"START!" the teacher announced.
Arin gripped his wooden sword as he watched Hector.
Hector also gripped his sword, neither of them moving yet.
But a few seconds later...
Hector kicked off the ground as he dashed towards Arin, his sword raised.
Seeing this, Arin also dashed towards him as he prepared a spell.
Surprisingly, they both activated their spells at the same time as Water Spikes formed behind both of them.
The Water Spikes zoomed towards each other, slicing through the air.
The Spikes connected in the air, but they both ignored it as they got closer to each other.
A blue energy suddenly enveloped Hector's sword as he neared Arin and swung it.
Arin quickly raised his own sword, blocking Hector's sword.
Slight ripples formed in the air as their swords clashed.
The blue energy, which was Water Element Mana that enveloped Hector's sword, made his strike stronger.
Arin quickly leaped back, distancing himself, and immediately as he landed, he swung his sword.
A blue water-like slash instantly left his sword, heading towards Hector at full speed.
This was the Water Slash Spell that he completed two days ago.
"Let's see what it can do."
Before the slash reached Hector, it suddenly split apart, forming three more slashes that moved from different angles.
This was what made the Water Slash Spell quite powerful. Because of its ability to split.
Arin dashed forward, following the slashes from behind as he readied his sword.
Hector was also dashing forward, towards the slashes with a calm expression.
Instantly, he stretched out his hand, and a Wall of Water was formed in front of him.
The slashes were stopped by the Water Wall, but Arin had already reached Hector.
He swung his sword towards him with force.
Hector knew that he wouldn't be able to dodge, so he also swung his sword that was covered with the blue energy towards Arin.
Both swords connected, but this time, Hector stumbled backwards, losing balance.
Before he could regain balance, Arin's right leg had already shot out.
His kick connected with Hector's stomach, sending him backwards.
Hector gritted his teeth as he spun mid-air and landed on the ground, sliding backwards.
But Arin had already reached him and swung his sword again.
This time, Hector was able to react on time. He raised his hand, summoning a Water Bubble around him.
The Water Bubble stopped Arin's sword successfully.
Arin then leaped backwards, creating distance again.
They both ignored the cheers of the students as they stared at each other.
'Well, I guess I shouldn't waste too much time on this,' Arin thought. 'I respect you, Hector. But I just have to win.'
Immediately after having that thought...
He dashed towards Hector, making sure his speed wasn't going overboard.
Meanwhile, Hector raised his hands, with his eyes fixated on Arin who was coming at him.
A wave of water was formed above Hector's hand, flowing with force.
In an instant, he pushed his hands forward, sending the wave of water towards Arin.
The water moved with force, heading towards Arin like a raging beast.
There was no escape route, so Arin had no choice but to stop.
Without wasting time, he formed two Water Barriers around himself, shielding himself from the force-filled water.
The water wave smashed into the Water Bubbles, but because it was two, the water wave wasn't able to destroy it.
As soon as the water wave diminished, Arin brought down the Water Bubbles, but well, this was exactly what Hector wanted.
He was already at Arin's right side, and Arin didn't see him before because of the water wave and the Water Bubbles.
Without wasting time, he swung his sword towards Arin's head, ready to end this fight.
All the students watched in anticipation, their breaths held in suspense.
One of the teachers appeared behind Hector and grabbed his shoulder, stopping his sword from advancing.
Hector smiled. "I did it... I won."
Hector's eyes widened as he slowly turned back to look at the teacher, ready to correct him, after all, maybe he had mistaken him for Arin.
But as soon as he turned back, he saw the teacher holding a Water Spike that was very close to his neck.
"I know you're confused," the teacher said.
He glanced at the Water Spike. "This Water Spike would have killed you even before you hit him with your sword."
Hector's eyes widened as he realized what happened.
Arin was able to slip a Water Spike out of his Water Bubbles, and he controlled it using the connection he had with his Mana.
And because Hector was so focused on striking Arin with his sword, he didn't even notice when the Water Spike was zooming towards him from behind.
Arin stared at Hector and stretched out his hand. "That was a good one..."
Hector smiled as he shook Arin's hand. "Indeed... You're quite tricky."
They both laughed as they dropped their weapons and began walking back to the cheering students.
Orion finally arrived in the circle and cleared his throat before speaking. "Everyone! This marks the end of the competition!"
The students clapped and screamed before Orion continued.
"The tournament is in two days time, and everyone will be able to watch it, because trust me, the arena is HUGE!"
The students cheered again, already chatting about how that day would look like.
"Alright, you all can go back to your rooms now. More information about the tournament will be revealed to you all later!"
"Also, the four students who will be representing this Academy should stay behind," Orion added.
Arin spoke to Lina and Hector a bit before they left, and after a few minutes, all the students had already left the training space, leaving Arin, Tessa, Alex, and the other boy who won.
The teachers had also left, and only Orion was present.
"Come with me," Orion said before walking towards a building close to the Main Academy building, with the four of them following behind him.
'Hmph, why is Tessa walking so close to me?'