Magic really makes things really convenient… even if it wasn't on the same magic of his mother's side, people still could use magic to build big structures. The arena was big enough to hold twenty thousand people and looked a bit like the Colosseum.
It was round and had many upper floors where the audience could go… after buying their tickets. A lot of events were taking place over that week, and the royal family had to find a way to make money to pay for everything. The taxes weren't enough.
In any case, there were two entrances to the arena, one for the audience and another for the fighters. Aion wondered if some fights wouldn't break out in the waiting room since he could see that more than one hundred people were going to participate in the tournament…
The guards at the entrance found frowned when they saw Aion. He was tall for his age but not for an adult, and he looked like a kid. Still, they didn't stop him. He saw some smirks on the other participants smirking while looking at him, but he ignored them. Regardless, the waiting room was as big as a soccer field, and a lot more fighters were there than expected… perhaps five hundred.
Aion had planned to sit on the corner and wait, but then he saw a board with the list of the fighters and who was going to fight them… it was a rather big list, but Aion found his name easily. People with surnames were uncommon in that world. Practically, only nobles had them. Naturally, Aion only recognized the names of his siblings and father. The number of people with surnames wasn't small… As expected, everyone was treating the king like their personal Santa Claus.
"It looks like we might fight in the third round if we win both fights," Henri said after he suddenly approached.
"Yes, it seems that the others have more chances of ending up fighting father early on… we can only face him in the semifinals if we continue winning," Aion said.
"You don't have to hide that you are confident, you have more talent, and we spent most of our time learning how to command instead of training like you," Henri said.
"Talent, huh…" Aion said.
If the system was part of his talent, then Aion wasn't planning to use it unless he is really forced to… freeing his mother was more important than his pride, after all. In any case, he frowned when he saw that guy's name on the list… Vangel Zaera… Zaera was also the name of the kingdom.
"That guy… he is really troublesome to no end… how the hell fights in the tournament when the whole thing is for his name," Henri said while frowning. "Few people will have the guts to attack him for real."
Aion never had much patience with spoiled kids, so he definitely would beat the crap out of him if he had to. Regardless, his first opponent was someone called Gravon. Naturally, he had never heard of him, but Aion could feel a heavy stare on his right side, and he found a big mercenary-looking guy. Gravon had a big black beard, and he was crazily well-built. One could imagine him carrying a big war hammer. Unfortunately, by the rules of the tournament, the participants will choose a weapon given by the organizers. That was to prevent rich people from using powerful relics and winning easily…
Nevertheless, the big guy turned around, and he didn't look like thought that the fight would be easy. Maybe he looked pissed because of Aion's lineage. Regardless, the fight would only start in a while, so Aion decided to move to the area above and see the fights before his turn.
A lot of people did the same, while the most nervous ones stayed behind in the waiting room to calm down. In any case, Aion's armor was flashy, but it had a cloak and hood attached for a reason, so he hid his face in order not to be bothered.
The audience looked quite excited while waiting for the fights, but they went silent when some royal guards showed up and opened a path for the royal family to head to the seats reserved for them. Aion couldn't help but frown when he saw that the king was an old man in his sixties… Usually, nobles had many kids at an early age, like Lexus. Things got even weirder when the queen showed up. She had long, light brown hair and didn't look older than thirty. She was quite the catch, but she gave a vibe that Aion didn't like much since she was wearing way too much jewelry. She almost looked like a pirate that found a hidden treasure.
Eventually, Henri's fiancee also showed up, and it looked like she was the same as him. Being around fourteen, she looked like a real princess while wearing a yellow dress. It was hard to see things from so far away, but she didn't look ugly, so he couldn't understand why Henri looked so troubled.
The king slowly approached the arena and then coughed a few times to clean his throat. It didn't seem like he would live for more than ten years… living in a castle has its perks, but it doesn't help much when everything is too comfortable, and you start to get lazy, and then your health deteriorates.
"Everyone… thank you for coming to the capital to celebrate the fifteenth birthday of my son," The king said. "In these auspicious times, we need to celebrate life as much as we can. Peace is never an ever last thing, so we must enjoy it as much as possible. Today we celebrate not only the birthday of my son but we also celebrate our history and our ancestors, and everything that led us to this moment. All the warriors who are participating in this tournament are going to show us the power of lives and our history, and we should respect them with due praise. In the name of this kingdom and my ancestors, I swear to realize one wish of the winner of the tournament. Brave warriors, show us who is the strongest man of this kingdom."