Alex stared incredulous at Althea, though before he could ask further questions, Vivien yelled, “And begin!” The hunter snapped back to the fight and focused on Theo.

The camps' leader didn’t hesitate and charged the teenager before he could collect himself. Alex levelled his blunted spear, casting [shadowclone] and [shadowcloak] at once. Both clones appeared with the spear, the last weapon Alex held. He quickly mixed between the two clones, hoping to confuse Theo, but the giant didn’t let him out of his eyes and was still focused on the teenager.

They stood some dozen metres apart, so Alex had time enough to throw a quick plan together. He weaved between his clones, sending them at his opponent. He thought about [shadowweapon], it’s magic penetration probably the only thing that could pierce Theo’s armour Skill. But they had agreed to play nice and Alex didn’t want to be the first to break the unspoken rule.

The first clone met Theo’s charge and was nearly bowled over. It managed at the last moment and dove for the brutes legs. The second clone jumped up, moments before Theo would have mowed it over. Surprised by the unexpected move, the giant was flailing and Alex saw his chance. He sprinted at the teenager and a quick stab to his shoulder brought him completely out of balance.

The clone caught between Theo’s legs dissipated, but it had done its work and the leader stumbled and fell. The second one, still covering Theo's face, tried to hold the giant down. Alex dropped his spear, but he was seconds too late. Theo had freed himself of the second clone and was beginning to stand up. The shadowblade enacted his plan, while the brute wasn’t focused on him yet.

Before Theo could react, Alex had his fingers at his sides and began tickling him. For a moment the mountain of muscle stood still and Alex face fell. His plan had failed and Althea had tricked him. He had to use the dagger and injure Theo. If he could dodge the grasping hands long enough. He didn’t calculate his chances all that high.

Suddenly, Theodore began giggling and Alex redoubled his efforts, his nimble hands and dexterous fingers wandering up and down the giants sides. The giggling soon becoming a full-fledged laughter and Alex shouted, “Give up, I can do this all day.” Theo tried to free himself, but Alex was faster and easily dodged the giant.

“I give, I give up,” Theo roared between bouts of laughter. Alex looked at Vivien, the judge of this match and the girl sighed, shook her head and declared Alex as the winner. The teenager whooped and raised both arms in elation. Theo now free, put his giant hand on Alex shoulder and gripped tight. “Well fought, even if it was a tad dirty,” he grinned at Alex. “If you’re free in the next few days, I’d like a rematch. A real one, this time.”

Alex gulped and Theo laughed at his abashed grimace. “Don’t be afraid. Same rules as today, just a friendly match to see how strong you really are,” the giant explained and Alex began breathing again. He flashed his teeth and nodded, “I’d like that. Have to make sure, that the camps' lead is capable.”

With a few loud whistles, Vivien quieted the mass of spectators. After they had calmed down a bit, she yelled, “With that, we have the winner and follow up for the solo fights. Tom and Hugh informed me, that they want to share the third place, instead of fighting.” It was easily visible, that Vivien was pretty happy with that. The girl continued, “There will be a short pause, as we are extending the arena for the team fights. Before you leave for the prepared snacks, please send one of your team to me, to tell me your team composition and name.”

With that, Vivien waved at the surrounding crowd and Alex stood on tiptoe, looking at the crowd. He could see, that a few people had brought grills and tables, creating an impromptu festival. Sadly, there was no music. Alex had seen Gatexs offers for instruments, and he barely touched the cheapest of the cheap with his considerable wealth.

Alex shook his head and concentrated, he could smell the different meats being prepared. He quickly walked out of the arena to join Althea and Leon, as the two were already moving to the grilling area.

The youth lined up with his two friends and from his position, he could smell the grilling goodies. Spices were rare as the pre-ruin stuff was used up and while the Faun sold some, they didn’t taste like those that they had been used to. So many abstained from trying the new seasonings. But Alex could see the chef, pouring something over the sizzling meat. His mouth watered as the smell hit him.

The youth was so distracted, that he didn’t hear, when Lin and Jane joined the trio. “Congratulations on your win, man! Pretty awesome fights and the last one…epic, how did you know?” Lin bombarded Alex, who was still watching the cook. Finally, the youth tore his attention away from the grill and looked at his friend, “Althea told me, to be honest. It was the best way to win.” Alex explained his reasons why he left the shadowdagger sheathed and the group of four nodded.

“Yeah, Hugh didn’t have hard fights, so he should have had enough Mana for healing. But no injuries are better, than having to patch up our chief,” Lin responded as Alex had finished. “Say, are you joining the team-fights?” Althea asked the other girl. Jane smiled and answered. “Yep, we have a team of guards. And normally we train together, so we should work pretty harmoniously.”

Soon each teenager held a skewer of meat. Jane had even snagged one with some vegetables. They were a bit more pricey as they had to be bought from Gatex. But Alex and Lin had both won their tournament, so the group had easily enough money to pay for the snacks. Lin, mouth full, turned to Alex and mumbled. Alex regarded the youths incomprehensibly rambling. His friend gulped the bite down and spoke again, “I just wanted to tell you, that I don’t need the metals from the shop anymore. Lucas, the metalcrafter, gave me some of his.”

Alex swallowed his own bite down and answered, “Would have been no problem either way. But I’m happy you already got them. The earlier you can evolve your seed, the better, I think.” The two friends continued to talk about essence seeds and Lin dreamily spoke about getting to metal and trying for gold. Some time later, the crowd had calmed down as they were all fed. As the field was prepared, Vivien called for attention.

“Welcome back all. This time to the Team-fighting tournament. We have two groups with four people and one group of three. Please welcome them into the arena,” the tiny leader waved the groups forward and Alex and the two hunters stepped forward. “We judges hope it’s a fair fight, so we permitted the ranged nutties to use their bows. Please target your opponents legs or arms. Doc Hugh agreed to step back from the teamfights, so he is ready to heal, if you get hurt. Though, remember, he doesn’t have infinite Magicka.”

Leon pumped his fists, “So she did add my suggestion.” Alex and Althea grinned. With their ranged attacker, free to do as he wished, they had a pretty real chance to win the teamfights. Even if they were outmanned by one person.

“First teams to fight are, Team Crush and Team ‘Death-cry-of-a-wounded-animal’” Alex and Leon snapped to Althea, their eyes fixed on the girl. “I told her, she had to do the sound…” she whined. The two boys grinned, shrugged their shoulders and entered the widened ring in their usual formation. As bows were allowed in the teamfights, Alex stayed back, somewhere between Leon and Althea. The ring wasn’t that large, so Alex had to be quick to fire a shot and switch to his normal weapons.

Team Crush included three girls and a boy, among them was Janine. Alex was curious how strong her powers had got. He hadn’t seen her in action yet. To be honest, he didn’t spend that much time with his friends during the last few days. He swore to change that as soon as the tournament concluded.

As the teams stood opposite each other, a girls voice suddenly yelled, “We’re Team Crush, because you’re getting CRUSHED!” Alex grinned and as he strained his ears, he could hear the whispers of the other team. “I told you, we have to refine our slogan. That sounded awful,” Janine scolded. “But nobody had any other ideas and fighting without our shout is lame. We have to put fire into our and the viewers heart and fear in our enemies,” another girl responded. Alex thought, he should really take the time to learn everyones names.

Vivien gave the start signal and Alex and Leon drew their bows back and each lost an arrow against their opponents. They were still forbidden from using attack skills, but as long as they didn’t shoot at anyones head or chest, their bows were allowed. Alex arrow shot forward and instead of following it with his eyes, the youth drew another one.

Suddenly, three pillars of earth shot upwards, deflecting the two arrows. The other team hid behind the pillars, which were staggered into their half of the arena. Althea didn’t care for her stunted Teammates, and charged forwards.

Janine stepped into Althea's path, a metal stick in each hand, Alex wanted to shout out a warning about Janes powers, but the other girl had already attacked and shocked the Huntress. Fortunately, Althea's fortitude was strong enough and she caught herself quickly, but Janine was still on her attack and the second tonfa came against her shoulder.

The Huntress whistles shrill, interrupting the electric attack. Meanwhile, the boy and another girl were charging at their opponents. Alex loosened another arrow, but in his haste, it went wide. Though the girl still dodged and broke her charge. Leon's arrow scratched the leg of his foe and Vivien immediately called him out. If the hunter had wanted, he could have hurt his opponent heavily.

The last girl stood timidly behind a pillar, so Leon looked at Alex, but the boy was completely immersed in his fight. Alex held his spear in one hand, the other switching between dagger and supporting his spear stabs. He had figured out, that he could attach the weapon to any part of his body and it would stay there. So his flat hand was able to slap the spear at opportune moments, changing his path of attack.

His opponent hadn’t used any skill yet, and Alex wondered what she was planning. He wanted to risk a quick glance at his Teammates, but he knew they would manage, and his opponent was too strong. The teenager felt he could overpower her or get her with a few quick stabs, but somehow they both had silently agreed to make it a match of skill versus skill.

Althea's whistle had interrupted Janine and as the girl staggered back, the Huntress used the opportunity and pressured her. Wild stabs, only blocked through Janes quick blocks, were useless. The younger girl was faster than the huntress, so Althea hatched a plan and slowly led the girl around. Her superior awareness was no match for Janine, and soon the girl hit her back against one of the pillars. “Dismiss them,” the girl shouted at her teammate, but she was too late. Althea had used the distraction and landed a clean hit against Janes stomach. “Jane out!” Vivien cried.

Leon meanwhile had circled the pillars and his Skill [Distract] proved its worth. He cast it slightly in front of the column, behind which the girl stood. She shrieked and jumped backwards, leaving her cover and giving Leon a clean shot. He quickly drew back and another scratch against her leg meant the girls' loss.

Alex was sweating. Not because of his failing stamina, he could fight at least some dozen minutes longer. But his opponent proved every bit his match. It felt like she could see into the future and predict every one of his moves. Every faint, every combo was thwarted and only his speed and agility let him dodge her precise stabs. Soon his teammates were shouting for him, “Get her, Alex! Come on, we don’t have all day!”

The teenager knew he was outmatched in their spear fighting and he may be the only one to lose his fight. He quickly cast [shadowclone] and send them behind the girl. Her eyes widened, but Alex reinforced his attacks and a flurry of blows didn’t give her the chance to kill his clones. The clones had surrounded her and in a last effort, the girl spun, trying to kill both shadows at once. Alex was prepared though and he took a few quick steps back, summoned his bow and drew back an arrow.

“Surrender!” The girl had got both of his clones, but after seeing the teenager with his bow, she lowered her weapon and finally held up one hand. “I give!” She glared at Alex, who could only grin wryly. “I’ll make it up to you, promise,” he yelled after her, as she left the field. Leon and Althea joined the shadowblade and the other boy slapped his back.

“Oh, oh, you have made Daria angry. A damn strong fighter, and I am afraid for when she gets her own seed,” Leon whispered. Alex gaped, “She doesn’t have a seed yet? How is she so strong?” Leon shrugged and Althea added, “I heard her parents made her do martial arts from a very young age…”

“First match for Team ‘Wounded Animal’. Congratulations you three. We’ll have a short break, and then it’s you against ‘Merciful Gods’,” Vivien told them as they left the ring too.