With a shift to the side, Vale was able to dodge the incoming strike. Azoth had moved with the intent to kill and he hadn't expected his opponent to dodge.
His strike hit the ground causing the ring to shake slightly.
He was strong, but Vale had no intention of taking his strike head-on. Taking advantage of Azoth's disorientation after the failed attack, he initiated his own strike.
Leaping forward, he slashed at the man's feet, slicing his Achilles tendon.
Azoth, who was trying to send out another strike, let out a blood-curdling scream. He lost his balance and fell towards the ground.
The referee stopped his approach and looked at Vale in surprise.
He was the only one who truly witnessed everything that happened; to the audience, Azoth had just missed his attack. Because of the dust stirred up, they hadn't noticed Vale's counterattack.
So when Azoth screamed it came as a surprise.
Vale didn't stop attacking. Unlike the other inexperienced participants, he used small and precise cuts on his opponent, making sure to rupture a vein or artery on each strike.
With the giant now on the floor, that wasn't hard.
Only when the smoke settled completely did the spectators find Azoth lying in a pool of his own blood and Vale casually playing with his dagger.
At first, they wondered if the referee had intervened, but the surprised look on his face said it all.
"He might need a medic," Vale said to the referee who quickly composed himself. With a wave of his hand, he called for the medics, who came and carried the bleeding giant away.
Watching him get carted away, Vale wondered if he should have gone for the kill but quickly shook his head.
That would only create problems for him, and even though Azoth wasn't a good person, it wasn't in his place to administer justice.
The match had ended very quickly and everyone's expectations were subverted. However, because they had no idea what really happened, they couldn't reach a conclusion.
"What the heck happened in there?"
"You're asking me? I have no idea."
"The referee must have intervened when the dust obscured the ring."
"No, didn't you see his face? He was surprised as well. That kid must be something else."
"I'll be damned if I believe a random kid can beat Azoth the butcher."
"We might be in for a surprise later on."
…
Vale's win became something of a controversial topic: a lot of people didn't believe he had won himself while others seemed to think he was another black horse.
But Azoth was a sort of general enemy, so everyone was happy that he lost, and even those who thought Vale cheated didn't pursue the matter further, as he had done them a favour. Some even wished the medics hadn't come to help Azoth.
Vale wasn't bothered by any of that; his goal was to win, and other things didn't really matter.
As he walked down from the ring, that familiar itch on his back came back. Pausing dead in his tracks, he didn't look back.
Having left his cloak back in the resting area, his face was completely exposed.
He silently cursed: whoever had tried to attack him yesterday was back. This was enough to prove that it was more than a mere robbery.
That intent to kill was as strong as ever.
It was clearly an inexperienced assassin as they had no idea how to hide their intent, but he was currently too weak to even try to fight back.
I have to get stronger and figure out why I'm being targeted
Vale clenched his fist but kept walking as if nothing had happened.
He joined the other participants standing around the rings and continued watching the matches, acting as normal as possible.
The fights went on as usual, and after watching for a while, Vale got bored. That was until Aster's fight was announced.
Only when his number was called did the star boy actually show up and although this was breaking the rules, no one said anything. After all, he was the star of the entire event.
His opponent was a pale young lady with a bow in her hands and a quiver full of arrows strapped to her back.
She had a serious expression on her face as she stood before Aster who wore the usual slight smile. Seeing as both of them were ready, the referee didn't waste time and announced the start of the match.
"How long do you think she's going to last?"
"If Aster is serious I doubt ten seconds, but he's never serious with his fights, so it might even stretch over a minute."
"Yeah, and she's a girl. He wouldn't want to actually hurt her."
…
The girl had already drawn five arrows, and as soon as the match started, she released them.
The arrows cut through the air with speed and accuracy. Aster didn't move an inch as he watched them reach him.
Then at the moment of impact, he shifted his body slightly to the side, causing the arrows to miss.
But the threat didn't end there. One of the arrows split into two and a fragment headed straight to Aster. The star boy raised a brow, a bit surprised.
The archer smiled; she was satisfied as long as she could land a solid hit. She knew that actually winning this fight wasn't possible.
But her hopes were shattered when he caught the arrow with only two fingers.
"Try again," he said to her. The archer's eyes twitched, but she continued shooting arrows. But none of them hit Aster.
Her quiver had been exhausted and the star boy hadn't moved; only then did she shake her head and resign.
The crowd cheered, talking about how wonderfully Aster had ended the fight. They called him a gentleman for not even touching his opponent.
There were a few people who didn't support him but they were quickly attacked by the majority.
Aster left the arena after that and the second stage was set to commence soon. There was a short break as a few mages repaired the arenas.
The moment that was done and the stage was ready, the first fight was called
Surprisingly, it was between Jack and the body mage Vale had noticed earlier. He was more than curious about how this match would play out.
Unlike the last time, when he had been able to adapt to Ariella's fighting style, there was no way this body mage would give him that chance. That was why Vale felt this match would be more challenging for him.