The second round of matches began with more enthusiasm than was expected. As if motivated by the last match of the previous day, everyone came out swinging with full force.
Because of this, the matches lasted longer than before, and many of the contestants used far more of their arsenal, but even then, some kept things below a certain level, still trying to keep things hidden.
“They took too long,” Alex said, observing how someone tried to unleash their full force after trying to keep it hidden.
“True,” Anna agreed. “They were already pinned against the wall, they literally had nothing left and they still hesitated. Their loss was practically guaranteed the moment they even thought of keeping things hidden when their opponents were going all out.”
“Hey, I recognize that guy,” Stella said, pointing at a different screen. “But I think he used a halberd in the previous match. So, his real weapon was a crossbow.” She paused, considering. “Interesting, I guess.”
Where once, contestants used weapons that weren’t their own, in an attempt to obfuscate their true power, they now no longer did so. In some cases, the difference between wielding one weapon or the other wasn’t as pronounced as they wished it were, but in others it was like the difference between heaven and earth.
With one weapon they were barely able to block and parry, relying mostly on brute strength to achieve whatever it is that they wished. But now it was a completely different matter altogether. Their strikes were more precise, their swings flowed smoothly, and the impact was heavy.
The match that Stella was watching was of a crossbow user who previously wielded a halberd, and their fighting style changed dramatically. Where before they tried to tank all of the attacks that made their way toward him with visible difficulty, he now dodged so adeptly it was confusing why he ever touched a halberd in the first place.
The excitement that the three friends and their three companions were watching the matches with was palpable. But like all good things, everything has to come to an end, regardless of what you wished.
“They’re really giving it there all, aren’t they?” Alex asked, frowning as he noticed something in a fight he was seeing.
Noticing Alex’s demeanor change, Anna spoke. “You noticed it too?” she asked.
Silar rapidly switched between the two. “What are you guys talking about? You appeared so happy and entertained a few moments ago. What happened that has made you get so serious?” she asked.
Hirat tapped Silar on the side and gestured toward the screen that Alex and Anna were seeing. “Look,” he said.
“Yes, they’re people are fighting, isn’t that normal?”
“Yes, that is normal,” Hirat said. “But look at the way the others are behaving. It’s like the match was decided before it even began.”
“It’s worse than that,” Anna said. “If our people hadn’t surrendered there, they would have been killed. The problem is, I’m not entirely sure it would have been by their opponents or by their teammates. All of them were behaving off. And I don’t like it,” she added, feeling her blood boil.
“Make a note of the people that are doing it and warn the others,” Stella said, her head turned to one of the government workers that were nearby. “There’s not much we can do,” she added, turning to her friends. “Just be as prepared as you can. I was kind of already expecting something like this.”
Anna made a light scowl, but ultimately nodded, as did Alex.
Stella was already prepared for something like this to happen. Though she was a bit caught off guard by the fact that some of those that were targeting them weren’t obvious believers of the God of Abundance.
----------
Time passed and it became clear that it wasn’t just weapon mastery that was being revealed, but also mastery of skills and unique abilities.
Seeing Stella change the entire arena with her overwhelming display of fire mastery, caused many to be inspired. None measured up to what she did but still, some displayed incredible mastery over their craft.
At times, one of the ten smaller arenas would be completely obscured by an element, only to reveal that the caster was completely unharmed while everyone else had long since perished. Some considered this a great display while others didn’t.
And while displays of power like that were of interest, they were only part of what was truly being revealed. They were what those that had little understanding of what they were seeing focused on. While those that really dove into the mastery of their skills, completely centered on their path, also focused on others.
These other fighters were those like Ed. Those that had a mastery of their weapon that went beyond skill level. It was like the weapon was an extension of themselves and moved accordingly. These people were completely capable of responding to any situation with only their weapon, barely using visible skills.
Some used their skills in an almost invisible manner, only bringing them forth when they were needed. At times the skill was used right before an attack connected, enhancing the damage, others helped in ways that those watching couldn’t even imagine, making a tiny burst of flame shoot from somewhere in their body, stabilizing themselves. Or using lightning to force their muscles to move in unnatural ways.
And that was only the things that they could tell with their enhanced senses, plus the added aid of their skills. There were others with skills that passed by almost unperceived, even by the System limited attendants.
Like an Indian fighter that fought using invisible hands made entirely out of mana. Stella caught onto it immediately, followed closely by the other magic wielders. Though everyone else remained mostly oblivious, believing it to be a skill like telekinesis.
“How is that not telekinesis?” Alex protested, gesturing at the older woman who deflected attacks with an invisible force. “That has to be telekinesis!”
“Telekinesis?” Silar asked, twisting her head.
“The ability to move things with your mind. It’s one of the powers that we humans had categorized and defined to some degree, even before the integration,” Stella explained. “And no, its not telekinesis.”
“You guys had powers before the integration? And are powers different from skills?” Silar asked, her curiosity piqued.
“No, no. Nothing like that,” Alex insisted. “They were more for fictional works. Stories that we told others for entertainment. Telekinesis was sort of a staple in these works, just like super strength and the ability to fly.”
“The ability to control the weather,” Anna added. “There was also the ability to stop time, or teleport. Those were also common.”
Silence met the friends as the three sovaryns looked at them with bewilderment. Something they had said had completely baffled them, to the point that they were stunned into silence.
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“What do you mean entertainment?” Hirat asked, his heavy fur hiding the obvious curiosity that he felt. “You told stories as a form of entertainment and not as a form of imparting lessons or cautioning others as to what not to do?”
The three friends frowned at the question, each taking something from the question itself in their own way.
Stella understood that while they had knowledge of storytelling, it was mostly used for cautionary tales. This, for some reason, made her mind jump straight to the rules that jobs had. Things, like always wearing a hardhat, or using eye protection.
On the other hand, Alex understood that their people, or at least the group that these three belonged to, didn’t have access to stories that weren’t necessary for survival.
While it was similar to what Stella interpreted, the focus was different. Alex was laser focused on the fact that the life they had was one of hardship that allowed for little entertainment. This understanding of his was only further cemented by the clothes that they wore.
For her part, Anna understood something completely different. What she understood was instinctual. Hirat’s words weren’t simple, they carried anguish and a weight that she couldn’t describe. The best she could make out was a longing for something missed.
Letting what they managed to learn through Hirat’s simple question travel to the back of their minds, the three friends continued like they had learned nothing.
They explained many forms of media, starting from oral storytelling, which Hirat and the others were familiar with, all the way to movies and television. They tried to expand into the territory of videogames, but it proved to be too complex for the basic understanding that the sovaryn had barely achieved.
This conversation continued without them missing anything of note on the ongoing matches. Alex went and came without issue. Anna did the same. With a new sword, it was merely a matter of time and not of possibility.
In this round of matches, even as night fell, there were no titular matches to speak of.
The elves and the sovaryn continued to be the most affected by the matches, their numbers dwindling even further. Now, humans, elves and sovaryn had a similar number of remaining participants, while the azar’s numbers remained untouched.
The first to lose from Solace’s side finally made their appearance in the same match that the friends realized they were being targeted. Luckily, after the match was over, none of them carried any wounds. Which was the best that any could hope for, especially considering that the number of deaths actually increased.
“It makes sense,” Anna commented. “When you increase the level of your attacks, they obviously become far more deadly. It was only natural that more people would die in this round, than in the previous one.”
“This is why I keep telling you to work on your defense,” Alex said.
“Unless I want to pour all that I have into it like you, its better for me to instead focus on a way to deal with attacks that suits me.”
“She’s right,” Stella said, backing Anna up. “There are many ways to advance to both attack and defend. Take Marcus for example, do either of you think you can deal with an attack from him? Or better yet, do you think you can get past his defenses?”
“But that’s not really fair,” Alex complained. “His attacks are slowly becoming missiles, and his defenses are literal buildings.”
Anna was silent for a moment. “I think I can cut any projectile he shoots at me, which would be me ‘dealing’ with his attacks.” She paused. “Though I don’t think I can manage a sustained attack from him. And cutting from a distance is still hard for me. Attacking from behind a wall… that’s something I don’t think I can manage, yet.”
“I didn’t actually mean for you to come up with ways to deal with him, just that he was the perfect example of what you were saying,” Stella said, looking at Anna. “He doesn’t fight conventionally, but he still found a way to do so, if needed. A better defense can’t just be the ability to tank an attack, there has to be options.”
“But nothing’s better than a sturdy wall,” Alex insisted.
“But nothing’s better than a sturdy wall,” Anna repeated, with a mocking and nasal tone.
Stella laughed lightly, and from beside the three friends, the three sovaryn watched on with amusement. They, like everybody else, had seen their fights. Reconciling the efficient fighters that they were in the arena, with the playful group of friends that they were while they sat beside them was tough. And yet, none of them ever felt in danger or uncomfortable.
----------
Once more, shortly before the third round of matches began, an announcement was made. They detailed the total deaths, which again, were higher than in the first round. There were even occasions in which all contestants inflicted fatal wounds on each other, causing a total wipe.
The announcement continued, this time with the total number of contestants left and Alex perked his ears, fully alert to what they were about to say.
Total remaining contestants: 4157
He nodded as soon as he heard the number, sure that he was right about the number of contestants remaining, not lining up with the number of matches there were. He didn’t have a perfect memory, but he was always good with numbers and these numbers were wrong all around.
The previous number of participants doesn’t add up to even matches, he thought to himself, remembering the total number of participants that had passed on to the next round.
If I remember correctly, there were a total of 15,838 participants that made it to the first round. If I’m right than there has to be an explanation somewhere about where—
“Hey, Alex, what—”
Anna stopped Stella cold on her tracks, gesturing toward his expression.
“He’s thinking about something,” Anna said, in a low voice. “It’s probably about what he mentioned yesterday, remember? About the number of people seeming odd to him.”
Stella nodded, confirming that she understood. “Did he get anywhere?” she asked.
“Not yet, but as soon as the remaining contestants were mentioned, he got an idea,” Anna said, still whispering. “Let’s just wait and see how far he gets.”
There’s no way that matches can always end up so perfectly aligned and even, Alex continued, barely feeling how Anna was guiding him through the crowd just like he had done with her.
No, for that to be possible some people have to be automatically passed or skipped over. So, where did all the other contestants come from? Could these extra numbers be related to those that didn’t come to the tournament grounds? But we would have seen it—Wait…
“What happened to the two people that didn’t get a match?” Alex asked, remembering why the number two had become so prevalent in his mind.
“What?” both Stella and Anna asked, confused.
“What happened with them? Is there anyone missing? Or did you notice that someone fought today that didn’t fight yesterday?” Alex asked, his tone urgent.
“I don’t know…” Stella answered. “Why? Does this have to with that discrepancy you noticed about the numbers?”
“Yes, it does,” Alex confirmed.
“How so?” Stella asked.
“Putting it simply,” Alex began, turning serious. “The numbers don’t add up, at all. There is no way you can get the number of fighters we had the first day and still have them all be an even number of matches. You just can’t without having incredible luck, planning… or something else. But even then, that would still be obvious from the number of participants.”
Stella nodded, following along.
“The first night we ended with your fight, right?”
“Yes,” Stella confirmed.
“And the arena was full, 10 divisions, 10 fighters in each, right?”
“Yes.”
“How is that possible?” Alex asked, scratching his head. “15,838 means that we were missing people to keep the arena full… or maybe we had too many. I didn’t exactly keep count of every match. Anyway, the same thing applies to yesterday, and I’m pretty sure the same thing will apply today.” Alex took a deep breath. “But that’s not all.”
“It isn’t?” Anna asked, rubbing her eyes. “Are you sure? It sounds like enough to me.”
“It’s not,” Alex said firmly. “Where the hell did they get 4157?” he asked, pausing for effect, but he was too engrossed in what he was saying to actually let anyone answer. “Even if we consider no deaths during any of the previous matches, that’s still only a maximum of 3959 people. So again, where the hell did they get 4157?”
“And what? You think this has something to do with those that didn’t make it to the tournament, don’t you? You’re thinking that that’s the reason they made the distinction, clearly noting those that made it to the tournament grounds, aren’t you?” Stella surmised, finally having caught up to Alex’s train of thought. “And then what? What do these people from outside do? Do they just automatically forfeit the match?”
“That’s the part I don’t get,” Alex admitted. “Why? The only way I can see this making some sort of sense is if those that didn’t make it here are having their own battles elsewhere and not in a group. And it had to start during the first match otherwise, it just doesn’t make sense.”
“You’re right,” Stella agreed. “It doesn’t make sense. Even if everything you’re saying is true, we still don’t know exactly what they’re doing. Are people coming? Going? Are we overthinking it? We’re lacking far too much information.”
“We need to find the two people from our side that didn’t get matches during the first round,” Alex said.
“A couple of children accepted those invitations,” Anna said, her tone grim.
Silence took hold for a moment, and everything seemed to come to a halt. The crowd became part of the background, and their breathing became heavy.
“Alex, you better be fucking wrong about this!” Anna exclaimed, worry clear on her face.
“I hope so too,” Alex added, his words hollow.
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