After the quarterfinal battles, 2 days of rest were allocated by the principal to allow the students who qualified to rest and recover to their peak state at which time the battle fixtures for the semifinals were released.
The semifinals would be fought over 2 days just like the quarterfinals.
Day 1 of the Semifinals:
- John Naga vs Turan Elliot
Day 2 of the Semifinals:
- Rex Vector vs Morgana Jones
Once the fixtures were released, Obedin City was left buzzing again as the citizens of this massive city speculated on the 2 students who would break the deadlock and qualify for the finals of the graduation tournament.
While the city buzzed with activity, hyping the tournament while betting sites for the tournament sprang up, the 4 students who qualified trained like hell.
John, Turan, Rex, and Morgana all shut themselves off from the world as they engaged in what could only be referred to as a marathon training schedule.
All of them wanted to qualify for the finals and eventually win the graduation tournament, which was why they dared not to underestimate their opponents.
Even for Turan, he dared not underestimate his opponent. None of them qualified to the semifinals by luck, it was entirely by their strength and was the reason why none of them could be underestimated.
They were like 4 vampires; any mistake and your blood will be drained.
…
The Elliot family mansion…
Like his 3 counterparts who qualified for the semifinals of the graduation tournament, Turan trained hard from the first day of rest that was given.
He suffered some injuries after his battle with Roland but with the advanced medical equipment available to the Elliot family, he healed completely in just less than a day and could focus completely on training.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
In his personal combat training chamber, Turan moved with conviction as his sword moved, flowing in rhythm with his body like water as he hacked, chopped, slashed, and stabbed at the swordsmen robots surrounding him.
Turan already mastered the basics of swordsmanship after grinding for years, so the moves were now instinctive to him as he destroyed the robots but still, his mind could not help but drift away.
Though Turan hated to admit it, he was a teenager who had just become an adult like his fellow students and he was prone to emotional setbacks also.
Turan watched Rex's battle against Jessica, and this brought back some traumas in his mind that he had been trying hard to forget.
Turan believed in his strength, his results in school proved that he was the best student of his batch but Rex's sudden explosive growth put him under a lot of pressure and this was all psychological, he could not just shrug it off.
Though he tried, he could not stop thinking about it especially when he remembered the prophecy that his most hated half-sibling, Bruno gave.
Turan lost his mom when he was just 3, and being from such a massive extended family with his father being the patriarch, he hardly ever had the opportunity to interact with his dad.
Outside, people saw him as that stable genius who never wavered but inwardly, he knew that he was fighting a losing war with his emotions and insecurities.
Turan already hovered between that point of genius and madness so many times that he could not count, he was tired, he just wanted to live a normal life.
His wish could not be fulfilled though, he was the best of this new generation of Elliots and therefore had to carry the weight of the whole family on his shoulders.
The weight was already crushing him but he had to keep on pretending to be cool to not attract the ire of his father.
"Ha!" Thinking of all these, Turan suddenly upped his aggressiveness as he channeled his mystic energy and unleashed a lightning energy-empowered slash at the robots.
Bzzz!
A lot of them were fried, but he was exhausted as he fell down on his butt and covered his head in between his legs.
Silence followed for about a minute before a voice interjected. "Young master Turan, what is on your mind?"
When Turan raised his head, tears filled his eyes. "Master Naman…"
"Come here, kid". The old man motioned toward Turan and he could not hold himself as he ran closer and jumped into his arms.
Master Naman was an intermediate mystic warrior who later had an accident and lost his mystic energy, thereby returning to being a normal warrior.
By losing his mystic energy, he lost his previous status of a mystic warrior and was thereby relegated to the role of being Turan's tutor since 3 years of age. He was like Turan's dad compared to his real father.
Master and student maintained the embrace for minutes before the old man asked. "You're thinking of that student again?"
"Yes, master, I can't seem to remove him from the back of my mind. Last night, I even dreamt of him".
The old man patted Turan's back. "It is ok to feel scared, it is a normal reaction, what matters is how well you react to it and if you can rise and get stronger from your moment of weakness".
"How did he get so strong all of a sudden?" Turan asked and looked his master in the eye.
"He awoke mystic energy".
"I know, but…"
Master Naman turned his back to Turan. "It is normal kid. Rex is a sword genius, so are you also. What held him back previously was the lack of mystic energy, once he got it, his shackles were released".
"Rex is a strong kid, but there is no guarantee that he'll get past Morgana".
"Besides, give yourself some credits, you're the best student of your batch".
"Remember this, you'll only win when you believe in yourself first. Believe that you're the best which you are and you'll be the best".
After saying that last part, Master Naman started walking away. "Keep on training and believe in yourself".
Seeing his master's departing back, Turan finally cleaned the tears from his eyes as his grip on his Triple Kill Sword tightened. "Thank you, master".
Once his master left, he turned to face the robots. "Initiate hell-level test!"
"Warning! Hell-level test…"
"Do it, this is an order!"
"Yes, Young master Turan".
"Initiating hell-level test…"
As the strongest robots in his combat training chamber got prepared to confront him, Turan's face became serious as lightning flashed through his eyes the next moment, then he exploded forward with speed.
"Advanced Lightning Skill: …"
…
Inside the 2nd most sacred region of the Elliot mansion, the patriarch's chambers…
Knock! Knock!
"Come in". A deep voice reverberated from within the darkness.
Once Master Naman opened the doors, dim lighting came up that illuminated the room slightly, presenting the faint back of the revered patriarch of the Elliot family who was sitting cross-legged meditating.
"How is he preparing?" The deep voice of the patriarch asked.
Master Naman knelt on the ground and kowtowed before replying. "He is slowly getting along…"
"He needs to get along fast!" The deep voice of the patriarch turned sharp.
"Yes, my Lord…"
"Do all that you need to keep him at the best state for the semifinals and the finals subsequently. Since he qualified to this stage, the results are already out of his hands".
"This is no longer his contest, but a contest between mystic families".
"Turan must win the graduation tournament!"
"Yes, my Lord".
"Leave!"
Master Naman kowtowed one last time before turning to leave.