"You're really tough," Carter said, falling to one knee. "I still can't beat you."

Rob smiled. "You're no slouch either."

Clapping drew the attention of the two over to Koukyuu and me. "Think that's enough," Koukyuu said, walking over to the two.

"W-we're not done yet," Carter said, pushing himself up. His body swayed around.

"Really? Sounded like you had admitted defeat a moment ago," Rob said, grinning.

"I didn't mean it like that." 

I dashed over to him as he fell back.

"Hey, don't push yourself too hard," I said, holding him by the shoulders. "Else, you might be too exhausted for tomorrow's big match."

"Yeah. The body is a delicate thing," Koukyuu said. She glanced at the door. "Speaking of which, you probably should move from there unless you want to be crushed, Jude."

Frigid winds blew around the door as Jude emerged from it.

"H-How did you know I was there?" the masked boy asked.

Koukyuu chuckled. "I can sense the use of ice magic, being an ice mage myself. Plus, I found it odd that Lei didn't come nor leave through that door despite it being closest to his cabin."

"Lei detected his presence? Is he an ice mage too?" I asked.

"No, he's a wind and lightning one. My guess is that he picked up on the cold air. It doesn't hurt that his best friend is an ice mage, so he probably has plenty of experience interacting with ice magic."

I stared at my hands. Would I be able to pick up on it one day too?

"Were you spying on me?" Carter asked, smiling weakly at Jude.

The boy's blue eyes shifted around in the mask slits. "I, uh..."

I laughed. "Seems that Jude's plotting something. You better be careful, Cart. They say that brains often beat brawn."

Cart chuckled. "That's fine. I have brains too."

Robert laughed. "You do? Must've developed them in the years since we'd last seen each other. Not that I've seen any sign of them yet."

Carter jumped, freed himself from my grip, and dashed toward his friend, stopping his fist an inch away from his face.

"Hey, you didn't flinch," Carter said, smiling.

Robert chuckled. "I figured you would stop." He jumped back and gathered light into his hands. "That said, if you wish to continue, then don't complain when you can't fight tomorrow."

He gritted his teeth. "Who said I'll lose?"

Robert smirked and zipped past him. Carter dropped to the floor.

"W-what was that?" I asked, mouth wide open. He moved so fast that I couldn't even see. Or did he actually teleport in front of Carter and then away after striking him? No, even that wouldn't be possible for the average light mage to do. However, no one claimed that Rob was a typical mage.

Koukyuu whistled. "You were holding back on him, weren't you?"

Robert smiled and collapsed to the ground. "That move... drains me."

I ran over and wrapped an arm around his abdomen, stopping him from falling headfirst into the floor.

"Strong recoil, makes sense it's that powerful," I whispered.

Robert remained silent, dozing off.

"He must be rather hardy to get out of that simply by exhausting his prana," Jude said, walking over.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

The kid stared at Carter's hands which were wrapped in white bandages. "Attacks like that often leave some kind of physical injury. Take Carter, for example. His body can't completely handle the heat of his boosted punches and kicks." He removed the bandage off of Carter's right hand, revealing darker skin underneath.

Huo gasped.

"His fire is charring his skin," I said, gulping. Was Carter crazy? It was one thing having a dream, but how could he do that to his body?

Jude mumbled something, causing ice to cover Carter's right hand and forearm. "There, that should alleviate things. Luckily, these shouldn't be too much of an issue if treated right away. Unless, if he goes beyond this point."

"I'll be the Magus Maximus no matter what," Carter mumbled.

"That makes me worry," I said.

"Yeah. Those who wish to become Magus Maximus have been known to push themselves past their physical limits, often to the detriment of their bodies," Koukyuu said, sighing.

"Are you talking about that Lei guy?"

She nodded. "Indeed. He pushed himself to the brink of death. For that reason, I fear a battle between him and Carter. Though, at the same time, I would like to see it. The clash of wills."

"Hmph, like either of those boys could ever be Magus Maximus," a voice called out. We turned to the door and saw Mr. Obi stepping out.

Koukyuu chuckled. "Oh? Why do you say that? Is it because you failed to fulfill your dreams?"

He gritted his teeth. "I might be old, but I haven't given up! One day, I will achieve my goals! When that day comes, that smile of yours will vanish!"

Will Cart be like him when he's older if he fails to become Magus Maximus?

***

"Aurelius!" Carter said, shaking me awake.

"What?" I asked, scratching my head.

He jumped. "Huh? Why are you responding like that? Aren't you anxious about today's matches?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "Not really," I said, grinning.

Carter averted his eyes. "I see. Maybe it's just me."

I laughed and wrapped an arm around his shoulders as I stood up. "Relax! Have some fun with the tournament. It's fine that you want to become Magus Maximus, but no need to take every single battle so seriously."

He pulled my arm away. "You say that as you're just doing this for the experience."

Cart had a point there. Winning or losing this tournament wasn't a big deal. If anything, I just wanted to make it to the final to have the most matches possible. Doing so would give me a chance to gauge Tozan Hoshi's magicians better than simply watching them fight.

I laughed. "True. That said, stressing won't help you. Remember what happened with the exam?"

Carter lowered his head. "Yeah, of course, I do. It was yesterday, so how could I forget? Not that I'll allow for a repeat of that pathetic performance."

I took a deep breath and patted him on the shoulder. "Stop beating yourself about that. It's water under the bridge now."

"I can't. I promised Rob that I would win it."

So, it's because of Rob that he's anxious, not his goal of becoming the top mage.

"You won't be able to fulfill it if you drive yourself under the dirt."

He nodded. "True."

"So, how are you feeling? You didn't wake up after taking that hit from Rob."

Cart gripped his right side. "Better. Surprisingly, there's no wound. Did someone heal me?"

I shook my head. "I tried to, but there was nothing there. Whatever that spell was, it must've attacked your mind rather than your body."

His eyes widened. "My mind? Like an illusion?"

"Or maybe it's similar to the techniques that assassins use," a voice called out from behind the door. Jude poked his head in.

An assassination technique? Why would Rob know a spell like that?

"Ahh, the little spy," Carter said, smiling. "Don't think that your spying changes anything."

Jude backed away. "I-I'm stronger than you think!"

Carter chuckled and held out his hand to the kid. "I hope so. I'm looking forward to a good match."

The Hoinian boy stared at it for a while before taking it. "S-same here! B-but first, you need to beat Lidia and I need to take down Huo."

I snickered. Seemed that even with the mask on, some of his shyness remained.

"Let's get going," I said.

The two nodded and moved out of the way.

"Wait, where is the tournament being hosted?" I asked.

"It's nearby, I think," Jude said, taking out a map from his bookbag. He smiled and pointed at the auditorium on the opposite side of the hall our room was in.

"Let's go!" Carter said, rushing off. Had he forgotten that he had to fight Lidia?

"Hey, Jude's the one with the first match!" I yelled, running after him.

Jude giggled as he caught up to me. The kid sure could move fast. He seemed to know how to hide his presence and also had knowledge of assassination techniques. Was he a ninja or an assassin of some other kind?

"S-something the matter?" Jude asked, glancing at me.

"Oh, I was just thinking how smart you are for a kid your age."

"T-thanks! I might not be as strong as my brothers, but I do try to make up for it."

He's not strong? Or is it that his brothers leave him in the dust? Heh. Hopefully, I can fight Hal and his other brother one day. Have a feeling that I will see a lot of atypical moves.

"We're here," Jude said, glancing up.

Carter stood by the door and waved at us. "Come in! There's a giant crowd inside!"

"Woah," I said, staring at the packed bleachers. We must've picked up a lot of passengers while I was asleep, as it didn't seem like there were that many on board to begin with.

Jude slapped himself and stepped forward. "W-wish me luck!"

"Good luck!" I yelled, waving at him.

"Looks like Huo is ready," Carter said, pointing to the red-haired boy standing in the center of the room.

Ling turned around and smiled as she saw us. "You're here. Then, we can begin."

Jude nodded and walked to the ring to join Huo.

"Hello, everyone! Sonata Key here. Today I'll be your announcer! The other first contestant has finally arrived, so let us begin! Hailing from Hoin, the masked icy genius, Jude Cantarella!" Ms. Key yelled as her image popped up on the floating screens throughout the room. She must've been really into it as she had a wide smile on her face.

Jude seemed to shrink.

"Is he going to be okay?" Lidia asked.

"I hope so," Mira said.

"His opponent, the fiery genius hailing from the watery land of Sera! Wang Huoyin!" Ms. Key shouted.

I glanced at Huo who had his head down. "Seems Huo isn't doing much better."

"Huo dislikes crowds," Lidia said, eyeing the large audience uneasily.

"It must be the noise," Carter said as he put on his headphones on his ears. He had them around his neck since we met, but this was the third time I'd seen him put them on. The other two were during the magic portion of the exam, and the second was during the announcement ceremony. Given he could hear us and the results, they must only dampen certain sounds. Maybe it used some kind of sound magic-generating stone. Back home we had a stone that we used to purify water. It was very useful, especially following the disaster that wrecked the southern half of Vandevale.

"Will they be able to start fighting?" Lidia asked as neither boy moved despite Ms. Key having given the signal.

Huo raised his hand. His hands were glowing deep red.

Lidia smiled.

Jude raised his head as well. There was a shine on the young boy's light-blue eyes.

I smirked. It seemed that Jude had a trump card in mind. This battle might just be over already.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Thoughts? Predictions?**