The announcer, a mage lizardman, which was rare, since beast folk rarely cared for magic, continued on with his speech as all the eyes within the audience turned back to him.

"Dear, dear challengers. It fills me with indescribable joy to see you all gathered before me today!

In these past few days, we have tested both your Soul, and your Mind, but now it is time to test your body!!"

He twirled in the air, his long tail coiling around him like a rope.

"How, you may ask? Allow me to tell you!" The announcer spread his arms wide with a grin on his face. "With a duel, of course! What better way is there to test your body than to let you rip the life out of each other's eyes?"

The reactions among the remaining eight challengers were mixed.

Indeed, only eight of them remained.

Verity.

Felicia.

Marco.

Hoshino.

Elio.

Sevrin.

Ifedolapo.

…And Midnight, or as she called herself for the moment, Twilight.

For something called the Rising Stars Tournament, it is almost inferred that it would eventually unfold in tournament style one on one duels. However, therein was the problem. This style of doing things overwhelmingly favored warriors, and the Rising Stars Tournament was never meant to favor sheer might over all else.

So then, how could a duel not favor sheer might over all else? How could one test the Body without favoring might?

To answer that question was to begin on false assumptions.

Whoever decided that a duel was decided through might alone?

A priest could eradicate a demon through the Power of Terras alone, yet the priest was not mightier than the demon.

A child could kill an adult with a single well-placed hit, yet the child was not mightier than the adult.

A bug could kill a man with a single sting, yet the bug was not mightier than the man.

Yes, a duel was decided through the body—but the body was more than strength alone. This was why, in the first place, dividing the Rising Stars Tournament into Soul, Mind and Body made little sense, as all of them were one and the same, or at least that was what the current trial Overseer believed.

Of course, even with this philosophy, it would not be interesting to watch a Strategist battle a warrior, no matter how much one said that might was not the end all be all.

That is why the Overseer had added a twist to the ordeal.

He waved his wand and two crystals appeared on each end of the arena.

"During these duels, these crystals placed toward each corner of the arena will be considered as your 'body', and of course, if they are destroyed, you 'die'." Both crystals shattered with another wave of his wand, and he sneered. "Naturally, if you yourself are killed, then you are defeated. A dead man cannot protect his body, after all. As it was mentioned before the Tournament began, there are no rules in place to protect your life."

Verity scoffed. "So in the end it really is just 'kill each other', huh."

Felicia glanced around her, and perhaps for the first time since the start of the tournament, she felt excited. "Incredible, these people are all so strong…!! This is going to be great!"

The Heavenly sword stroked her chin. "Oh~ Interesting. This somewhat compensates for the inherent advantage a close-ranged warrior has over a long-range combatant in this small arena."

Virgo clicked his tongue. "Good job stating the obvious, O Fairy Queen."

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Her eyes twitched. "I see. Perhaps it's been too long since we last saw each other, hasn't it, Pufftail?"

…

Virgo closed his eyes and exhaled. "Sorry."

The other three pretended not to have heard or seen anything.

—

Meanwhile, the Overseer had made a show of explaining small details such as the use of any artifact or weapon, but not potions or consumables, of Refined and below rank being permitted.

He also drew lots for the fights then and there with everyone watching. From his performance, he seemed to be a mage specializing in Ice Magic, which Verity had learned from Hoshino was not an aberrant magic affinity, but rather a combination of Water and Fire magic, or rather Heat magic which was a direct derivative of Fire magic.

The lots went as followed, in that exact order.

Marco vs Felicia

Twilight vs Sevrin

Verity vs Elio

And Hoshino vs Ifedolapo.

Seeing the crystal words written in the sky for all to see, Verity's jaw dropped. How could one man be this unlucky? He was supposed to fight against Elio in a situation where no one could intervene, and where Elio could kill him with no consequences?

He felt a hand land on his shoulder. It was Ife.

She scoffed. "Well, in any case, it was nice knowing you."

Verity turned to her, disbelief in his eyes. "Aren't you going to have at least a little faith in me?"

Ife shook her head. "Against that guy? Nope. None at all."

Verity clicked his tongue, and removed her hand from his shoulder. He glanced at Elio, who was staring daggers at him, and he exhaled. 'I guess I really will have to use 'that', damnit…'

He then addressed Ife. "You know, Hoshino's not an easy opponent either. I'd be careful if I were you."

Ife shrugged. "You say that because you have no idea what I can really do…but you'll see…" she crossed her arms. "And she will too." And she departed from the platform, since she was not the first to fight.

As a matter of fact, they all did, all beside Marco and Felicia.

On her side of the arena, Felicia felt her heart pumping. She had wanted to fight Marco ever since seven months ago during that mission, but she had never gotten the chance to.

Marco's large frame towering on the other side of the battlefield, Felicia analyzed him, his bulging muscles and the raw power emanating from them.

She couldn't wait to test her blade against them.

Marco, for his part, seemed to be preoccupied by something. He looked toward the stands, toward the Emperor himself.

'Was it him, that time…? Hm, no way to know.'

He could not know that it was the First Prince, and not the Emperor, whom he had wagered with, so Marco, still staring straight in his direction, smiled brightly, and he flexed his muscles.

The few guards around the emperor frowned and their hands jumped to the hilt of their swords. "He dares!?"

"Your Majesty, shall we execute him where he stands?"

The Emperor simply tilted his head, curious. "No, leave him be."

At last, Marco turned his attention toward Felicia. "To think I'd have to fight you here and now, how unlucky."

He knew very well of Felicia's genius. It was hard not to. Felicia was a once in a millenia talent that even his master had praised, though Marco wasn't sure when or where he'd seen her.

On the other hand, much less than being less skilled than Felicia, Marco didn't know a single technique. In the end, the wager that his master had agreed to had amounted to nothing.

Gerard was both an immovable object and an unstoppable force. No matter what Marco had tried, nothing had been able to harm his master, and so his Master had taught him nothing besides how to strengthen his body.

For seven long months, Marco's body had only grown stronger, more resilient, and more impenetrable. Yet, he still did not know how to fight.

But so what?

He had made a promise.

He cracked his knuckles and grinned at Felicia. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to win this, Felicia."

Felicia returned his grin. "Yes, of course.. I wouldn't have it any other way."

The Fairy Queen spoke to Gerard without turning her head. "Ha… sorry about that, little Gerard, but it looks like this is where it ends for your disciple."

Evangelina cut in. "From the looks of it, you haven't taught him a single martial art, have you?"

To her, it was obvious merely from his stance. He did not know how to fight.

Klyde, the third warrior among the bunch, surprisingly spoke. "Is that one your disciple, Fairy Queen?" He said, pointing to Felicia.

"Yes, and don't even think about stealing her."

Klyde narrowed his eyes. "...Ridiculous."

At last, Gerard's lips parted. "Haha! Well, perhaps you're right!" His eyes narrowed, his voice settled, and ever so slightly, his gip tightened around the sides of his seat "But why not let the duel start before making assumptions?"

The Fairy Queen seemed on the verge of saying something, but she then leaned back, and she nodded. "Indeed. I apologize."

The duel was about to start. Felicia had drawn her thin silver sword, and Marco had taken a stance, if it could be called a stance. He had only raised his arms, imitating the boxers of Earth. Not that he knew boxing since he'd been a wrestler all his life.

Still, he thought he looked cooler doing that than just standing around.

The tension was high, and both fighters looked at each other intensely. Marco with a serious expression and Felicia with a wide smile curling her lips.

The Overseer began the countdown.

Three.

Two ice crystals formed behind the both of them, their surfaces reflecting the bright suns above.

Two

It seemed as though everyone had decided to hold their breaths. There was not a sound, whether it be in the arena or in the audience.

One.

Felicia began circulating her Aura.

Fight.

And as soon as the signal was given, she burst forward.

From the few times she'd seen him fight, she had come to know of Marco's tough skin, and just how difficult he was to damage.

So, Felicia's first attack, while not entirely sincere, was by no means half-hearted.

'Nameless style - Rapid'

This was her fastest attack, meant to end things in a single strike. It was as fast as it was heavy, and perhaps only that would have been enough to fell most opponents, but Felicia did not stop there.

As she rushed forward, a soft blue hue enveloped the edges of her sword – Sword Aura.

A single strike from a genius, enveloped in sword aura. To say that it was not sincere did not mean that it was not a serious strike.

Gerard stroked his rough beard in the midst of Felicia's charge. "As you've all noticed… I haven't taught him much, just one technique." He smirked. "But the reason for that is just..."

The others seemed curious to hear the reason, but no one said anything.

Gerard paused, and just as Felicia's sword was about to come into contact with Marco's skin, his lips parted. "... that it would have been a waste of time."

CLANG

Felicia's sword stopped dead in its tracks, and a large shadow appeared above her.

Marco's fist.

The Martial Emperor smacked his lips. "That kid's body… his potential, it's even greater than mine!! HAHA!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.