Rising Against Fate

Another demonstration match was added since the semi-finals' first match had to be canceled.

Kat's withdrawal came as a surprise to many, while it was obvious to some from the start.

Regardless of the cause or reason, the organizers had to come up with something. So, a demonstration match was arranged in the nick of time to fill the space.

The crowd was a bit displeased at the start; some even left after the match between Daichi and Razak. However, those who waited for the next fifteen minutes and heard the announcement knew what kind of exciting battle was coming up next.

It was a match between the Student council vice-president Akane Hoshu and 3rd-year rank #8 Yui Hona.

Both were considered elite female combatants of the magical discipline they practiced. And not just combat. When it came to hot-headedness, these two had no equals.

On top of that, there was a rivalry going on between these two, so the crowd was excited to see them face off once again.

The match was a close one.

Akane's archery magic mainly involved the use of compressed air bullets and air arrows. Most believed that she only won the last match because of sheer luck. However, in this match, she proved that that wasn't the case. Instead, her victory was all because of her skills.

Both had honed their skills, and their accuracy had increased several times. However, there was a noticeable gap in the level of strength they possessed at this point. It was evident that Akane had worked a little harder in sharpening her abilities.

She could shield against most of the Yui's flame attacks and counterattack with her advanced class spell 'Zig-zag bullets.'

The match lasted for 28 minutes 42 seconds and ended with Yui being unable to continue.

——

Razak spent the whole day after the semi-final in planning and preparation for his next match.

He had already thought most of the things through; however, considering the enemy, no preparation was enough.

Preparation, keeping in mind that the least expected things had the highest chance of being the cause of loss, was essential for this victory.

Till now, he had only used his mana absorption capacity around fifty percent, so he still had a significant advantage up his sleeves.

He could use spells as much as he liked without holding back. But there was a limit to what spells he could use.

He could use enhancement techniques for physical strength and speed. And along with that, he could use the Avem clan's Glass walk to assist with his movement.

Although, for magical abilities, he was solely reliant on the Kage clan's shadow manipulation abilities. However, depending on the need, he could use some other techniques along with misdirection.

Misdirection was essential because giving out too much about the spells would cause trouble for him moving ahead.

The fewer people know about his abilities, the lower the number of enemies he would make.

If what he could do came out to be common knowledge, people wouldn't just be envious of him. They would fear him.

It was only natural that the clans would try to eliminate those they see as a threat. And considering the scale of their operation, there was a high chance that more than seventy percent of the nation would turn out to be their enemies.

There was only one way through this, which was to slowly do one thing at a time while keeping the rest of the plan in the dark.

Divide and conquer. This was the only way to reach their ultimate goal from this point.

The first step to this was to make the remaining 30 percent—who were at this point on neither side— allies. Of course, there were risks involved. But the higher the risk, the more the profit.

To do that, they would need to provide assurance that they are not risking their time, resources, and effort on something worthless. And that assurance was going to be Razak.

In this match, Razak needed to show his worth while still avoiding the eyes of those that could become potential threats.

A small grin appeared on Razak's face when he realized how close the two would be seated. Both his potential enemy and his greatest ally were going to be sitting at the same jury desk.

While he was thinking about those, his car arrived at the arena where his match was going to take place.

It was final, so they were planning to make it as grand as possible. Because of that, they had arranged the tournament during the evening instead of the day.

The firecrackers could be heard from outside, along with the noises the audience was making.

The rule book suggested that 'one friend could be taken along ONLY during the finals to boost the participant's confidence.' So, even though Razak didn't need anyone as such, he had invited Kat.

"Ey mate!"

When Razak stepped out of his car, he saw Kat raising his hand as a greeting.

This was a famous greeting of the southern province. However, the way Kat was doing it was so slothy that it looked like an entirely different thing.

"Hey, what's up?"

Kat looked a bit different than usual. Not just because of his attire, which looked like a beach outfit, but he somehow seemed a little relaxed.

"Well, the tournament is over for me, so I am just chilling. No need to waste any more of my brain cells, trying to figure out what to do in the next match."

The two of them entered the arena from the small door on the side. That was from where the participants entered.

After a moment of silence, Kat spoke again.

"You are shrewd, so I know you must have come up with something already. However, I still can't think of a way you would be able to defend against his lightning attacks entirely. But then again, I guess most of your abilities are still unknown to me."

Kat only knew Razak's abilities to the extent he had revealed them, so his analysis still lacked many elements to be conclusive.

"Yeah, there is no need to worry about it. I don't plan on losing."

As they were talking, the two arrived at the first waiting room. Only Razak was allowed past this room, but there was still sometimes before the match. Till then, the two of them waited there for the instructor.