Chapter 61: Tournament Day 1 (Part 3)

[It's an exciting start to the Tournament! On one side we have the martial artist that knocked down the favorite for the Preliminary tournament! He apparently lost his first two matches purposely, in his words, to "make it interesting". After defeating our beloved Slime he then cleaned up the rest of the holder's on and clinched his spot as our 14th seed! Give it up for "Master" Edgar!!!!] - Judico

The crowd, already excited by the prospect of finally beginning the main tournament was whipped into an unmatched fervor by the Announcer's words, almost as one they stood and shook the foundations of the Arena so loud was their cheering. Edgar, smiling politely at the attention gave the crowd a wave which only served to increase the roar emanating from the mass of bodies. It was akin to the adoration normally reserved for God's alone was being channeled into every single person present.

[And facing against our Martial Art's Master is something that has never in the history of this long tournament happened. I'm pleased to announce that the first opponent for Edgar is....! Aerin "the Long-Lived", an Elf!!!] - Judico

As the announcer's voice echoed through the arena a deathly silence descended, into which a tiny, cloaked figure strode. The person was covered head to toe with a dark robe that shrouded their identity, the very same that they had been wearing when the original 10 seeded individuals had taken the stage several days ago. The small elf, coming to a stop about a dozen meter's from their opponent, paused as if they were thinking about what to do next causing the crowd to murmur amongst themselves in confusion. Apparently satisfied by whatever they had been waiting for the threw off the heavy cloak, revealing their form to the crowd.

A loli, a blond haired loli Elf, radiant in her beauty stood before them. The crowd, awed into silence, stared at the surprising scene before them. She can't have been more than 3 or 4 years of age yet the confidence that she displayed paired with the unreadable expression on her face made such an age impossible.

Silence reigned as people continued to stare at the ephemeral Fae before them. Objects of myth and legends as much as they was a part of the world, Fae were rare. Exceedingly so in fact. Now rumors abound that an entire continent of Faefolk existed to the West, a fact even confirmed by the select few merchants that were allowed to trade with them. Even still the existence of Elves and other Faefolk was a thing of legend to most of the populace, most even viewed it as a sign of good luck to even catch a glimpse of their forms let alone seeing them full-on in front of you like this. It was... shocking to say the least.

Now if you were to ask the audience later who broke the silence none of them would be able to answer you but within seconds the deafening atmosphere had turned into one of crazy hysteria with Guards even needing to blockade the guardrails overlooking the Arena for fear of people leaping to the distant floor. The Elf, for her part, looked completely unmoved by the experience contrary to her apparent age.

[W-Wow! What a beauty! Now according to our sources while our little Elf-chan may look no older than 4 years of age she's actually much older. We were unfortunately unable to get an accurate number in our investigations but sources place her at more than 50 years of age at the least! So don't you underestimate this little lady!] - Judico

Letting the excitement pass over the crowd once more the Announcer continued, explaining the difference between the little Loli Elf's apparent age and her seeming maturity. The truth only serving to galvanize the crowd as many of them began chanting "Legal Loli!" in tandem. Originating from summoned heroes the term had taken on a life of it's own and the idea was popular, albeit controversial to this day in the shorter lived races. It was a moniker that Aerin was far too used to at this point, her long association with "lesser" races colored her expectations in this regard.

[Hey. You're strong aren't you?] - Edgar

[...] - Aerin

[I get it. You see me as beneath your notice, whoever you came looking for is obviously not me and since I'm not your target you don't even view me as a threat right?] - Edgar

[...If you get it then you shou-] - Aerin

[I said that I get it not that I agree with that sentiment.] - Edgar

[Haa?!?] - Aerin

[I've always wanted to fight an Elf! Ha!] - Edgar

The guard had taken quite a while to bring the crowd back under control, their excitement literally vibrating the Arena in the meantime. One of the two opponent's, not content to wait for the fans to be brought back under control, one-sidedly asked the Elf a question. Was she strong? Of course she was, it was ridiculous to ask a question like that in a venue like this. No one made it this far without being unquestionably strong. The Fae, confident in her superiority, decided to ignore the vulgar little man, nearly sighing with irritation at how long it was taking to get this over with.

Her eyes, half-lidded with boredom, widened slightly in surprise however. The man, the battle-junkie, had guessed that she was participating in this idiotic Tournament for a reason. Not only that but he had even figured out that she was looking for a "someone" not a "something". Aerin had to give him credit for surpassing her expectations at the very least. In deference to her underestimation of his awareness she was about to give him an easy out, about to tell him to forfeit before being embarrassed. Only, he didn't seem to understand, instead of giving up like she expected after he had figured out just how far the gulf was between them he instead doubled down, much to her shocked surprise. As an Elf she didn't understand the "lesser" races and their misguided struggles, it was almost amusing how violently they railed against Fate like that.

But this was different. This man. This worm, had insulted the pride of her race! And the majesty of the High Elves would suffer no such insult!

In an instant she was upon him, a long, thin blade appearing in her hand as she thrust it at his eye. It seemed he had struck a nerve if her reaction was anything to go by. The crowd, still excited by the appearance of the Elf to begin with, went wild at the start of the actual battle but Edgar tuned it out instantly, his mind focused on the thin, blue blade in the small warrior's hands. A rapier? Something similar?

Tilting his head slightly as he spun into her strike he focused on a backhanded blow only to find his aim going wildly off course, missing her entirely. The smirk on her face as she quickly spun around to take advantage of his supposed misstep told him that she'd done something to cause that result, something that he hadn't noticed.

[Oof! Nice attack little lady, nearly had me with that one!] - Edgar

[Use your Trump Card.] - Aerin

[Hmm? Trump Card?] - Edgar

[That Limit Release that you did during your fight with that Aspect of Gluttony.] - Aerin

[Aspect of Gluttony?] - Edgar

[Ah I believe your people call them Slime's? The named one. Do what you did in that fight.] - Aerin

[Ah... Not that I'm against it little lady but are you sure? I don't want to brag but I quite like my chances even as we are now.] - Edgar

[Use it. Otherwise...] - Aerin

[...you'll die.] - Aerin

Edgar, pulling on his extensive experience, was still able to rotate around her follow-up strike, taking a small cut to his tunic as he took some distance, his face breaking out into a ecstatic smile as he did so. He was having fun, this was even better than his fight with Karen. That Slime girl had shown him that his isolation with his Master had been a mistake, the interesting things just kept coming afterall. His Master had been correct, he needed to experience the world and all of its wonders.

Still smiling from adrenaline and excitement he complimented the "young" lady's strike, she really had nearly run him through with that blow. He had almost lost within the first five minutes and he couldn't be more exhilarated! What happened next caught him by surprise though, she WANTED him to use his Limit Release? On top of that she mentioned something about Gluttony? Well whatever the point was that she was asking for him to go all out immediately which was against his style if he was being perfectly honest. It was more fun to fight evenly for a while first, no one was able to last more than a few minutes after he went all out and that was boring, better to risk defeat than end a match prematurely.

The Elf wasn't taking no for an answer though as she once more rushed him faster than he could react, only barely missing his neck as she did so. Using the backwards momentum from his dodge he whipped his foot around in a spinning kick only for his strike to one more veer off course. He didn't know what was going on but whatever it was excited him, it was feeling more and more like he was standing in front of his Master, the immense feeling of oppressive aggression a mirror for his esteemed Mentor. It was like looking at a tall mountain that you'd never been able to climb right before starting forth for the 100th time, a feeling of overwhelming hopelessness mixed with anticipation.

He shivered, his body vibrating with tension. He was afraid. He was excited. He was alive!

[Hahaha! I must refuse! Ha!!!] - Edgar

Aerin didn't understand it, she was far above this man, untouchable as far as he was concerned. Every other time she had revealed even a portion of her strength her opponent's would beg for forgiveness, but this man instead pushed forward. He was happy? The smile hadn't left his face since their initial bout and it had widened even more as she continued to demonstrate her superior ability. She didn't understand it.

[Hahahaha! Yes! This is it! Keep going till we tear each other apart! HAHAHA!] - Edgar

Edgar, single-minded in his determination to fight the Fae in front of him, continued to dodge her strikes by a hair's breath. His own attacks continuing to veer off course. But not all was lost, a observant person wouldn't have failed to notice that with each missed strike Edgar was beginning to get closer to the Elf. She'd even had to dodge his last blow. Whatever she was doing to protect herself was being adapted to by the persistent martial artist. Somehow he was compensating even without understanding the reason behind his attacks going wild. What was once a one-sided slaughter was quickly becoming tedious to the young elf girl. She wanted to end this quickly but somehow the crazy man in front of her was still standing. He had taken more than a few of her blows but each attack of his seemed to get closer and closer to finding their mark. It was inconceivable! Human's were the least of the "lesser" races! It made no sense for a weaker opponent to be giving her this much trouble!

[Fine then. If you want to die I'll oblige you. Spirit's heed my call, carry my burdens and smite my enemies! Storm Dance!] - Aerin

Edgar was doing great, he was slowly figuring out whatever that Fae was doing to his aim. It wasn't external, there wasn't a barrier or even a bit of wind to direct his blows. Which meant that she'd done something to him directly at the beginning of the fight. Mind Control? No, it was too subtle to be something so obvious. Balance. She'd messed with his center of gravity somehow. Either a spell or some kind of martial skill he'd never heard of, but whatever it was that did it he'd figured it out. Now he had to compensate.

Before he could do so however Aerin's demeanor changed completely, becoming more serious within seconds. It seems that he'd forced her to take him seriously afterall, which meant that he needed to act now before he-

[Gurk! Ow...] - Edgar

[I told you that you should have forfeited. Now surrender and you might survive this.] - Aerin

[Tell you what. You wanted to see my Trump Card right? Kof Kof!] - Edgar

[What are you-] - Aerin

[Limit Release!] - Edgar