Chapter 81— Silence Before the Storm
Aiden then arrived in front of his dorm, and he opened the door and entered it. The wooden door closed softly behind him, cutting off the faint noise of the academy halls.
The room was quiet, calm, and dimly lit by the lantern hanging near the wall. He saw Aaron sitting on his bed. Aaron's posture was relaxed, yet his eyes were alert, as if he had been waiting.
He looked at Aiden and said, "You are late today."
Aiden looked at him and replied, "I had something important to do."
Aaron didn't ask anything further as he nodded. He knew Aiden well enough to understand that when Aiden said something was important, it truly was.
Silence filled the room again, but it was not awkward. It was the kind of silence both of them were used to.
Aiden then went to the washroom as he washed himself. The water fell off his pale white skin as it washed away all the sweat and dirt from his body.
The cold water ran down his shoulders, across his chest, and over the faint marks left from previous battles. His breathing slowly steadied as his body relaxed.
After a few moments, he left the bathroom, now wearing new sleeping clothes. His hair was still slightly damp, and the faint scent of soap lingered in the air.
He then sat on his bed and began to absorb mana again. The mana in the air moved slowly toward him, drawn in by his calm breathing.
He could now continuously absorb mana for four hours and use the breathing technique while fighting for two hours. This meant that he could fight for almost three to four hours without his mana being depleted.
This was a fighting method which only a Stage 3 mana cultivator or above could use. But Aiden had mastered this despite being a Stage 2 mana cultivator.
This itself was a big achievement that could shock the whole world, and the even more surprising thing was that no one had taught him this fighting method—he had learned it himself.
Aiden and Aaron absorbed mana for two hours, then stopped absorbing. Aaron, who could now absorb mana for an hour, stopped one hour before Aiden.
The difference in their abilities was clear, but neither of them spoke about it. Then both of them lay on their beds and slept peacefully.
Morning then came as sunlight entered their room through the windows. The sound of birds singing and chirping outside could be heard. The academy grounds were quiet, and the air felt fresh.
The morning was peaceful, but this peace was only the silence before the storm because the second competition was now going to begin.
Aiden woke up as he went to the washroom and washed his face. The cold water sharpened his senses. Then he came out and saw Aaron, who greeted him, "Good morning, Julian."
Aiden looked at him and replied, "Good morning."
Then Aaron went to the washroom to wash up while Aiden began to absorb mana once again. His breathing was slow and steady, his mind focused only on strengthening himself. Aaron returned as he also sat on his bed to absorb mana.
They were not in a hurry because they knew that their matches were not going to happen today. The tournament had just begun.
It was a tournament with a knockout system. Two students would fight each other, and the winner would advance while the loser would be eliminated from the tournament.
Unlike the first tournament, where only the top students of each department participated, this time every student had the right to enter and fight.
The tournament would continue until only a single winner was left.
Aiden, who was the top student in the team competition, was given a direct spot in the round of 16 of the tournament, while his teammates were given a spot in the top 32. All the others would have to qualify normally by defeating every opponent.
The real reason behind giving Aiden a spot in the top 16 was that if he was paired with a student who was middle-ranked in the academy in the first matches, that student would either lose or forfeit even before the match.
Then that student's ranking in the academy would be lower than his actual fighting abilities. Thus, they gave Aiden a spot in the top 16.
Jack, Logan, Olivia, and Henry were each given a spot in the top 32, while their teammates were given slots in the top 64.
Then Joshua, Kyle, Noah, Jeremy, and Angela were all also given spots in the top 64, while all their teammates were given a spot in the top 128.
There were a total of 10,000 students in the academy, and almost 8,192 had decided to participate in the contest.
This was the contest in which every student got to show their strength. Every student was excited and determined to show their strength, but they were also afraid of the top students and were wary of facing them in the tournament.
Aiden and Aaron absorbed mana from the surroundings for an hour, then both of them got up and left toward the cafeteria. The halls were filled with students talking loudly about upcoming matches.
They took their food and sat on a side. Olivia and Victoria also came, as all three of them chatted with each other while Aiden ate his food silently. He listened but did not join the conversation.
After that, Aaron, Olivia, and Victoria went to see the tournament matches, while Aiden walked toward the training ground. He had no interest in watching other students fight. His only focus was to get stronger as soon as possible.
He went to the training ground as he poured mana into the necklace hanging around his neck. Suddenly, an illusion was cast on him and his surroundings. The world around him shifted, isolating him completely.
He then began to once again train his Stage 2 mana spells.
Aiden had almost mastered all the Stage 2 mana spells and was just a few steps away from reaching Stage 3, but these few steps were very hard. He had estimated that it would take him one more year to break through.
Aiden was getting closer and closer to getting his revenge, but his path was really difficult. He knew that reaching Stage 3 and Stage 4 was not easy.
He also had to prepare a place where he could hide safely and advance. The reason was that whenever he advanced, a big explosion occurred, and this time it would be even more destructive.
He didn't want to draw any suspicion from the nobles or even William.
William still didn't know that Aiden was a Stage 2 mana cultivator with an all-elemental affinity. Aiden had heeded his parents' warning about not telling anyone about this, even if they were the closest person to him.
Aiden then continued to train diligently as, in the stadium far away from him, the competition had started.
William stood up on the balcony. He then said in a loud voice, "The second competition of the exam will now begin."
The crowd applauded and cheered as he announced this.
Then he took a deep breath and continued, "The rules are simple. Two students will duel each other, and the winner will move further while the loser is eliminated."
Then his loud voice came again, "Let the matches begin."
The crowd shouted as the tournament started.
Many students from different departments fought each other as they showed their skills and strengths. Some were good at escaping, some were good at attacking, and some used good fighting strategies and tactics.
All the students had different specialties and things they were better at than others.
The first round of every student ended, and only 4,096 were left.
Then, on the same day, the second round also ended, leaving only 2,048 students. The day ended.
Then the next day, the tournament continued. The third round ended with only 1,024 students left.
On the same day, the fourth and fifth rounds ended, leaving only 128 students.
The second day ended, and now the third day of the singles tournament had come.
The 128 top students of the academy were now going to face each other.
In the first match, Aaron fought Alex Reece, and he defeated him easily.
Peter also won his match with relative ease.
Mason also fought his opponent, but this time he was not laughing and instead was fighting seriously. He defeated his opponent, but this time he was respectful.
Liam was really angry about his loss to Aiden, so he fought angrily. He defeated his opponent but also seriously injured him.
Isaac also won his fights with relative ease.
Janice defeated her opponent easily as well.
Hannah didn't participate in the tournament.
Alan and Kayla won as well, while Christian defeated his opponent respectfully.
Thus, all the top students advanced to the round of 64.
In this round, the most elite students of the academy were present.
Even the top students like Olivia, Jeremy, Victoria, Henry, Kyle, Joshua, Angela, Jack, Logan, Aaron, Noah, and Ashley could not win easily. They could not underestimate their opponents.
At this moment, Aaron entered the stadium as his name was called.
He was going to fight first, and his opponent was Liam, who clearly hated both Aiden and Aaron.
His eyes were full of hatred as he saw Aaron enter the stadium.
He looked at Aaron and said, "I am going to destroy you completely, and don't blame me for this. Blame your best friend for this."
Aaron looked at him coldly and replied, "You are going to destroy me just like you destroyed Julian."
Everyone heard Aaron, and they began to laugh at Liam.
Liam saw this as he felt embarrassed while his anger boiled inside him.
He wanted to kill Aaron, but because of the academy rules, he couldn't do it, but he could seriously injure him.
He had planned to injure him so badly that he could never fight again.
At this moment, the referee of the match, who was a Stage 3 mana cultivator named Rashford Seeford, said to both of them, "Fight fair and don't try to injure each other too much, and when I say stop, stop fighting immediately. That's all."
Then he took a deep breath and said in a loud voice, "Begin.
Author's Note: Aaron and Liam face off in the first match of the top 64. Who will emerge victorious? Aaron, who had trained with Aiden, or Liam, who was fighting for revenge. Stay tuned for more chapters.