The magician immediately casted a spell after he spoke. "Ice pillars!" four spikes of ice appeared from the ground aimed at where Surk was standing. Surk had no choice but to jump, which was what they were waiiting for.
Surk saw that both the mercenary and the warrior were waiting for him below. The mercenary swung his scythe aiming at Surk. The magician watching them expected it to be over with that attack. If a miracle happened and he evaded the attack, his other companion would attack.
Surk seeing the scythe headed towards him, twisted his body to barely dodge the scythe. When Surk landed, he glimpsed the mercenary swing his scythe again along with the warrior swinging his axe on his other side. Surk ran towards the warrior to dodge the scythe.
'Ugh...'
Surk got slashed on his arm dodging the scythe and used his sword to block the warrior's attack. Because of the force of the attack, Surk was forced off the floor and pushed a distance far from them forcing him to kneel. Surk grabbed his left arm which was bleeding. Before Surk could stand up, he got hit by hail on his side. Although the attack was weak, it still did a lot of damage to him with his current condition.
"You're tough surviving those attacks, but this is it for you." The magician raised his staff and pointed it at Surk.
"Tornado of Ice" A strong whirling tunnel of wind and snow headed to Surk. The three participants and spectators watched as the attack pass through leaving only a mist of snow in its path.
"It's our turn to battle now." the magician, mercenary, and warrior prepared themselves to battle. Just as they were about to attack each other, one of the spectators shouted: "How is she still standing after that attack!"
The three participants turned to look if it was true and was amazed to see the swordsman they attacked standing perfectly with snow clinging to his clothes and hair. Just then the sun slowly appeared from the clouds covering it and showering the stage with sunlight.
Surk sparkled with the ice on him and on his surroundings. The magician got momentarily distracted at the spectacle before him. As he regained his senses and was about to cast a spell, the swordsman had disappeared before him in the blink of an eye.
"Where?! Ugh!" The magician felt air leave his body as a strong force struck him in the stomach. As he doubled over trying to catch his breath, he heard the sound of weapons clashing behind him.
The warrior swung his axe aimed at Surk's upper body. However, Surk blocked the attack easily by plunging the tip of the sword on the ground and holding it steady with his body. The warrior was surprised by how his attack got easily blocked.
The mercenary who was nearby took the opportunity to attack while Surk was defending. He attacked quickly but was surprised as he missed. Surk had jumped with his sword and was aiming at attacking the mercenary, who couldnt dodge because of the momentum of his previous attack. Surk sliced through the handle of the scythe and quickly launched another attack. The mercenary got hit by 5 slashes simultanously and knelt as he struggled to stand up.
The magician who had been watching was shocked. 'That attack...That was a knight's special skill! How can a swordsman...Still, I can't let myself lose!' He started gathering his mana as he prepared to cast his strongest spell.
The warrior attacked Surk more desperately after seeing his mercenary companion defeated. Surk evaded the attacks seeing that getting a direct hit would be fatal for him since his body was gradually weakening. As the warrior was about to swing his axe from above, Surk saw the magician behind the warrior aim his staff at him and cast a spell.
"Lightning!"
A huge bolt of lightning headed toward Surk and the warrior. The warrior saw Surk run away from him and was about to go after him when he felt a huge surge of electricity hit his body. The warrior fell unconscious.
The magician cursed himself for missing and was about to cast another spell when he felt something sharp on his neck. As he turned his head, he saw that the swordsman was standing beside him. Feeling the sharp edge of the sword dig deeper on his neck, he surrendered.
The spectators had remained silent throughout the battle. After hearing the magician surrender, the crowd roared with cheers.
"The winner and champion of the competition is the swordsman, Surk!" The announcer yelled as the crowd continued to cheer.
"The prize will be awarded by the king tomorrow! There will also be a special announcement. So be sure to come back!"
Participants of the competition were being healed by clerics so none of the participants got severely injured.
'That was too hard! Ugh..my body is aching all over. I want to go sleep~ But before that... I better start looking for master.' Surk's injury had already been healed by a cleric but he still felt sore from the battle. As he looked around the crowd to search for Caim, he heard someone call him.
"Hey, Surk! Over here!" Surk saw a girl wearing a brown suit wave at her.
'Ah! It's Ryne' Surk headed towards her and saw Melik, Fay, and Elenor with her.
"Hi Surk, congrats on winning!" Ryne shook his hands.
"Yeah, you sure got them!" Melik grinned.
"Sorry Surk, I couldn't help you..." Elenor looked down.
"No, you did help me Elenor so you shouldn't say that." Surk held Elenor's hands and smiled. Elenor looked up and also smiled.
"Heh, flirting with each other even though you're both girls." Fay said as she stood over them. Melik and Ryne chuckled.
"W-Wha... I wasn't..." Surk stammered as Elenor blushed.
"So you're into girls? Why not have some fun with me?" Fay stood behind Surk, locked her arms around him as she pushed her chest on his back.
"W-What are you doing?! Besides, I'm not a girl. I'm a guy!" They were all surprised to hear this especially Elenor.
"You're a guy? That can't be. You have such a beautiful face even though you have a flat chest...Well, if you say you're a guy, why don't you let me check?" Fay grinned as she started to move her hands.
"No! Stop!" Surk struggled against her but she had a tight hold on him.
"Fay, I think it's about time you stopped teasing him." Ryne laid her hand on Fay's shoulder.
"Fine, fine and I was having so much fun." Fay released Surk.
"Surk, you okay? Fay was just kidding around."
"Y-yes..." Surk looked at Fay who was smiling.
"Anyway, to celebrate your victory, let's have a party later. You guys up for it?" Melik asked them, who agreed to it.
"Yeah, let's go!" Melik and Ryne went first with Elenor beside Surk, who was being dragged by Fay.
Meanwhile among the crowd, Caim was searching for his apprentice. "Where did he go? I saw him leave the stage but i lost track of him after that. He had better not left the stadium without me!"
At a pub on the southwestern side of the town, Eril, Surk and his friends were sitting on a table located on a corner at the pub. With the end of the competition, pubs all over the town were filled with people. It was the same at the pub they were at.
"This place sure is crowded", Ryne said as she saw that the pub was filled with people.
"Yeah, but don't mind it! We're here to celebrate so the more the merrier! Hahaha!", Melik laughed while the others smiled. They had ordered beer and were chatting to pass the time.
"So, Surk. What are ya gonna do with the prize money? You could buy a home, get new weapons, and still have a lot left. Of course, you could share some with me. I'll also give you a reward. Hehe", Fay winked at Surk.
"..." Surk could do nothing as Fay teased her.
"Don't mind her, Surk. She's just kidding around as usual. But I'm also curious. I did join the competition hoping to get the prize as well.", Ryne said.
"Umm...I...", Surk was hesitant to answer.
"Yes, tell us.", Melik also cheered in.
"I...won't be receiving...any of the money...", Surk watched the others as he said this.
"What?!!", Fay was the first to respond.
"What do you mean Surk? You did win the competition after all.", Ryne also asked what he meant when he said he wouldn't be receiving any.
"Err...my master wanted me to win the competition to get the prize money...", Surk responded.
"He can't do that!", Fay didn't want to believe that.
"He said it was for living and training expenses...", Surk said as he remembered what his master said.
"It's okay, we understand", Ryne said.
On the back of their minds, they were mostly thinking of one thing, 'What a greedy master!'
After they chatted and drank a bit more, they headed out of the pub.
"See you at the stadium tomorrow, Surk", Elenor said with a red face as she was a bit drunk along with the others.
"When ya get the prize money tomorrow, just run away with it! Hahaha...Oh!", Fay almost tripped over but was fortunately grabbed around the waist by Surk before she hit the ground.
"Thought I was gonna smack the floor, thanks. Here, i'll give ya a reward~", Fay was about to give Surk a kiss when Ryne and Elenor grabbed her hands and dragged her away as Fay struggled.
"We're a bit drunk so we should rest early. See you all tomorrow at the stadium.", Melik said as they separately went their own way.
Note: Next chapter will be posted next week. Only a few more chapters until the end of the volume...
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