Magic Made Simple

Chapter 18: Tournament Start

The rules of this tournament were a little different than the last one we'd participated in. It was not an individual tournament like the last one had been. Instead, this time around everyone was grouped off into teams of three. It would be an elimination style event where two teams would fight at a time, with the losers being knocked out of the fight.

The arena was very, very large. Upon walking into the front gates, it became apparent that there was some kind of spatial expansion going on, as the inside was larger than the already sizable exterior should be able to accommodate. I could feel a faint buzz in the air from the sheer amount of enchantments that were placed on every surface.

The organizers explained everything to us before the fights began. Lethal attacks were allowed, and the enchantments all around the arena would heal us should we receive such a blow and teleport us out of the fight. This would give us the chance to really see what everybody was capable of.

In total, there were eight teams participating in the tournament, totaling to 24 fighters. The average level was about 27, and the highest level out of anybody participating was 34, two levels higher than myself.

It took a bit of discussion to figure out how we would split up our group of six. After a while though, we came to a decision. Flynn, Van, and Jen, the other mage of the group. It made for a good mix of ranged and melee options, with Jen having defensive spells to protect the group and Van having healing spells to support them. Flynn would likely be the main damage dealer of the group, but given that out of the six of us he was the second highest level, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

That left me, Ryker, and Jade to work together. I'd be the one in close range, with Jade and Ryker picking off enemies from afar. Between my mana shield and my empower skill, I was definitely the toughest of us three making me the go to damage sponge.

The brackets were announced shortly before the first fight. Luckily our two teams were on opposite sides, meaning the only way we would face off against each other would be if we both made it to the finals.

The first fight began, and Flynn's group was in it.

The fight began pretty slow, with both sides just testing the other to see what their deal was. The other team was made up of a swordsmen, mage, and monk. Flynn was pretty hard pressed to deal with two close range fighters at once, but Van did his best to keep him on his feet while Jen battled against the mage.

Eventually the fight ended with Flynn and his team winning once the enemy's mage had gone down. With both Flynn and Jen focusing their attacks on the monk, he'd gone down too quickly for the swordsman to assist.

The next fight was one I was very interested in. I'd been identifying every fighter I had managed to spot, and this time I managed to catch a glimpse of the highest leveled fighter in the tournament, as well as her teammates.

Human (Level 34)

Human (Level 26)

Human (Level 27)

The woman in charge of the team was quite obviously a melee fighter. She wielded a spear and wore full metal armor. Flynn would likely be hard pressed to stand against her on even footing.

I paid pretty close attention to this fight. I wanted to get as accurate of a judgment of what we were up against as possible. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a very good read on the fighters, as the bout lasted not even a full minute. In that short amount of time, the spear wielding woman had eliminated the entirety of the other team with basically no intervention from her group members. Her spear had moved as fast as the wind, skewering each opponent it hit.