Quite a number of mortals, and an even greater number of Fae Masters went wide eyed when they saw the sheer power that Randolf just unleashed.
While the vast majority of mortals were shocked that a Fae Master could unleash such a display of power and strength, those Fae Masters in the crowd knew that Randolf's abilities had exceeded the limits of a Rank 1 Fae Master.
Most didn't recognize the exact Fae that Randolf had just used, but its strength, intensity and range exceeded the limits of a Rank 1 Fae.
That only meant one thing....
Randolf was both a Rank 2 Fae Master, and had a Rank 2 Fire Attributed Fae in his possession!
Many of the older Fae Masters sucked in a breath of air.
It had only just been a year, and yet someone from the newest generation had already broken past the limits of Rank 1 and reached Rank 2!?
What a frightening talent!
Some of those Fae Masters who knew better, would've thought that the wielder of the Boundless Forest Yearning would be the one who reached Rank 2 the fastest, but after her death, it did make sense that Randolf would be the next one to do so.
But to do it so soon, and right before the second Fae Master Tournament.... was he planning on completely sweeping through the entire competition?!
His classmates also looked at Randolf, a combination of shock and fear could be seen in their eyes.
Ratimir, Borik and Alina all considered Randolf an adversary that they had to be weary of, and his intelligence and combat prowess wasn't low by any means. He didn't have the background or the knowledge that they could access, but it wasn't a secret that some of the Elders gave him extra tips in their spare time.
Being a first-tier talent, Randolf was considered a genius by the Clan. Nurturing a genius was the most natural thing they should do, since they should theoretically be able to contribute the most to the Clan.
Alina had now increased the size of her origin essence sea to the same level as Randolf, and even if her origin essence regeneration wasn't as good as his, she could fight just as long as he could.
But....
That was on the premise that they were of the same cultivation level.
If they were to compare moves using only Rank 1 Fae, Randolf would outlast Alina several times over. If they both used Rank 2 Fae, the same outcome would occur.
On an open platform with nowhere to run or hide, both competitors had to use as much strength as they could to defeat their opponent. If one could unleash a strength far greater than the other, to the point where they couldn't resist then.... what exactly was the point of the fight?
In the eyes of many.... Randolf has suddenly become the winner of the Tournament.
There wasn't anybody within Parachenko Village that could defeat a Rank 2 Fae Master as a Rank 1 Fae Master.
Perhaps someone like Leon or Dominic could fight some of the Elders for a short period of time, but winning? That was a different story.
Randolf didn't even so much as glance at his classmates and sat down in his original position. Glancing sideways, he noticed that Arthur hadn't even so much as flinched when he activated his fae.
In fact, he doubted that the young man even so much as blinked.
"If you go down to anyone other than me, I'll be disappointed".
Arthur raised an eyebrow, supporting the weight of his head in his hand.
He couldn't help but slightly chuckle at Randolf's words.
"If I go down to you, I'll be disappointed".
Randolf narrowed his eyes and scoffed but didn't say anything.
Despite the fervour and excitement caused by Randolf's win, the next few battles proceeded without too much trouble.
Ratimir had fought one of Zoya's friends and defeated him quite soundly. He hadn't used too many Fae either, so just like Randolf, many only got to see one or two of his new Fae.
More of the battles continued, all of which followed Arthur's prior knowledge of the event, causing the sixteen year old reincarnate to nod before standing up.
All the other battles had already been completed, and other than him and one other person, everyone else had either lost, or advanced to the second round.
He didn't even so much as glance at his opponent, but felt a battle-hungry gaze on his body, as a huge, hulking figure started walking over towards the main stage.
In the Kovacs Clan, this young man's body was huge, even by their standards. He was only sixteen, but he had already reached a height exceeding 2.5 metres. His physique was much stronger, and much more durable than those Fae Masters of the same Rank, almost reaching the levels of a Physique.
Borik Kovacs.... was a bear in human form.
It wasn't some sort of planned event, or effect of fae on his body, but pure genetic luck.
Other than Randolf or himself, Arthur doubted that anyone could match Borik in a test of pure strength.
Randolf was a Rank 2 Fae Master, while Arthur had his physical attributes boosts by the Blood Fruits from the blood essence gathering fae.
Even if Randolf managed to upgrade his Fiend Fae, or find some sort of Rank 2 Fae that did the same thing, in terms of how well he could make use of said strength was far inferior to Arthur.
Both young men didn't wait for Niklos to call them both up, and just stood on either side of the main platform, one with a bloodthirsty expression, and the other one, with a placid, expressionless look on his face.
It had been quite a while since people saw Arthur walking up and about through the Village streets. Many of them had seen him with Andrea and knew that the pair had slowly started to form a relationship with each other but....
After the beast tide, many of them had gotten the news from Andrea's parents, than Arthur and her had gotten attacked. Leaving Arthur wounded with a tooth going through his stomach, and Andrea....
Like many others, she too had fallen victim to the beast tide.
Some people started to spread rumours, stating that Arthur had abandoned her, or tried to run away, which were mostly spread by Zoya and his friends but the vast majority of people didn't believe such things.
If Arthur was such a coward, then why would he stay out an protect the Village during the first beast tide? Why would he save that young girl, and her baby nephew from being devoured by venom spiders?
If he could save a stranger, Arthur would definitely try and save his lover. The fact that he didn't get to save her obviously meant that..... well, that he had failed.
From the first Tournament almost a year ago, Arthur had almost won, and used up all his origin essence against Randolf in the final match. It was an unfortunate loss, but there was nothing that he could do about.
Many did consider Arthur to be the victor, but rules were rules after all.
Seeing Arthur, in addition to Borik almost a year later, made quite a few remember the fight that they also had a year ago.
It had ended with Arthur baiting Borik into a false sense of security, before stabbing him through his upper chest with a moonsword fae.
Borik wasn't used to fighting with such a wound, so Arthur quickly dominated the match after that.
But now.... things might be different, many thought.
Borik smiled, and licked his lips, gazing towards Arthur. His blood was practically boiling at this point, and his vision slowly started to turn red.
"You know Arthur, you did say that you wanted to fight against me. I guess its fate that we are to end the last battle of the first round with your loss".
Arthur made no apparent change in expression, but his tone made it seem as though he was looking down at Borik.
"If you think you are going to win this Borik, then I guess you're more stupid than I originally thought".
Neither side took the others words seriously, as the two referees on either side of the platform turned towards the Clan Leader.
Niklos nodded, before raising his arm.
"Let the final match of the first round....".
He swung it down with another intense force behind it.
"Begin!".