"Time's up!" William's cold voice rolled across the square like a tidal wave. Instantly the duels ground to a halt. Well, those that were still in session, anyway.
Two of the three duels had already finished before the Head Instructor had to utter a word.
Patricia and Kayara had patiently waited to the side after the culmination of their fight. The leaner and taller trainee had come out as the victor.
Patricia had her arms crossed and a brooding expression on her face. She kept her distance from Phantom as the events of her duel replayed in her mind.
Her opponent still kept up an indifferent countenance, her gaze attracted to something in the sky.
Meanwhile, Henry and Caden were gazing at the duel that was taking place in the centre. The orange-haired trainee was expressionless, while his raven-haired counterpart wallowed in misery.
Leon and Lucas separated from their tussle. A relieved smile appeared on the half-blood's face. He had done it!
He had kept his opponent at bay. The last few seconds were especially gruelling, however, he held on thanks to the sturdy constitution that he had inherited from his dwarven father.
Lucas's face darkened, creases of rage and barely suppressed surprise lined the contours of his face.
Did he, a proud heir of one of, if not, the most powerful medium-sized noble family in the Empire actually draw with a half-blood?
While he was stewing in a stupor, the half-blood wordlessly turned around and walked over to the spectator 'stand'.
Leon was feeling pretty good about himself. Although he didn't win, he could live with a draw.
The same couldn't be said for the noble, however, who gritted his teeth as the urge to strike the now defenseless half-blood bloomed in his mind.
Yet, before he could even take a step forward, Lucas felt an iron grip clamp down on his wrist.
'Ouch!' The fiery-haired noble shifted his gaze and glared at William who had his hand clamped around his arm. "Get off me! How dare you touch me, commoner! I would have done nothing to warrant this." Lucas spat.
The white-haired man glowered at his unruly student, knowing full well that Lucas was lying. Experience with people of similar status told him the boy would have given in to his ever-increasing rage and attacked Leon.
William reluctantly let Lucas go, reminding the arrogant heir for the final time to behave, otherwise, he would have to disqualify him.
An action that would bring more shame to the Noble than drawing in a Duel.
Over on the western side of the square, Nico watched his two companions travel back with mixed expressions. One was calm and composed, the other defeated and depressed.
A rush of frenzied whispers exploded around him.
Only now did the rest of the trainees process the fact that Lucas had drawn with the half-blood, rather than wiping the floor with him. They conveniently forgot his actual performance within the duel and focused more on the result.
Many of them pointed in the haughty noble's direction, laughter escaping their mouths. While not able to shame Lucas outright individually lest they incur his wrath, they as a whole group could still make him feel humiliated.
Those who hated the fiery-haired trainee, or had an agenda against him, carried this out with gusto.
Lucas clenched his fists as his face reddened in shame.
'How dare they! How dare they! How dare they!' this thought echoed in his head, causing his features to twist in a nasty grimace.
Gazing at the filthy half-breed, Lucas's conviction strengthened. He would get his due revenge for the mocking he had just experienced.
Nico paid the annoyingly arrogant noble no attention. He stared at the downcast Henry, who walked back with his shoulders slumped. His eyes softened in sympathy.
Henry came to a stop beside his brown-haired companion. "I-I failed…" he clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palms painfully.
"It's alright. You still have two duels left to salvage the situation." Nico patted his friend on the shoulder. Leon soon reached their location.
The burly redhead patted Henry's other shoulder gently, speaking in a hushed tone. "Don't worry, you've got this. Don't think of failure, instead envision yourself having achieved the future you desire. That should fire you up. Don't lose hope."
The younger farmer slowly perked up.
That's right. There was no use thinking about what had already happened. Instead, he should pour more of his focus towards the things he could control. Such as his performance in the next two duels.
"Thanks, Leon."
The half-blood nodded, a small smile on his lips. He turned toward one of the wooden seats, desiring to rest his body after the intense fight. His right leg lagged slightly.
Nico shifted his gaze again, staring at William who cleared his throat loudly and called out the next six trainees, and so on and so on…
Time passed, with a majority of the large throng of youths getting to undertake their first duel. With every round of fights that passed, Nico became more anxious.
He shifted in his seat, the restlessness within him surging like an inescapable tide.
During the following duels that occurred, Nico witnessed a mixture of jubilation, elation, calmness, composure, and regret range across the young participants.
Some of them jumped up, unable to contain their excitement after having triumphed in their respective clash.
Others paled as if they had seen a ghost, realising they had lost within the first five seconds. William's savage grin appeared in their mind.
The image sent a nervous shiver through every nerve and fiber within their body.
The 'private' conversation he had promised them caused their stomachs to sink. Cold sweat matted their foreheads and slid down their back, chilling them to the bone.
Just as Nico wondered if his turn would ever come, he heard his instructor's voice announcing he would face his first opponent, Favian, on the right side of the square.
He took a deep breath and made his way over with mock calmness. Henry and Leon bade him good luck.
Step. Step. Step.
Nico tapped into the quasi-meditative state, cooling his agitation instantly. He gripped the spear tightly before releasing it as he exhaled. He repeated this motion of gripping and ungripping.
'I can do this.'
In this state of calm and serenity, Nico felt his mind sharpen becoming more in tune with his surroundings. He soon reached his destination and got a proper look at Favian.
Standing opposite him was a tall, bulky youth with a large frame. He looked like a bodybuilder with a physique that could even put Demons to shame. A Great sword in his grasp.
Nico felt like a dwarf standing in front of an Orc.
That was not all, as the brown-haired boy's eyes darkened with a scowl.
He internally cursed, a frown of anger taking hold of his normally placid face.
Favian was one of Lucas's lackeys that had pummelled him inside the lavatory.
A dark grin split Nico's face.
This duel had just become more interesting.
He shifted his head, facing Phantom who sent him a wink and mouthed 'Good luck, my little hen.'
Nico chuckled despite himself. He slicked his hair back, exposing his second eye. Small strands of his brown hair fell in a little fringe over his forehead.
'How kind of you William to give me this opportunity.'
With a dark smile that promised retribution, Nico got into stance and readied his spear. William's booming voice streamed into his ears, announcing the start of his first Duel.
***
Dashing forward, Nico gripped his spear tightly, a determined line creasing his forehead. He inhaled a mouthful of air, using that to boost his movements.
He saw Favian wordlessly tense his huge body, ready to strike.
Nico tightened his muscles, unleashing a swift thrust with his spear.
The clang of metal against metal resounded as the hulking trainee parried with his great sword, stepping into the brown-haired trainee's guard and launching his own counterattack.
Undeterred, Nico remained calm and changed his grip on the spear.
Instantly, the weapon made a wide sweep, the flat of its blade glancing across the great sword's sharp tip, changing its trajectory.
Favian's attack missed him by a few inches.
Nico smirked and increased the intensity of his attacks.
His calves tensed and propelled his body in powerful bursts of speed, the tip of the spear sailing through the air seeking to bypass its opponent's sturdy guard.
Seconds passed, as he and Favian continued to clash. Sometimes they sent probing attacks to test each other's defense. Other times, they went on the offensive wishing to end the duel quickly.
Alas, both trainee's found to their mild amusement that they were both tricky opponents to take down. Nico, with the wide range of his spear, clever footwork, and swift reaction times.
His opponent was rather formidable as well.
With Favian's bulky muscles that screamed raw power and herculean strength, every attack with his weapon sent tremors through Nico's body.
Especially if they collided in a frontal clash.
This forced Nico to make sure he deflected the power behind each attack, otherwise, he would be sent flying back, giving Favian ample opportunity to launch a devastating strike imbued with all his physique's strength.
Inevitably the brown-haired trainee was growing tired of this cat-and-mouse game.
Putting aside his growing desire to go all-out on the offensive and not have to defend, Nico found his muscles slowly tiring out.
A slow burn spread across his body.
"You're a tough bastard, aren't ya?" He muttered under his breath.
His muscles strained themselves to support his unpredictable movements.
As the seconds trickled by, and the ferocity of the duel grew larger with every passing moment, Nico felt his concentration slip for a moment.
This caused him to mistime the moment he thrust his spear and allowed his burly opponent to capitalise on his mistake.
Instantly, Nico found the great sword barreling toward him full of a harrowing promise. He gritted his teeth as sweat slid down the side of his face.
Bam!
Nico blocked the attack. However, what he had failed to do was to prevent himself from sliding back. His feet left a trail through the earth.
'Not good!'
His face hardened as he watched Favian wordlessly unleash another hefty strike, no emotion on his chiseled face.
Phantom, who was daydreaming about the best way to capture this duel within a canvas, suddenly furrowed his brows.
Nico was in trouble.