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Of everyone, only one person was entirely emotionless. Vloz was as calm as ever. He showed no signs of worry nor excitement. It was his lack of expression that made Zelsh more eager by the second.

When they reached the open-air arena, the guests were astounded. They marveled at the grandness of the place as they began to comprehend the sheer scale of a regional palace.

Netra’s eyes latched onto the sight below, where three people waited in the center of the arena.

“Follow me, Netra. Jarrit, feel free to show them to their seats.”

Zelsh led the way down the steps with Netra closely behind him. The others followed as well but soon branched off as Zelsh and Netra jumped into the ring. Jarrit showed them the front row seats that he usually occupied, the same ones he and Zelsh used to watch Oli’s test.

Once the spectators were seated, Zelsh finally addressed the fox in the arena for the sake of his son and trainees, “Everyone, this is Netra.”

.....

“Hello, Netra,” the three men greeted in unison, getting a bow from the fox in return.

“She isn’t a member of the region but she’ll be joining the tournament under a friend of mine,” continued Zelsh. “That being said, today we have the pleasure of training with her. For that reason, you’ll each take a turn sparring with her.”

In the stands, Puula felt her heart tighten at Zelsh’s comment. But she felt Vloz’s tail brush against her shoulder and upper back to comfort her. Looking at the leopard, Puula sighed with a soft but nervous smile. But she was startled to see Vloz stare into the arena without a hint of worry or concern. She didn’t understand why, but it did make Puula feel a bit better about the situation.

“These are sparring matches. Go as hard as possible, but stop if told to do so.”

The three young men nodded together. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now, are you ready, Netra? Or do you need a moment?” Zelsh asked but immediately chuckled after seeing her intense stare. “Do you care who you face first?”

“No. You can choose.”

“Oh, confident... I look forward to watching this.” Glancing over his trainees, Zelsh showed a devilish smile. “Kraz, you’re up first.”

Without a word, Kraz nodded and slithered forward. The tiger and human man both followed Zelsh as they jumped into the stands, joining Jarrit and the others.

“What are you thinking, Vloz?”

“I’m just curious is all... What realm is he?” Vloz asked quietly as both competitors waited for the starting call.

“My son is on the cusp of becoming an elder,” answered Zelsh. “I felt that should make it fair.”

“Oh, I see.”

Puula was floored to hear about the wyrm’s true identity but both Zelsh and Jarrit were startled to see the leopard’s lack of reaction.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Vloz blinked and looked at Jarrit with a slight smile. “It’s just that she wiped the floor with Burt, so I’m not sure how this will go.”

“What? Was it after–”

“Yes, it was after he became a peak adept, just like her current opponent.”

Zelsh noticed the shock in Jarrit’s voice and expression, all the more intrigued. “Who’s Burt?”

“No one... But this should be an even better match than I thought,” remarked Jarrit.

“In that case...” Zelsh snickered and eyed the arena with enthusiasm, “BEGIN!”

Both competitors unleashed their essence. Neither held back or underestimated their opponent. Netra quickly recognized the realm of her opponent while covering her fur in matte black energy. Kraz acted similarly, letting earth essence strengthen his defenses as ethereal, black mist oozed out of his body.

However, a sense of shock had already fallen over the spectators. The same was true for Kraz, who was left scouring his surroundings for the missing fox.

At the same time, an ecstatic grin began to grow across Zelsh’s face. He said nothing though, making sure to let his son handle the match himself, as did everyone else. Puula was the only one who nearly said something. But she was stopped by Vloz, who maintained his small but confident smile.

Kraz immediately began to flood the surrounding area with death essence. It had been a long time since an opponent had completely vanished from his senses, but it wasn’t his first time experiencing it thanks to training with his older brother. He had to set up countermeasures against the invisible foe while staying calm and alert.

A moment passed. Another moment passed.. More and more death essence filled the arena as another second passed by...

Unsure of what exactly was happening, Puula quietly asked, “Where’s–”

“Shhh...” Zelsh kindly cut her off with a whisper. “She’s still in there. Just wait...”

Soon, Kraz’s movements became a little frantic. By now, a majority of the arena floor was covered in his death essence. Yet he still couldn’t sense the fox. And since his father hadn’t said anything, that meant that the match was still legitimate. But that only left Kraz feeling tenser by the second as he failed to sense the fox again and again.

Finally, Kraz sensed something. However, that only startled him all the more.

Before the wyrm could properly react, a black claw tore into the upper side of Kraz’s neck. Within the span of a single breath, two more attacks were launched at the very same spot.

It only lasted a moment before Kras forced Netra to move, but that wasn’t enough to stop her. She merely dashed toward the other side of his back and began throwing blow after blow at the gaps between Kraz’s large scales, seemingly unaffected by the deadly mist.