“It still doesn’t make sense,” Anna said, her face pensive. “The numbers still shouldn’t add up, even if you consider that there are ‘losers’ outside of those that are here.”

  “It makes sense if those that aren’t here, aren’t used unless they are needed,” Alex answered.

  “As in, they’re more like a reserve than active participants?”

  “Yes,” Alex confirmed. “That way the matches always come up even, to a certain degree, at least. Though, that doesn’t explain what’s happening here. Are people coming or leaving? What about the two people who weren’t matched, have have we found them?”

  “No, not yet but we will,” Stella answered. “However, my concerns are different. I’m not as good as you are with numbers, so, in your opinion, what are the chances that everyone that accepted the tournament invitation but didn’t come, perfectly fits the numbers needed to balance out the tournament?”

  Alex pondered for a second, than made a face, as if what he was doing was dumb. “It’s impossible to know. Potentially, everyone above level 10 might have accepted the invitation—Wait, you’re wondering what will happen to those that aren’t called up to participate or whatever, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are you guys talking about?” Anna asked.

  “We’re talking about how unlikely it is that the number of people that aren’t here but are participating fits the number of people that are needed to keep the matches even,” Alex explained. “And will happen to them if there are, I guess the best term for it is people that are left over…?”

  “Even, as in they all end with 2 people left standing?” Anna asked.

  “Correct,” Stella answered.

  “Hmm.” Anna pondered for a moment, then she lifted her gaze toward her two friends. “Based on everything we’ve seen up until know, like how they killed that teen or how blatant they were with allowing us to fight to the death.” She paused, looking at an attendant. “I think they’ll let us know the consequences of not showing up and simply not being useful.”

  ----------

  It was the third day since the tournament officially began, fifth since they had gotten the tournament invitation and the third round of matches were still ongoing.

  After Alex had his brief revelation about the number of participants in the tournament, the three friends settled down in a semi-isolated fashion. None of them were in the mood to socialize much, the thought of children getting hurt disturbed their thoughts too much.

  Though, they weren’t completely isolated. The people from Solace were still around them, in some ways, helping in their isolation.

  Yet, their isolation was barely noticed as something else caught the attention of those in attendance. It was the fact that the stands, other than the elven ones, were emptier than they had been before. For a moment, some considered the possibility that the emptiness was because of the deaths, but they quickly dismissed the notion when they realized where the missing people were.

  Behind the stands, where all the stores were, many were still browsing and buying things with their points. The attendants seemed to have no problem, so they showed no signs of stopping. This prompted many others to leave and also browse.

  Some were browsing because they wanted to make their purchase mean something. They didn’t want to purchase an item only to find something better a moment later. And others were looking for whatever might help them with their own fights, doing their best to make it as far as possible.

  These efforts to make it as far as possible presented themselves in various ways. Some bought techniques from bookstores, others purchased meals that would boost their spirit, defense or power, and some just placed all their bets on what they knew best, a good weapon.

  ----------

  For his part, Ed continued with his search for the perfect reward. He tried entering the elves’ section, only to immediately be turned around. He hadn’t actually expected to be let in, but he thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask. So, instead, he continued his search for a reward inside the azar’s section, continuing to learn things that he hadn’t in the two previous sections he had already been in.

  At this point, his thoughts were firmly being cemented into purchasing a series of artifacts with effects that he believed would benefit Solace the most.

  Effects like mana regeneration, or health regeneration were obvious choices that would be useful to basically anyone who used them, but there were others that also piqued his interest.

  There were artifacts that provided shields against a certain number of attacks. Some that could release bursts of healing energy, healing small wounds instantaneously. There were even some that increased skill experience acquisition, though they were insanely expensive and most of those had descriptors like “miniscule” or “tiny.”

  Still, those would be perfect for training, he thought.

  There were also others with a greater focus on attacks, like ones that summoned basic elemental spells that accompanied every one of your strikes. Artifacts that stored a portion of damage taken and adding it as a sort of imbuement to your attack. Or ones that were just straight up stat boosts.

  Not all of them are great, but the most expensive one I saw gave something like 50 stat points total.

  However, in the end, his focus was on one specific type of artifacts, the ones he designated as “technical artifacts.” These artifacts were special, at least to Ed, in that there activation requirements were ludicrous by his own standards, but in turn, their effects could also be incredible.

  One of these artifacts had the requirement of “sliding for at least 2 seconds,” and in return it gave the user a 5 second boost to their agility stat. Another required that the user aim a long-range weapon for 3 seconds and it would make the shot more accurate.

  And the reason that Ed was so keen on these “technical artifacts” was because he considered that the value they gave went beyond their actual effects.

  “If Marcus, or those in the research team find out how to make such complex buffs possible, than it could only be a good thing for us.” Ed’s mind began to imagine the possibilities. “Forget replicating them, what about creating new and desired effects.”

  But in order to make his idea a reality, he needed more points. Up until now he had only made 6 points; 3 from his first-round victory and 3 for his victory on the second round. If things continued as they were, he would either have 9 after his third-round victory or 7 if he lost. Either way, he was looking forward to his third match because it would more or less confirm how many points he would have by the end.

  ----------

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The azar continued to remain a mysterious race that refused to remove their robes, keeping most of their appearance a secret. Other than the hint of blue skin and the obviously large build, nothing more had escaped them. Many observers were ready to dismiss them as a recluse people that specialized in physical combat, but those that knew better, knew that that couldn’t be the case.

  “The way they move,” Ryuji began. “It’s mediocre at best. The only reason they haven’t lost is probably because they have a blessed body of some kind. But there is no way, that those blue bastards specialize in martial arts.” He shook his head, disapprovingly. “I would bet all your lives on that.”

  Robert, Cecilia, and those that were with them didn’t even flinch at Ryuji’s words. This wasn’t an unusual occurrence, Ryuji never bet his own life. Not because he lacked confidence in what he was saying, but because he firmly believed that everything was beneath him, and nothing was worth enough to bet his life on. Still, those that heard him took his words to heart and observed the azar with more caution and attention.

  Soon, Ryuji’s words had reached every corner of the tournament grounds, and many added them to the list of ongoing points of interest that this tournament was churning out.

  ----------

  Regardless of how the matches of the second round were, and how the third round was shaping up to be, there were some events of note.

  For starters, it appeared that multiple factions had already come to an agreement, not only with each other, but also with the members that formed each of them.

  These agreements became obvious when members of the same faction began to forfeit almost immediately when they were matched with each other. And a similar thing happened when matched with other members of other factions.

  Stella didn’t know the exact political landscape that the world was under right now, especially considering the existence of three species other than humans, but she was still taking note as best she could. It would be impossible to know if or when the information she gathered here would be of importance. But it was still better to have it and not need it, instead of needing and not having.

  Thanks to the isolation that they had, and a minor silence spell that she had to learn for matters of secrecy, Stella spoke her mind openly to her friends.

  “I think that entire group over there,” she pointed with her eyes, “are giving up every fight against any body that wields holy power, regardless of who the holy power comes from. If I were to guess, part of it is to throw us, and anybody watching, off of who they are really allied with. But I can tell that it’s the God of Abundance, they carry a bit of the faith inside them.”

  “Who?” Anna asked. “Who has the same faith?”

  “The people that are surrendering,” Stella answered. “It reminds me of the same feeling I get when Lydia or… the other three,” she scowled, “use their skills.”

  Anna and Alex made a scowl, mimicking Stella, but quickly let the feeling go.

  “Do you have any idea as to who they belong to?” Alex asked. “I mean, you did have a meeting with someone, right? Didn’t they tell you more about the current political landscape? Or did they just tell you that we were targets?” he added, his tone sharp.

  Stella looked at Alex, amused at how he said what he said. Almost as if accusing her of doing something behind their back. She had already shared some of what she had learned during her meeting, and it was what she considered to be most important. So, she didn’t know why Alex was having an issue with it now.

  She considered responding in a similar manner, but once she saw how multiple other factions were cooperating with each other, her desire to be right, vanished.

  “I met with who I’m sure is representing the current American government,” Stella answered, her sight back on the floating screens. “The people in suits.”

  “Yes, I already guessed that.”

  “Evidence or stories?” Anna asked, curious.

  A light chuckle escaped Alex. “Stories,” he answered.

  “Anyway… they didn’t really share more than what I already told you,” Stella began. “They want Lydia, maybe the three and more than anything else, they want to stop our method of blocking the gods.”

  “Which we’re pretty sure is Eric,” Alex added.

  “Right,” Stella said. “The problem is, too many people are giving up fights for it to be a coincidence. And now that I’m seeing how much we’re up against, I can tell both of you with full confidence, that if we’re found,” Stella turned to look at her friends in the eye, lingering a bit on each of them, “we’re fucked.”

  “There can’t be that—”

  “More than 32 different matches have had people give up and when they returned to their seats, it was clear that they weren’t part of the same faction,” Stella said, her tone serious. “Oh! And to make matters worse, if our people are there, they attack them before surrendering.”

  “Not everything is bad though,” Alex said, cutting in. “I’m pretty sure the Egyptians aren’t part of whatever game the others are playing,” he added, his gaze serious as one of the screens grabbed his attention. “Look at the fight with Aegis.”

  Both Stella and Anna immediately turned to the screens floating above the arena, both sensing what Alex had, an unspoken hostility between the two opponents.

  Unlike Aegis, who the trio associated with Greek and Rome because of how she fought and the divinity she used, the trio of friends didn’t know the reason for why her opponent was called the Third Jackal, but the answer was soon given.

  ----------

  The match began very much like all of Aegis’s other matches. She used her shield to defend and her pike to strike true, quickly dispatching her opponents. But for whatever reason, whenever her pike touched the Third Jackal’s hands, the divinity would vanish, cancelled out by another.

  But this sudden cancellation of her divinity meant nothing, she was barely using any to begin with. And at this moment, all of her teammates were still alive. So, she just increased the amount she used, assured that she had even more support.

  And she was right, with more divinity in each of her strikes, her opponent was incapable of cancelling it out. Each of her strikes found its target, quickly bringing the Third Jackal to his knees. With a final blow from her divinity infused shield, a blow so powerful that it caused the walls that divided the arena to ripple, she brought her opponent down.

  And it was at that moment that everyone realized that while to them, it had been nothing more than a simple match, to her, it was something else. The glint in her eyes turned bloody and her face became one of iron-like determination.

  “Time to fulfill my part of the agreement,” she muttered. “You should have understood.”

  Standing atop the downed Jackal, she grasped her pike with both hands, turning its tip downward, aimed directly at her opponent’s head. With her eyes focused, she brought the pike down, her muscles tensing to their limit.

  But unlike what she expected, she felt an unnatural resistance to her strike. It was like she was trying to pierce the hardest substance on Earth, and it not only refused to give, but it even pushed back.

  Without her wanting it to, her divinity flared to life. First it engulfed her small section of the arena and then, it shattered the divisions that had been created. It did so with such ease that the divisions might as well have not even been there to begin with.

  ----------

  Immediately, everyone who caught on to what was happening jumped into action. Stella opened her arms wide and then brought them together with a loud clap. A large wall of flame engulfed not only those of Solace, but more than third of the human stands.

  Alex reacted a beat later, raising a wall just behind Stella’s flames, both reinforcing his friend’s protection and protecting the spectators from getting burned.

  Following closely behind, everyone else did the best they could to protect themselves. Summoning magic shields, physical shields, or other things as protection. Some tried to run away, but found little luck as the expansion of power was almost immediate.

  The protection that others had erected was meant to block or deflect the divinity, while Stella’s was meant to burn it away, weakening it before it reached any other defense. And yet, Stella and all the magicians who had erected a barrier still struggled to maintain them.

  But less than a second after she began to falter, Stella could feel her flames being influenced by something inside her, trying to devour the assault of divine energy. And for a moment, her flames did as they wished, only to fail when another divinity made its presence known.

  Where Aegis’s divinity had been cold and regal, this new one was both warm and silent. An untold feeling of protection enveloped the arena.

  With a burst, all the protective measures faltered, becoming nothing.

  Anna, Ryuji, Child of Gold, Lightning Child, and many more sword wielders that were probably related to the Blades in some fashion, rose to their feet, cutting away at the very divinity that made its way toward them and others. Though, other than the three chosen children, everyone else’s efforts were considerably less effective.

  Then, the warm and protective divinity reined in the overflowing cold and regal one that threatened to harm everyone present, containing it to the arena itself. The other fighters had long since been removed, all of them disqualified.

  ----------

  Aegis continued to push her pike down, fueled by a battle that she was not a part of.

  Her divinity and that of her opponent, overwhelming the arena, turning multiple people into believers as they touched a sliver of a holy truth that they could not comprehend.

  With a final burst, Aegis felt her spear finally pierce through, relief washing over her. But it didn’t last long. As she lowered her gaze, ready to see the proof of her victory—a dead jackal—she instead found something far more disturbing.

  On instinct, she tried to pry her pike loose, but to no avail, it was firmly lodged between the jackal’s maws.

  If you have any suggestions of what you'd like to see, characters or plot points that you're curious about, please let me know in the comments. And if you can, please drop a rating or review, good or bad, I want to know how I'm doing and your feedback is the best indicator.

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