Chapter 10, Rising Powers, Hidden Tallents.

Nestled in the bustling streets of the Sicilian Empire is a sombre orphanage that has long been overlooked and neglected by the upper echelons of society, and even by the lower classes on occasion. Despite its dire circumstances, the orphanage soldiers on, striving to provide for the children and staff who call it home. However, the institution has found itself in a dire financial predicament, as it is burdened with debts that it can never hope to repay. Despite the lack of external support, the valiant caretakers of the orphanage continue to persevere through these trying times, determined to defy the odds and overcome their challenges. Despite not being born into nobility, a young boy from the orphanage possessed exceptional potential to become one of the strongest people in the empire. Determined to hone his skills, he trained tirelessly day and night, sacrificing meals to prepare for an upcoming tournament in the castle of Celi. His ultimate goal was to catch the attention of the queen and princess. With hard work and perseverance, he knew that he could overcome any obstacle and achieve greatness. Upon arriving at the tournament, the boy was filled with a mix of excitement and trepidation. He eagerly signed his name on the registration sheet, but as he scanned the list of opponents, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. They all seemed taller and more imposing than he could ever hope to be. The thought of facing them in combat sent a chill down his spine. Feeling overwhelmed, he stepped outside to catch his breath. It was then that he stumbled upon a little girl with a cute face. Despite being flustered, he apologised for bumping into her and helped her up. As their eyes met, however, he couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. She was staring at him intently, sizing him up. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke up. "Can I trust you?" she asked, her voice quiet but firm. The boy was taken aback by the question. "Do you have any other options?" he replied, feeling a sense of responsibility toward the young girl. To his surprise, she shook her head. "No, I do not," she said, her voice tinged with bitterness. Before he could ask any further questions, however, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of guards yelling out someone's name. "Quick, we must hide," the girl said urgently, motioning for him to follow her. Together, they ducked behind some nearby crates, hoping to evade the guards' notice. He was confused about why the guards of the castle were chasing a little girl. Had she committed a crime? He didn't want to be involved if she had. "You didn't do anything illegal, did you?" he whispered into her ear. This annoyed her a bit. "Does running away from my special job count?" she asked. Before they realised it, they were caught by the guards. The guards asked them to come back to rehearse one last time. The girl stared at them angrily and grabbed onto the boy's clothes. He was between them, so he could interfere if necessary. "I might not be able to understand your situation," He spoke up. "but if the rehearsal is so important that the guards have to find you, you should head back," he said. The girl didn't move a muscle. This made the boy laugh a bit, and he petted her head. "It's okay if you mess up. If you can stand up on two feet after making a mistake, most people will praise you instead of judging you." The girl was shocked by his way of speaking and couldn't help but smile at what he said and decided to hand herself over to the guards and waved goodbye to the boy. The boy now only remembered that he forgot to ask for her name, but he was okay with it if there was another chance to ask about it he would. He decided to head back in because the princess dance show was about to begin. He carefully chose his seat to make sure he had the best possible view of the performance. As he settled in, he noticed the curtains slowly starting to rise, revealing the stage. The music was so loud that even those who couldn't attend the performance could still hear it from outside. The dancers took their positions, waiting for the intro song to end. When the dance finally began, the little boy was in awe of the performance. He was shocked to see that the dancer in the centre was the same little girl he had accidentally bumped into earlier. He couldn't believe how well she performed, executing her movements with incredible precision at just the right moments. He wondered how long she must have trained to achieve such grace and skill. As the music flowed and the dance continued, the little girl used her eyes to convey even more emotion, adding depth to the performance. The boy was completely captivated, unable to take his eyes off the stage as the little girl danced with such grace and beauty. He took a closer look at her and caught a glimpse of her bright crimson red eyes and now only understood who she was, the princess of Sicilia, Amara. he could not believe he was so informal towards her and treated her as someone with low class status, he felt embarrassed by his choice of action towards her. He hopes that she will not take the head petting to offence and be furious with him. When the dance was over this was a sign for him to go backstage and get ready for his first battle and meet his opponent. He felt the pressure getting onto him as he was not only the first person fighting another person in the arena but also that person being a knight who is highly respected by the whole Empire itself. He wished to disappear right then and there but before he could he felt a soft tap on his shoulder and turned his head a bit to see who it was. It was a smiling ear-to-ear princess Amara and some depressed-looking guy beside her. "Princess, are you sure this is the person I have to go up against?" He asked while sounding a bit annoyed, Amara nodded her head. "Who else would react this severely to your name?" She answered him while asking a question of her own. The boy felt embarrassed about how she had figured that out from just his reaction. "So… Are you really Knight Kyan?" He asked him in a soft tone. "Yes, the one and only." The boy couldn't help but sigh at his answer. "Then we are each other's first opponents." A small smile appeared on his face and put out his hand to shake his, Kyan decided to shake his hand which surprised Amara and the people around them. "Let's make it a fun experience for each other." As Kyan let go of his hand he slowly began to walk away while Amara tried her best to catch up with him and wave at the little boy. "I told you he would be your opponent!" Amara said towards Kyan and he couldn't stop a smile forming on his face. The little boy witnessed everything from a distance and went to his room to stand ready and try to ease his nerves. After the final song was finished playing he stood the curtains and the referee started to explain the game rules. "Welcome to this year's tournament!" Everyone started to scream their hearts out when they saw who this year's match referee was. The person laughed a bit and felt quite embarrassed after hearing the screams for him. "I will be the host and referee this year, Prince Aire. This year's tournament will consist mainly not only about the players' strengths but also their thinking ability. If you are in a dangerous situation will you just charge right into danger or will you think about a plan first? I think you would have a higher rate of survival if you think about your next move instead of attacking recklessly. The game rules this year are simple: make your opponent fall onto the ground for longer than five full seconds or have them passed out cold. However, we do not accept killing on the battlefield. So keep the injuries not too critical shall we?" The excitement in the air was palpable as the crowd eagerly awaited the first match of the year. All eyes were fixed on the grand arena, waiting for the curtains to slowly part and reveal the two confident fighters - First-class knight Kyan and Sir Xenos. The tension in the air was almost tangible as the two warriors locked eyes, each sizing up the other, mentally preparing for the fight ahead. As Kyan wasted no time in challenging Xenos, reminding him of the importance of strategy in a dangerous situation, Xenos knew that he could not afford to lose. He was in for the fight of his life, and he knew it. But he was not one to back down, and with confidence, he accepted Kyan's demand for a sword fight. The crowd held its breath as the two of them faced off, ready to give it their all. The loud sounds of clashing swords echoed through the arena as one from high status and the other from low displayed their incredible fighting skills. It was clear to the spectators that being from noble family blood does not matter when it comes to swordsmanship; both of them were formidable opponents, each determined to emerge victorious. As the fight raged on, the crowd cheered and roared with excitement, urging their respective champions on. The intensity of the battle was palpable, and the outcome was uncertain until the very end. Who would emerge victorious? Only time would tell, but one thing was for sure - it was a fight that the spectators would never forget. However Amara and Aire who were watching them from the referee's place could only show a bored expression on their faces as if this battle did not satisfy them enough. Kyan noticed their stares and decided to put more excitement into this battle, instead of fighting with only his man power he infused his sword with some mana-magic making the crowd even more excited. "Have you decided to give up yet?" Kyan asked Xenos with an uninterested look, Xenos shook his head while noticing his sword. He understood what he was trying to explain but he refused to back down. "Do not blame me for your ignorance." It took Kyan one strike to make Xenos fall to his knees and then touch the ground. Aire was surprised that he used this card very early in the game but quickly snapped out of his thoughts and started to count down from five to zero. Amara was still not phased by this and could only feel bad for the poor boy. "The winner of the first round is Kyan, part of the 1st class Knight!" Aire yelled out and the arena could only congratulate him on his victory and doctors hurried to help Xenos and check how serious his injuries were. Kyan could only scratch his head when he saw the state of Xenos and decided to slip a paper in his vest when no one noticed a thing. He decided to walk away from the scene while the arena only roared louder for his attention but he ignored it and went to see the princess and prince. He wanted to know why they only showed an expression of their boredom, he thought Xen had done a pretty decent job of defending himself. When he reached the referee entrance he caught a glimpse of the queen walking around the corner and made eye contact and quickly bowed before she was completely gone. He felt quite uncomfortable around her presence and was happy that they did not have a chat together, when he opened the door he saw both Prince Aire and Princess Amara eating some food. Did they show that face because they were hungry or were they just playing with him? His eye twitched a bit which made Aire laugh at him for a bit. "Oh? You are here already? I guess we can start the next game." Aire said sarcastically while taking a bite of his food. The arena was absolutely buzzing with excitement and anticipation as the final battle of the tournament approached. Kyan, the undefeated knight, had won every single fight up until this point, and was eagerly waiting for his next challenge. Suddenly, Aire, the tournament's host, announced that the very last fight of the tournament was about to begin. The crowd's murmurs grew louder and more intense as they noticed Kyan still standing in the middle of the arena, eagerly awaiting his opponent. All of a sudden, a loud explosion shattered the silence, causing everyone to jump in surprise. Someone had jumped down from the stadium into the arena, and a bright red light was emanating from them. The crowd whispered in excitement and curiosity, trying to guess who the mysterious person could be. The tension in the arena was palpable as everyone waited to see who this new challenger was. Aire then revealed the fighters for the final battle: Princess Amara and First Class Knight Kyan! The crowd was stunned and disapproved of the match, as they had expected Kyan to face a more formidable opponent. However, Kyan and Amara stood ready to face each other, both looking fierce and resolute. Kyan charged towards Amara with his Mana-infused sword but was immediately stopped by the immense power emanating from her. Amara's powers had awakened to their full potential, and Kyan was taken aback. In that brief moment of hesitation, Amara seized the opportunity and took the first hit, but Kyan was able to block it just in time, much to the delight of the crowd. The crowd was amazed by the strength and power that Princess Amara possessed, as they had always believed her to be a weak and powerless person. They cheered for both fighters, knowing that this would be one of the toughest battles they would ever face. The pressure was on, and the excitement in the arena was palpable. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, wondering who would emerge victorious in this intense and thrilling battle. "Are you happy with this reaction from the crowd?" Kyan asked while he was on the defensive with no chance of attacking her, Amara did not respond to him and simply clashed her sword against his. Kyan felt already a lot worn out due to fighting almost the entire day and his adrenaline was not helping him either, he wanted to put a quick stop to this before he accidentally hurt Amara. He decided to put his foot out to make her fall onto the ground, he decided to not use his eyes for this trick. The good thing about this trick is that it works every time but the hard part of this is keeping Amara on the ground, he proceeded to do it regardless of the consequences. Kyan tried his best not to use a lot of brute force on her while she was lying on the ground. "Let go of me!" She squirmed and tried her best to break free of the sixteen-year-old boy holding her arms onto her back. Before she was able to break free the five-second countdown had already finished so she could only feel rather disappointed that she was not able to fight Kyan longer. If they did, Amara would have effortlessly won the fight with no uncertainty. Kyan helped her stand up on her two feet and pulled out any sand that came into her hair. "As you can see, Kyan still has not lost any fight and will keep his title: The Undefeatable Scribe." Everyone in the arena applauded them for their thrilling fight until the end.