-Ria POV-

The next day the last remaining 16 contestants got ready for the third round. This time around each contestant will only have to fight one match a day. The fights are expected to last a lot longer this time around since pretty much everyone who moved on to this round were gold rank adventurers. I was the only one who was still a copper rank. In the first day there were a total of eight matches and through lots like usual I ended up being in the last of the eight rounds. I went into the waiting room same similar to the day before awaiting my turn.

-Svalinn POV-

As usual the display showed the order in which the contestants would fight and who their opponent would be. This time however it looked much more extravagant than before, it was the final round of the tournament after all. Ria was in the final match of the day. The first was between the fire mage who won in the first round and a man wielding a huge axe.

Whenever I watched a fire mage fight I couldn’t help but feel somewhat upset. I was after all a fire mage initially. I had a affinity for fire since I was in a D rank. Weapon user became one because they normally didn’t have a affinity for any element. Once they reached B rank they would have to get a affinity before they were allowed to take the test to become a A rank. I was ecstatic when I learned I had a affinity to fire. My joy became my embarrassment very soon after when I found out my mana was unique compared to my peers.

It was considered a rare case to get a unique mana, hence causing the element to have a special added property, but its known to happen. The fire I made when I chanted a spell had a special property which made it useless for combat. The fire I made were solid somehow and they didn’t really burn anything they simply radiated heat. When I casted a fire ball I was basically throwing a solid ball radiating heat towards my enemy. I remembered being mocked by some of the meaner students about my useless ability. While I was called useless, my brother encouraged me the whole way without him I wouldn’t have tried so hard to reach where I’m today.

The better one becomes in controlling mana usually allows to cast stronger spells in the case for fire it would allow the creation of flames of higher temperature. In my case the flames I created would become harder the better I got and it wasn’t particularly heavy so I started to use my own flames as a mean to fight melee combat unlike other mage. The flames did become hotter so it was similar to getting hit by hot metal so I guess it wasn’t completely useless since I could hold the flames I created without getting burned. The people who mocked me I surpassed them through my own hard work. At some point I started using to create a shield shaped flame and attached it to one of my arm to fight against my opponent. I did use a gauntlet as well. I became well known as a unusual fire mage as I proved myself through missions.

With my unusual method of fighting the academy decided I wasn’t exactly a mage and I was transferred into the weapon category being given a shield type weapon. At some point along the way I finally reached A rank but my weapon Svalinn was an extremely good weapon for defending so I ended up getting only bodyguard missions. I prefer actual combat but I guess it couldn’t be helped as I stared at Svalinn dormant form on my hand. It was a metal gauntlet with a circular shield on the top of it. The entire weapon was red in colour and in the middle of the shield was a hole.

While I was daydreaming about my past the fire mage had defeated the axe wielder. I didn’t really pay attention to the rest of the matches until it was Ria match for the day. Her opponent was using a rather large scythe. As usual she was wearing the cloak hiding her appearance. I couldn’t be sure if she was hiding her appearance because she is wanted by the principal or because she looked like a child and simply didn’t want to be looked down upon. I mean I doubt she would dumb enough to participate in such a large scale event if she is wanted by the military, which brings up the question on what does the principal want with her. I haven’t inform the principal of the matter since Astra was here and I wasn’t sure if she was truly a bad person. She seemed nice when I had talked to her.

The match between her and the scythe user was a little bit unexpected. The blade of the scythe used mana to form. Using that he continued to launch blade after blade with his attacks. Ria herself didn’t seem to have a range attack as she continued to dodge every blade aimed towards her. She did eventually reached him and defeated after several blows. She was getting well known as the mysterious cloaked girl, within the tournament audience.

-Ria POV-

My opponent today was somewhat annoying. He kept using range attacks preventing me from getting close. Maybe I should buy a weapon. I did have a lot of money saved up from doing quest from the adventurer guild every once in a while. Since I didn’t see any demerit of using a weapon myself I decided to go to the weapon store to buy a simple weapon to use. The moment I stepped out of the colosseum, I saw Amber running towards me.

“Hi Ria. I saw you’re match today, it was amazing as usual. I find it hard to believe you are still a copper rank adventurer.”

She seemed cheerful as she greeted me. I suppose there was no harm if I asked her to join me to go pick a weapon. She seemed to harmless enough so I asked if she wanted to join me to go do a little shopping. She agreed to my suggestion and so we, were soon off to the weapon store.

Once there I explained I wanted to acquire a weapon to use. Well apparently weapon store only sold regular weapon used by iron rank and copper rank adventurers. If I wanted anything more complicated capable of using my mana for a special feature I needed to acquire gold rank in the adventurer guild or be part of the military where they provide such a weapon even to the kids learning in their academies. Well a weapon is better than being unarmed so I decided to buy a huge sword that was apparently called a claymore. I don’t know what it reminded me off but I felt as if I had used it before.

Our shopping didn’t stop there however as Amber started dragging me around to some food stalls she recommended. I would probably consider myself a rather big eater but I was nothing in comparison to Amber who seemed to be a bottomless pit in which food go never to see the light of day again. Well she ate a lot was basically what I was thinking as she continued to show me to some of the stalls she told me she frequented.

At one of the stalls I happen to saw a mask that looked pretty cool, being sold at a store nearby . It was a simple mask with some markings around the eyehole and nothing more. Currently I had to pull the hood down far enough to block my face which impaired my vision somewhat, so I decided to purchase the mask putting it on immediately. With that I pulled up the hood enough for me to be able to see properly. Amber didn’t seem to mind the change, she just casually ask me what it was for while munching on a stick of meat.

Eventually we parted ways, after a rather fun time just having fun. I wonder if this is how having a friend felt like. If it was, my journey thus far was most definitely worth it. In the inn I took out the comb I had also bought at the same store as the mask. I removed the cloak and mask brushing my tail a little. One of my discovery I made, during my hours of staying in bed, was that my tail was incredibly soft. I enjoyed hugging it so I decided I should probably at the very least maintain the fur by combing it. After which I went to sleep in preparation for the next day.

The next day I went to the colosseum to continue the match from the previous day. The match was against a man who wielded a bow. He skillfully shot arrows made of his mana one after another in a none stop volley. I used my newly acquired claymore to knock each arrow away. Even though the weapon itself isn’t affected by mana, it doesn’t mean I couldn’t coat it with mana to strengthen the weapon. With that said I easily launched my opponent off the platform using nothing but the flat side of the claymore. I think I overdid it a little since I could hear something cracked upon contact. With that I won the match on the second day as well. Another two more and I would be done.

This tournament is turning out a lot like that dungeon I went to. Started full of hope and it ended up being boring. On the bright side I did make a friend thanks to my participation. Another two more days and I would be done anyways. If I win I could even get enough money to be more lazy than I already currently was.

After the my match I proceeded to go out of the colosseum and looked around expecting to see Amber maybe. True enough she did appear running towards me, after having waited only a while. I would be happy just leisurely spending my days with a friend of some sort. Due to the tournament I was slightly well known in town by now so I attracted a lot more attention than I initially did. Well it was comparable to the amount of gazes I got when I didn’t have a cloak on. The looks I got were however different from before. Well a few stares won’t prevent me from getting along with Amber as almost as if it was a continuation form yesterday she seemed to have plenty more stalls to recommend. Well it was a big city after all. It was somewhat tiring but I couldn’t have been happier spending time like this.

(Author Note) : Some people requested for longer chapters so here it is longer chapters. I will try to increase my chapters length. I'm truly grateful for all the comments.(I read every single one). With that said i hope you enjoy bye for now ;)