[ Tresourian defeated! ]

[ Gained 50,000 XP! ] 

I was disappointed by the amount of XP the fight had given me, I'd earned more from the sparring matches against Akash and Yr'Arl, but the fact of the matter was Tresourian had been nowhere close to their level. Whether it was by pure chance or some cosmic destiny, it seemed like I had become friends with two of the strongest beings that were in the tournament.

The medical AI finished fussing over me and seemed to give me a clean bill of health considering it floated away and melded back into the wall. 

<Well, that ended up being pretty easy,> BB said as he came up and out of our synchro mode. <I'd kind of expected more from the people who managed to get to this point in the tournament.>

To a degree, I agreed with BB, but it hadn't really been as easy as he was making out. While Tresourian hadn't been as difficult to fight as Akash and Yr'Arl, there were some moments when the alien managed to get the upper hand against me. They had managed to land some decent hits. 

<Decent hits that your corona shield managed to absorb completely,> BB snorted, it was clear that my AI helper didn't agree with my opinions on the fight at all. 

I wasn't willing to disrespect an opponent like that. Yes, they had managed to make me incredibly angry during the fight itself, but that was no reason to continue my animosity toward them now that the fight was over. 

That was something that the humans of this world probably did all the time, it was probably one of the reasons so many people hated them, and so it was one of the things that I would never do. If I'm not fighting against some sort of terrible villain, then the fight stays on the battlefield.

<If you say so,> BB said dismissively, <We'll see how long that keeps up, considering how many people are going to be continually putting you down just because of how you look and the species you belong to.>

I rolled my eyes and clambered out of the suspension field that served as the medical bay's bed. Tresourian was still lying down, unconscious, with the medical bot rapidly scanning them. I hoped that I hadn't hurt them too badly. All I was trying to do was knock them out. 

<You didn't hit them hard enough to do any lasting damage, I had the sense to make sure of that when I was regulating the manna flow of your attacks,> BB reassured me. 

I walked back over to the rest of the assembled aliens and retook my seat next to Yr'Arl. Sinking down into the beanbag like chair that had been provided was almost heavenly. The fight hadn't taken that much out of me, but there was definitely an extra level of stress that got added to things when almost everyone watching very clearly wanted you to fail. 

"You performed well out there, Jacob Lyre," Yr'Arl congratulated me. "Though your temper is most certainly a thing that you should be wary of in the future." 

I glanced over to the feline alien and suppressed a sigh. He was right, it was just incredibly hard to keep a handle on everything during a moment like that. 

"Would you have been able to keep your cool in the middle of a fight after a bunch of people had been yelling at you, just because of your species?" I asked. 

Yr'Arl was silent for a moment, clearly uncertain how to respond to my question. 

"I am not sure, in honesty," He eventually said. "The path you have chosen to walk down is a difficult one. But that is one of the litanies of reasons that I have chosen to put my faith in you, Jacob Lyre because I am of the belief that you can overcome these obstacles and project yourself into the world that you desire." 

Sometimes when Yr'Arl said things like that I truly didn't know how to respond. Luckily Akash was around to save me from my own awkwardness. 

"I would have reacted in much worse ways if the Eldrani had been insulted in the same way that Tresourian insulted you," Akash said. "You often remind me that I was wrong about how you are, and I extend my apologies to you once again… freely this time." 

Unfortunately, Akash had only said even nicer things, so I was left feeling even more awkward. 

"Uh, thanks guys, it means a lot to hear that from both of you," I said, wishing that the beanbag I was sitting on would just swallow me up and take me away from everything that was happening. 

"So the results of the first round of fights are in!" Chimed the voice of Squadron Leader Belana. "Akash, Vadton, Boledo, The Urstnir of Napdid, Kathura, Yr'Arl and Jacob Lyre will all be making it through to the next round! The rest of the competitors have been eliminated from the tournament, but that does not mean they have been eliminated from the Guard entirely.

Everyone who has made it this far is an incredible fighter, and there will no doubt be Squadron Leader's across the galaxy looking to make them their next pick!" 

With another flash of white light, the eight Initiates who had failed in their fights were teleported away. Where they were taken I had no idea, but I was sure each and every one of them would end up having a long and fruitful career in the Guard. Well, everyone except for Thiss the Morde Kash. I had no idea what was going to happen to them. 

There was no doubt that the next set of fights were going to be even tougher than the last, and unfortunately due to the way the bracket was structured I already had a pretty good idea about who I would be fighting next. 

Unless things were mixed around in some way, my next opponent would be Yr'Arl… and I wasn't planning on losing.