'Yeah, right he did not come here to stir up any trouble.' Marcus thought after Ghazi and Aziz had left.
In the end things had worked out okay after Akeem had apologized for his accusations and continued to offer his clan's hospitality.
Still, Marcus was certain that Ghazi had come here personally and confronted Marcus and Mrazivy about not being human with the express purpose of riling them and the Eazim Clan up. He had wanted to get a read on their true intentions and there was no better way than catching them off guard as he had.
At the very least it seemed that Ghazi was convinced that they were not a threat and had agreed to give them the aid of his clan and permission to enter the Desolate Desert should they win in their third round.
'Of course, that is not going to be easy.' Marcus thought, looking down at the stage where Zilre and Igna had just mopped the floor with their second-round opponents.
Unlike their first match, which had been a fierce battle, the two of them had defeated their opponents in this round in under a minute. Making them Marcus and Mrazivy's opponents in the next round.
It was going to be a hard fight to overcome the two of them, but Marcus was confident that if he and Mrazivy worked together it would be feasible. They had gotten immensely stronger since clearing the special dungeon and had not actually fully tested out their capabilities in battle.
"Marcus, we should do some sparing before our match tomorrow." Mrazivy said, her eyes locked on Zilre and Igna.
Nodding his head, Marcus agreed and after getting permission to fly over the city from Akeem, they left and went far out into the desert.
Until night the two of them practiced and went all out against each other in preparations for their battle tomorrow.
All around the desert where they had been sparring was a horrible mess, and it looked like it had been hit by a blizzard, tornado, and earthquake all at the same time.
"I really don't stand any chance against you without using magic." Marcus said, sprawled out in the sand after having been trounced by Mrazivy for the eighth time.
In a physical fight without using any magic, she was hands down stronger than him. Especially now that she had a Supreme Skill that could, albeit only briefly, outperform his own.
"Yeah, well you are far more focused on your magic than I am on mine. I only have ice magic while you specialize in several types. If this was just a pure magic fight, I would be the one at a major disadvantage." Mrazivy said, to encourage Marcus.
"Still, you have come a long way. Before you evolved, you could not toss me around like this. I never had to worry about losing then." Marcus said, reminiscing on their earlier sparing bouts.
Moving up right next to him Mrazivy sat down and began playing with his hair while wearing a dazzling smile on her face.
"Well, you can only blame yourself for how strong I have become. If not for you, I would be a prisoner, stuck in a horrible life with a man I despised. But instead, you gave me all I could ever ask for. We have already seen more of the world than I thought I ever would, and I am happier than I ever was before." Mrazivy said, shifting her body so that she was sitting on top of Marcus.
"In that case, it is really your fault. I got charmed by the wild, adventurous, and beautiful princess that does not act like someone of her station should." Marcus said, raising his head until he was looking right into Mrazivy's eyes.
In an instant, several walls of ice had formed around them and cut everything off from their view. Leaving the two of them in their own world.
…
It was not until very late that Marcus and Mrazivy returned to Akeem's estate.
When they turned up, the estate went into a bit of a tizzy since they had been gone for so long and Akeem had been worried that they had simply left after what had happened earlier.
Luckily it did not take long for things to settle down and the two of them returned to their room and got some rest before their match the next.
When they awoke, both Marcus and Mrazivy went over the strategies they had come up with and checked all of their gear to make sure it was in proper order.
Marcus was especially meticulous with their armor and weapons. Going over every millimeter and making sure that there were no slight dents or scratches.
"Here you go Mraz. Your sword should be a bit sharper now." Marcus said, handing the adamantine blade over to her.
After fighting with the weapon for so long, it had gotten the slightest bit dull, but Marcus had expertly sharpened it and with a single swing Mrazivy felt like it could cut better then even when it was new.
"You did a really good job with it. I feel kind of bad though since none of this is our main gear." Mrazivy said.
What they had been using in the tournament so far was their old adamantine equipment in order to not stand out too much.
"It does not look like anyone has been using Amethros so far from what I can see. I think we will stand it in the wrong way if we show up decked out in the stuff. Unless we are really going to lose without it, we should just stick to the adamantine armor and weapons. We may not be able to go all out with them, but they should suffice." Marcus responded.
Once all their gear was freshly attended to by Marcus, both of them put on their armor and got dressed for battle. Ready to take on their first real challenge in the tournament.
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