365 Stakes
"What was that move?"
"I didn't even see their swords move,"
For most of the students, the final attack that decided the outcome of this match was not visible to them.
The clash of two different energies and the impact that resulted in pushing back Kiara Everett.
"Well, this is how all Fourth Year matches go anyway," One of the Recruiters spoke out.
Unless there was a rivalry present between the students, most of the matches didn't go into that extra length that showcased their full strength.
After all, they were not fighting for their ranks anymore.
Most of the Rankers were satisfied with their positions, and they knew that they were in that rank for a reason.
Unless someone was aiming for a higher ranking in their last End Year Tournament, most duels didn't go too far either.
Most of the matches that happened against Fourth Year Rankers were like this as well.
However, that didn't mean they were not interesting to watch.
It was visible from their fights alone how much experience they had after going against monsters and clearing dungeons.
Both Kiara and Reece left the stage, and Kiara didn't take any help from the medics because the small injuries were not a bother for her.
Her body was capable of healing such minor wounds itself, and if needed, she could take a potion she had herself.
"Kiara!" Jodie said as she saw Kiara enter her VIP Room.
"What?" Kiara asked as she sat on a seat.
She tilted her head and raised her eyes, looking at Jodie.
"I thought you might be a bit sad losing, but it looks like I was worried for nothing," Jodie said as she smiled at Kiara.
"I am not some immature kid who has just joined World Academy," Kiara replied.
"And it was impossible to win against him," Kiara said, turning her head at the stage.
"All the rumors about him being weak due to him being out of World Academy because of an injury were fake," Kiara added.
Due to the fact that Reece left World Academy due to some unknown injury, there were rumors spreading about him not being as strong as before.
But fighting him herself, Kiara could confirm that it wasn't the case at all.
"Well, the finals would be interesting," Kiara said,
"After all, those two crazy bastards will go against each other," Kiara smiled.
"And we can finally see what would happen with the whole Blood Faction and Student Council thing," Jodie added.
"Yeah, that would be interesting as well," Kiara said looking at the stage.
There were many students, especially the ones from strong families, who supported the idea of Blood Faction.
In the VIP Room where Damian and Amelia were, the conversation about the match was still going on.
"I will watch the match again in my free time," Damian said out loud.
Because they couldn't see the full match, Damian wanted to watch the broadcasted version of the match in which you could see both Kiara and Reece's movement much more clearly.
The match was broadcast in a way that even common people who didn't have the senses of a high-rank hunter could see and enjoy the match.
"And the last move, I didn't even know what kind of technique that was," Damian looked at the mark on the stage.
There was a huge cut on the stage where both of their attacks met.
At the same time, Gazil appeared on the stage.
"What an exciting match to watch," Gazil turning his head towards the crowd.
"But now, there are only two matches left, and both of them are the finals of the third and fourth year," Gazil said excitedly.
"But the first match will be between Rank 1 and Rank 2 of Third Year!!" Gazil announced.
"The long-awaited match against the Blood Faction and the Student Council," Gazil's words made students excited.
"As you know, this End Year Tournament is to decide who will win among both of them," Gazil explained.
"The Blood Faction who want to change the ways of the current student council," Gazil said,
"Or the Student Council that doesn't want to make changes to the current system,"
This match was important for both Leonard and Raelyn.
Right now, Blake Cranston was the winner among the Second Year who supported the Blood Faction, and Asher Greville was someone who wasn't allied with any of the two groups.
Both Raelyn and Leonard had conflicts with Asher, so they didn't know what group he would choose to vote for.
"Get ready to see the match between the Current Student Council President, Raelyn Whiteheart,"
"And the son of the World Association Chairman, Leonard Tarvian," Gazil said while intentionally mentioning Leonard's status.
Two individuals walked on the stage as cheers erupted in the crowd of the students.
Raelyn looked calm as her white hair stood out, and her beauty attracted a lot of the gazes of many students.
While on the other hand, Leonard wasn't falling behind her either.
The Blood Faction members and the student council members were awaiting this match.
Leonard maintained his smile, but he noticed the A Rank Armor that Raelyn had won in the Auction, and it was the biggest problem in the duel that was going to happen between them.
Raelyn had similar thoughts as Leonard had changed his sword to the A Rank Sword he had bought in the Auction.
Just as Leonard didn't know about the armor, the same applied to Raelyn, who wasn't aware of the sword's power either.
"You seem confident," Raelyn said as she took her position.
"I am indeed," Leonard replied.
"The match will start in..."
"3....2....1....Start," The Referee said,
As soon as the words left the Referee's mouth, both of them moved, and their swords clashed with each other.
Raelyn had a talent of a weapon master, and she could use multiple weapons at the same time.
But right now, her highest mastery was in Spear and the sword.
But she chose to use a sword against Leonard because she had won using a Spear in the last tournament.
But she knew that her spear art wasn't a good counter for the Remer Art Leonard was using.
So she used the sword this time around.
Both of them were B+ Rank Hunters, but Raelyn had the upper hand as Leonard was pushed back a little with their confrontation.
"Not bad," Leonard muttered, but Raelyn didn't reply.
Instead, she stepped back and changed her stance.
She knew that Leonard had purposefully hidden many things in his fight against Tyrone, and the sword in his hand was something that Raelyn was being careful about.
Both of them couldn't afford to lose this fight.
Suddenly, the fire started engulfing his sword.
It intensified for a moment, but Leonard controlled it and made his aura denser around the sword.
Due to the bloodline ability that Raelyn possessed, her aura was more powerful than Leonard's.
And he could feel the power behind her strike that was indeed a bit higher than him.
There was no simple way to defeat someone who was the face of the Student Council.
More than her beauty, Raelyn was known for her strength.
"It seems I need to get serious," Leonard muttered as he swung his sword around him.
Raelyn took a deep breath as the air around her got humid.
Raelyn's highest affinity was with the Water Element, which allowed her to become the perfect opponent for Leonard, who had the fire affinity.
But something strange happened as the water she summoned started swirling around her.
"She had already reached the Advance Mastery," Xarax spoke out.
"Well, she has the talent of a Weapon Master," Dalton added.
It wasn't the water that she summoned with mana, but it was the water that was attracted by her sword and the aura around it.
To do something like that was considered an advanced mastery skill.
But because Raelyn was a weapon master, she was much more skilled than others at handling and mastering weapon arts.
And right now, she was using a technique that was comparable to the Third Remer Art Technique.
She dashed towards Leonard, who raised his sword and got ready to defend against Raelyn's strike.
TANG!
The water around Raelyn's sword met Leonard's fire, and both of their swords clashed, resulting in a lot of steam being produced.
But Leonard's fire started rising as Raelyn stepped backward to make some distance between them.
This time, it was Leonard who stepped forward immediately.
Due to his wind affinity, Leonard's speed was higher than Raelyn's.
Something that allowed him to chase after Raelyn in a He didn't want to give Raelyn the upper hand in this fight because he knew how powerful she could get as the match went on.
"You think I am afraid of your fire," Raelyn muttered as Leonard noticed her sword moving.
And like a wave, he felt Raelyn's mana gathering around the edge of her sword, and with a single strike, Raelyn forced Leonard to stop.
A huge cut was made on the stage, as the water around the stage started vibrating.
The ring in Raelyn's hand started shining as those water droplets started rising in the air.
She dashed towards Leonard, and as their sword met, most of the drop would follow Leonard.
He could sense that the ring artifact that Raelyn was wearing was helping her, but it was her aura that was making those drops of water dangerous.
"It's getting annoying," Leonard muttered as he swung his around him.
He caused a wave of fire to cover the stage, including Raelyn, who was fine as she blocked his fire with a simple wave of her sword.
But all the water on the stage evaporated, and Leonard twisted his sword as the air started gathering around it.
"Now, let's start again," Leonard said with a smile on his face.
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