After another match goes by, Victoria returns to the stands.
"Damn, You are a lot stronger than I expected!" Ray says.
"Of course I am! Did you forget I was a third circle mage?! Anyway, how did I do?" Victoria asks
"Extremely well! Either way, I better go get ready for my match. See you soon." Ray responds as he gets up and heads towards the waiting room for participants.
As Ray enters the room, he sees Geril waiting for him.
"This is your first match, so remember that I am your sponsor and if you screw this up, my reputation gets worse." Geril says.
"Calm down, I rather strongly doubt anyone here can handle hand to hand combat." Ray responds as he waits for his match to roll around
Around seven matches go by as Ray hears his name get called,
"We have someone completely new to the Arena! His name is Ray Kaine!"
With only mild cheering from the crowd, Ray walks out.
"Sadly for Ray, his opponent is quite experienced in the Arena, having gone to the international Arena tournament with his high school team. Also backed by a powerful noble family.
It is, Jirin Von Gonricht!" The announcer shouts to a chorus of cheers and applause as Jirin walks out.
He is a 5'11" tall man with long blonde hair and pink eyes.
"Hello there newcomer!" Jirin says with a proud voice.
"I am delighted to be your first opponent in this amazing sport, and I wish you the very best!" Jirin shouts as he prepares himself
"The same to you.." Ray says cautiously as he sets himself up.
"May the match… BEGIN!!" The announcer shouts.
[Accelerated scheming activated!]
Ray sees this spectral card appear, as a ghostly version of Jirin appears in front of him and punches him square in the gut.
"Urgh…" Ray moans as he is sent 3 feet back.
'He fights melee… From RANGE?!'
Jirin continues to shadow box in the background as his eyes glow, and the ghostly version of them follows the movements.
'Shit!'
The ghost begins to swing towards him, Ray ducks under, and out of instinct punches the ghost in the side, but even though the ghost recoils, Jirin does not.
Jirin enters a pose, as the ghost adjusts itself to match.
'Hm?'
Ray notices the stance shift, and uses the readjustment period to kick the ghost in the chest.
"Weighted Impact!"
The ghost is sent flying back around 7 feet.
'Alright let's see if I am right…'
Jirin strikes a stance as the ghost follows it.
'Perfect.' Ray smiles, as he says, "Strike Armor!"
[Warning! Your speed is reaching the limit! Any more enhancements will lead to rapid disintegration!]
Ray sprints towards the ghost, leaping at it with a flying knee to the face, after he crashes into the ghost, he uses it as a springboard and leaps towards Jirin.
Ray grins as he spins around aiming for the side of Jirin's head. But in response, Jirin smiles, as another spectral figure appears, catching Ray by the leg.
Then swinging him around into another newly manifested ghost, kicking him square in the back.
"Blrghhhhh!!!" Ray coughs violently as the three ghosts surround him, with Jirin in the background smiling.
"I am sorry my friend. You have fallen for my trick, as most tend to do when they haven't seen me before.." Jirin laughs awkwardly.
'Damn… He pretended to need to shadow box to control them… God damn it… I respect that.' Ray laughs internally as he sets himself back up.
'Alright, think… There are three of them, not including himself. He seems to have the general principles of hand to hand down,
in order to control his ghost in such a way, so he isn't inept… I can't use my time affinity to get closer, I think I got it.'
Ray swings his hands out towards the ghost, with two large wind scythes being sent out. While doing this he dashes towards the other ghost, and punches him in the face.
He spins around, grabbing the ghost by the arm, and flings it at Jirin.
"Weighted Impact!"
[Passive effect of Time Bolt Activated!]
The ghost is sent flying out at an extreme speed crashing heavily into Jirin.
Ray then sprints and leaps into the air, before spinning around, stumping onto Jirin's chest using weighted impact again.
With a loud groan, the clothing activates, signifying Jirin's loss.
'Whew… Brute force worked. Though I have barely half my mana left…'
[Mana: 75/150]
The crowd is extremely quiet, not knowing how to respond to this turn of events. Ray walks off, heading to the locker room.
"W-Wait!!! Before you leave, Mr. Kaine! Please teach me your fighting style!!" Jirin says as he bows.
"Huh?" Ray asks in utter confusion.
"You are a skilled fighter and you bested me! I want to train with you!" Jirin replies.
"Fair enough..? Meet me on the outside of the Arena later, and we will discuss this more." Ray says.
Ray walks into the locker room, changing his clothes, and waits for Geril to come in.
After another match goes by, he sees Geril walk in.
"Well… You did way better than I expected, as soon as I heard 'Gonricht' I thought you were going to lose, but you are a far better fighter than expected. But you lack actual power,
Today the gap was small enough for you to contest with your skill, but eventually you may fight someone who is too strong for your skills to matter." Geril lectures.
"Anyway, your reward for winning is 9 silver, but I made about 67 silver off of betting, so I will give you about 30% of it" Geril continues.
"Wait… Only 30%? But I did the fighting!" Ray says in shock.
"Yeah, and I did the betting, and I took the risks, so here is your 29 silver." Geril replies as he hands Ray the money, and walks off.
Ray begrudgingly heads back into the stands to Victoria.
"Ray!!! You did it!" Victoria shouts while clapping.
"Of course, though it was way more challenging than I expected.." Ray sighs.
"Obviously! There are many talented people here, the fact that you managed to beat Jirin, a 3 circle mage, when you have only recently become a 2-circle, that's extremely impressive." Victoria praises.
*****
As the Matches wrap up, Victoria and Ray say their goodbyes as Ray waits for Jirin.
After about 10 minutes of waiting Jirin walks up.
"Hello there! So about my training, I am free most weekends, I will be diligent and I can pay!" Jirin quickly makes his pitch.
"Before we get into that, what do you plan on doing after you graduate?" Ray asks.
"Oh. Well I plan on joining a guild and working my way up. My family keeps asking me to join their guild after, but I want to gain my status on my own!" Jirin Replies.
"Hm.. Works for me, instead of payment, I ask that you help back a guild that I plan on making when I fulfill the requirements, after that you will back it by joining it, when you are able to." Ray Responds
"Wait.. You plan on making a guild..? I don't mean to crush your dreams but… Guilds started by commoners don't tend to do well… Unless sponsored by a clergy." Jirin says awkwardly.
"Don't worry, I already have a couple of newer members who are working their way up another guild's chains to have a general presence in the world, then they will switch to my guild, Teoran." Ray says.
"Hmm… How about this? After the first month of training, and meeting these two guild members, I will consider your offer." Jirin pitches.
"Seems reasonable, but to insure the first month isn't a net loss for me, I request payment for that month." Ray counters.
"Alright, 15 silver a week, anyway see you soon!" Jirin walks off.
'Well, this is going well.' Ray grins as he heads home.