"The semifinals are over, and honestly, we got no surprises; the fighters who advanced to the finals are none other than Gale and Drake!"
"However, before we continue to one of the most exciting fights in the history of the young bracket, there is one thing to settle – the third rank! Let's invite the fighters from the semi-finals to the arena, Jack and Julia!"
Steve invited the two and the crowd clapped excitedly. Although they were eager to watch the finals, the magicians' fights were also fun to watch, and the crowd respected them.
"First enters Jack, the seventh prince of the Miyena Kingdom. A fire and earth magician and 24 years old. Second enters Julia from the empire, she showed us so far wind and fire as her elements. She is only 22 years old – what will prevail, experience or youth?"
Jack was more experienced since he was two years older, but Julia got better guidance and advanced a few years younger. As for who had a higher affinity – they didn't know.
The judge counted down to zero and the fight began. Magicians used almost only their main element and neglected their sub-element, simply because the spells weren't very diverse in the magician phase.
Additionally, magicians preferred using their time to advance to the mage phase early rather than using it to master a second element. They'd have enough time for that as mages, and they'd also learn it faster as mages since they'd have a stronger connection and affinity.
Julia was faster and started by casting air blades. It put pressure on Jack since it was difficult to block air magic with fire for magicians. He used his earth magic to summon a shield and deflected the air blade. The magician's air blades also had a weakness; with the right angle and a good enough defense, you could deflect them quite easily.
Jack used this chance to cast a few fireballs at Julia who answered with a strong gale of wind, aiming to put them out. However, Jack prepared a surprise for her that he didn't show in his previous matches. The fireballs exploded before the wind could affect them much and sent strong shockwaves in a large radius.
Julia, who faced Gale earlier, tried her best against Gale since she didn't like the fact that someone younger than her from the kingdom surpassed her, but Jack who was more mature and responsible as a prince, kept his cards hidden since he knew he couldn't win against Drake anyhow.
Jack already started dashing forward the moment he launched his fireballs, using his multi-casting to cast a buff of speed using fire magic. The shockwaves sent Julia stumbling a few steps back and made her lose her footing, which made the spare spell she multi-cast earlier dissipate.
She had to cast again yet she already saw new fireballs incoming toward her, this time from a shorter distance. Still surprised by the unexpected turn of events, she didn't think of a good way to counter those exploding fireballs yet and tried generating a strong gale again.
Unfortunately, she faced the same consequences; the fireballs exploded much closer to her and this time she fell back and Jack got even closer. She quickly rolled back and kicked the ground to get up, yet something unexpected happened.
Jack canceled his fire magic and used his earth magic again for making a hole in the ground right where she was about to kick, making her lose her footing again and fall awkwardly.
Julia's face turned red from embarrassment; she fell flat on her face because of a cheap trick!
Yet Jack didn't care; he couldn't switch to fire fast enough, so he just cast a few stone bullets. As their distance was much shorter now, the stones quickly hit Julia's arms and left fractured bones.
"AHH!"
She yelled in pain and her casting crumbled. Jack quickly used this chance to switch to fire spells again and cast a fireball.
"That was a surprising match guys! It was completely one-sided! Jack cunningly owned the fight with his experience and didn't allow Julia to retaliate ever since the beginning. With that, The Miyena Kingdom secured 2 spots of the top three in one bracket!"
Steve's excited voice was heard as a stone wall raised from the ground and blocked Jack's fireball. It was the judge's, and it meant the match was over.
The crowd excitedly clapped and cheered for Jack; it was rare for a kingdom to win two spots in the top 3 of the same bracket.
"Now, let's invite the protagonists of the night; Gale and Drake!"
Drake's path to the arena was lit and he walked on cue. He used fire magic to appear as if he was burning in flames to excite the crowd, and it worked. The crowd applauded and waited for Gale's entrance.
As soon as their favorite fighter appeared in the arena, the crowd instantly flared up and screamed frenziedly.
"Good luck, Gale!"
"Bring honor to our kingdom!"
"If you win I agree to spend the night with you!"
All types of screams mixed in one another, and Gale just smiled and waved at the crowd.
"On one side we have Drake, a famous genius of the empire, known to be a fire and wind mage. On the other side, we have Gale, the local genius of the Miyena Kingdom. What are his elements? Nobody knows, he came out from nowhere! So far he only showed us his earth magic. Is it his main element? Is it his sub-element? I can't wait!"
Steve's commentating did well to agitate the crowd, and everyone was eager to watch the fight. The judge himself was impatient, and he quickly counted down to zero.
"Without further ado, fight!"
Gale and Drake stood in front of each other and neither made the first move.
"You are only 20 years old. Your talent is amazing, but I bet you've only been a mage for as long as I have been one. Even the empire's record is 22, and it only happened once."
"No, I've been a mage for a whole year now."
Gale crashed Drake's hopes quickly and got ready to fight. Drake's face turned pale; before coming he was told he can forget about the first rank in the young bracket because of a young woman. He felt relieved when she moved to another bracket, but now he was at a disadvantage again!
