It was the last month of the calendar year for Eyur, and for the Ordellian Military Academy. Festive decorations were placed all around. Storia City’s arena started advertising their annual tradition: The Battle Festival.

  The commercial district’s smithies and armories were offering their wares with a special discount. Students and soldiers alike flocked those streets after having arcued their credits all year for this special occasion.

  Avryn and Leifren’s squad was called up to the courtyard. Aldric was there to greet them. He congratulated the two squads for their effort and was pleased to announce they both got a spot for the Battle Festival’s tournament. Avryn and Harver immediately wanted to volunteer, much to both squads’ delight.

  “Finally, something real fun,” Avryn was jumping with joy at the opportunity.

  “Ah, I remembered my first tournament,” Aldric chimed in.

  “How did it go, sir?” Harver turned to him.

  “I lost, first round,” he reminisced.

  It was a shock to them all. Aldric then mentioned he learned from that loss and won the third time. He was a stubborn lad back then, so he harnessed it into something useful. He dismissed them and returned to his office.

  The two squads discussed what to do. They agreed that Avryn and Harver would be their representatives, respectively. A fire was lit under both their eyes. Sixteen of Ordellia’s best would be fighting in the tournament. Prestige alone would shoot their stock off the roof. Rinna reminded them that the first round starts by the end of today.

  “Wait, what?” Avryn’s soul left his body.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll help you both prepare,” Tvira reassured.

  Harver was calm, he drew his estoc and chanted a quick prayer. He was ready. Avryn looked at him, and looked back at the rest. There was something he needed them to do for him. He beckoned them over to the training room.

  He hopped into the chamber,

  “You guys just watch and be my audience,” he told them. “Just like in a tournament.”

  He opened the program and loaded up his solo training program. Rinna was surprised upon seeing Sir Iver’s hologram be his opponent.

  “How long have you been doing this?” Leifren spoke up.

  “Since we started,” Avryn smiled.

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  He pulled off the necklace and it transformed into its gunblade state. It was showtime, he told Lerosa. Sir Iver’s hologram nodded and donned his helmet. He pulled out his own copy of the gunblade.

  Avryn and him had an intense staredown. They both closed the distance and clashed. They traded attacks until Avryn got the advantage and blew through Iver’s defenses. The knight recovered quickly and shot him point blank. Avryn traded with a punch to the gut, then used the handle to bludgeon him.

  The two were apart, in the neutral, once again. They circled around each other, they were still relatively fresh. They engaged once more. Avryn’s footwork and swordplay matched Iver’s. They kept at it until Avryn found another opening, slashing Iver by his free hand.

  “Wow kid, you sure gotten strong,” the knight praised.

  “Got to be after what felt like a long year,” he returned the banter.

  Iver gave Avryn a wicked headbutt and he was down for the count,

  “Almost. You had me sweating there, fella,” Iver applauded his effort.

  Avryn stood up with cheers coming from his friends. Rinna was the most impressed but hid it under a poker face.

  “You were facing Sir Iver all this time?” Jenilah asked.

  Avryn nodded. A new respect was found. His answer was simple: he was carrying Iver’s will. His goals aligned with his greatly. He wanted to deliver justice as he could before thinking about retiring from this sort of life. Kiria commented if he could stand toe-to-toe with someone of Sir Iver’s caliber, he has a good chance of winning the tournament. Even more amazing was he could do it as one of the only two freshmen to do so.

  Avryn looked at the time with his Scribe. The tournament would start in three hours. They packed their things and travelled to the city. They had an hour and a half to spare. The arena was the widest building in Storia. Its beauty matched only by the President’s Palace. They joined the people who were flocking to the entrances. Banners were flying high and festive ornaments decorated all over. A holographic advertisement was promoting different items: a brand of soda, a magazine, an action figure, and even a men’s deodorant.

  “Ha, that’s pretty funny,” Harver pointed out.

  The participants of the tournament were directed to the brackets. Avryn was on Bracket A, Harver was on Bracket B. They both needed to reach the finals in order to face each other. Avryn’s eyes skimmed down the list of name in his bracket and one caught his eye. His finger tapped on it as he looked to the others. Leandros Solus was the name.

  “His fire is as hot as the sun, so they say,” Leifren commented.

  “I have to go through the guy in order to get to fight my guy,” Avryn licked his chops.

  His hands shook with excitement. The same could be said for Harver. A staff was walking around and stopped by. She asked them if Avryn was among them. He answered and was told his match was up next in a few minutes. His friends would be cheering him up in the stands. He was then escorted to his own locker room.

  The shift to atmospheric silence helped Avryn. He was alone with his thoughts as he sat on the bench. He placed Lerosa right beside him as he stretched. He had a quick glance on his opponent at least: a woman named Vyktria Shiriko. He wondered what kind of fighter she was. A few quick laps and jumps got his adrenaline running. An organizer knocked on the door.

  “It’s about time for your match, sir. Are you ready to head out?”

  “Yeah, let’s do this,” Avryn replied.

  He was guided through the tunnel and out onto the arena. The roar of the crowd pierced his eardrums. A beautiful arrangement of colors as people from different walks of life were gathered into this colossal structure. The sunlight was just at the right angle. He continued his walk until he saw his opponent at the opposite end. A refined looking woman wielding a rapier. Its hilt was custom made, and real complex. Avryn had an eye for such things.

  “Not just any sword, huh? That’s cool,” he spoke.

  “You win by fighting, not kissing your opponent’s ass,” she spat her verbal venom.

  Her feisty comeback reminded Avryn of a certain someone. He candidly moved his eyes, trying to see where his friends were. Vyktria’s voice forced his attention back at her. She was eager to fight.

  “Alright then. Rapier versus sabre,” he unseathed his weapon.

  The whistle sounded. They collided against each other. She was faster and found her opening. Avryn blocked just in time, and evaded an elbow to the face by leaning away. A leg sweep came from her, Avryn improvised and kicked Vyktria as he fell. He heard her yelp in pain. She was bleeding from the mouth, and pissed.

  “Uh oh,” he grimaced.

  The woman’s fury was terrible for Avryn’s chances. Her rapier thrusts were getting faster with each strike. Avryn could not afford to go all out just yet. He disengaged to a much safer distance, keeping her out with rapid pistol shots.

  “Oh come on, you’re really losing to a little girl?” a member of the crowd jeered.

  “Shut up!” Vyktria screamed at the man.

  “I wouldn’t wanna make her angry, just so you know,” Avryn sweated as he kept firing.

  Avryn was engaged in melee again, and after an exchange of strikes, he managed to knock her out with a brutal headbutt. He moved on to the quarterfinals. Now, it was his turn to watch for Leandros and Harver’s matches.