefly.
"…Interesting choice."
Euris scratched his head.
"…Yeah… sounded better in my head…"
He looked at their matchup.
Earthquakers (2 members)vsAlpha Outlaws (5 members)
Euris blinked.
Then laughed.
"…Alpha Outlaws?"
"Who puts 'Alpha' in their own name?"
"Got a problem with that, punk?"
Euris turned.
A guy stood behind him.
Greasy hair.
Unwashed look.
A face that practically screamed bad attitude.
"…Of course it's you," Euris muttered.
The guy stepped closer.
"Say that again."
Euris forced himself not to laugh.
"…Nah. It's a great name. Really intimidating."
The guy smirked.
"Yeah. That's what I thought."
He walked off.
Euris let out a quiet chuckle.
Then—
Someone else approached.
The shift in presence was immediate.
He didn't look flashy.
Didn't stand out physically.
But the pressure he carried was real.
It reminded Euris of Konner.
Not as strong.
But similar.
The guy leaned in slightly.
And whispered—
"We know what happened on that roof."
Then walked away.
Euris froze.
A cold chill ran down his spine.
"…Shit…"
His mind raced.
The fight.
The guy he beat.
Level two.
Cocky.
Too confident.
"…He had backup…"
Euris looked over.
Found him.
The same guy.
This time, he noticed the watch.
Level 4
"…No way…"
Euris clenched his jaw.
"…I can't beat that…"
He glanced at his own watch.
Level 1.
Still behind.
"…Doesn't matter…"
He exhaled slowly.
"…I'll deal with that later…"
He turned back to the arena.
The first match had already started.
And—
"…There."
The short sword user.
Euris leaned forward instantly.
"…Perfect…"
He activated analysis.
The world shifted.
Everything else faded.
All that remained—
Movement.
Precise.
Controlled.
Every step.
Every swing.
Every adjustment.
Euris watched it all.
Felt it.
Understood it.
The system tracked everything in the corner of his vision.
The percentage climbed.
Slowly.
Then—
A notification appeared.
Proficiency Increased Martial Art: Beginner → Intermediate
Euris' eyes widened slightly.
"…Already?"
Before he could react—
Another notification appeared.
Martial Skill Tree Unlocked View Now?
"…Yes."
The match ended shortly after.
Euris deactivated analysis.
Then opened the new menu.
Three branches appeared.
Defense
Traversal
Attack
Each had multiple skills.
Most were locked.
Only the first skill in each branch was available.
Euris read them carefully.
Parry Use a weapon to deflect 50% of incoming damage if the enemy is within two levels.
Dash Spend 1 ENG to increase movement speed by 50% for one minute.
Blind Strike Spend 1 ENG to strike an enemy's blind spot and deal 150% damage if within two levels.
Euris leaned back slightly.
"…Okay…"
He thought it through.
His ENG was only five.
If it ran out, his HP would start dropping.
"…Not good…"
The offensive and movement skills were tempting.
But—
"…I need survivability…"
He selected Parry.
Parry LV1 Acquired
Euris smiled.
"…That'll help…"
He stood up and looked at the bracket again.
"…We're up…"
He walked over to Konner.
"Hey. We're next."
Konner stood immediately.
"…Good."
They made their way down to the arena.
Euris summoned his staff from his inventory.
The weight felt more natural now.
He activated mimic.
His stance shifted.
More stable.
More controlled.
"…Yeah…"
This felt better.
More refined.
He stepped onto the sand.
Across from them—
The Alpha Outlaws.
Five of them.
Euris exhaled slowly.
"…Alright…"
He tightened his grip.
Then, quietly—
He began counting.
Three.
Two.
One.
A horn blasted across the arena.
Silas' voice followed.
"BEGIN!"