"No way this worked," Freya mumbled as she took off the blindfold.

  "I knew it would work!"

  Freya looked at him in disbelief. "You didn't think that would work. You were just spinning me for fun." She stared at the crack in the air before them. A very physical hole in reality leading somewhere else.

  What else could it be but that? Theodore couldn't sense whatever was on the other side, but he knew for sure it was some sort of a portal.

  "A portal," Roland looked unsettled by the thing, one hand resting on the pommel of his sword. "We shouldn't go through it."

  He was right. Theodore had been enough reckless as is recently, willingly but still the fact was that he had been. He wanted fun as much as Freya but not at the expense of everything else.

  "I think I can [Blink] through, but I don't know if I should."

  Freya looked at him. "As much as I'd love to explore this thing whatever it is we shouldn't do it."

  Theodore did a double take. Freya being the sensible one? Freya? Now there's something. He gave her his most incredulous look.

  "I'm going to smack you. Right across the head," Freya said.

  Theodore grinned and chucked a rock at the portal. The stone passed through onto the other side without so much as a scratch.

  Okay, that seemed safe.

  "Alright then," he said, stepping through ready to use [Blink] along all his other skills just in case.

  Breathing a sigh of relief as nothing happened, he was curious by what he saw when he looked back at the portal behind him. Roland and Freya tensed. Interesting. So he could see through this side like a mirror but not from the other side?

  He poked his head right back and said, "Come on in, it's safe."

  They both visibly relaxed.

  ***

  It was a maze.

  Of course it was a maze.

  "We should just leave and come back another time." Roland said, shaking his head.

  Theodore felt the same. They'd been in here for almost an hour and had found nothing. They went in, they walked around, they found nothing but dead ends and shifting walls that seemed designed solely to annoy anyone foolish enough to enter them. The compass no longer worked either. He'd tried. Freya was still grumbling because of that.

  "Yeah, you know what, let's go back," Theodore agreed.

  So, naturally, they left. It was disappointing, but Theodore didn't let it ruin his mood. He had a tournament to win.

  They returned to the capital, and in the upcoming days the atmosphere noticeably shifted. Theodore went and won another pairing in the third event. Trained some, and hunted some in the Hunting Grounds, and they even went back to the maze again but no luck.

  But after a few days of exploring the maze and getting some leads, they got out again and this time it wasn't just the usual excitement of the finals approaching; it was something else.

  It didn't take long to figure out what had happened.

  People were in an uproar. News agencies were practically printing money with the headlines they were churning out. There were a few things that were making rounds.

  First, Tessia was dominating toward the end. He wasn't surprised. He knew Tessia. She had been on his team during the second event. She held back constantly. She only did what she had to do to pass. Now, apparently, she had stopped holding back. She was dominating her fights, crushing opponents who thought they stood a chance.

  Second, Eddie and Sven were out. People had some hope pinned on them but they were nothing against Caleb.

  And third, and most shocking, Caleb was out.

  That was the news, even to him.

  That was the earthquake that shattered the predictability of the entire event, and that wasn't an understatement. The guy who hit Rank 5 in the middle of the second event. That Caleb. Heck, he'd even defeated Freya. The guy everyone including the betting houses and the noble families had pinned as the undisputed champion.

  He lost.

  Theodore found this hilarious.

  He had expected to fight Caleb in the finals. He had planned for it. He had even looked forward to seeing just how strong a newly ascended Rank 5 really was but nope. Someone else had done the job for him.

  "Julius Ravencroft," Freya said, reading a flyer she'd snatched from a passing kid. "That is the name."

  "Ravencroft," Theodore repeated.

  The name rolled around in his head, pinging against memories of the ball. He remembered a Duchess. Duchess... something. She had mentioned a nephew.

  "Ah, the Duchess's nephew. I remember now."

  "You know him?" Roland asked.

  "I know of him. Never met the guy. Apparently, he is quite the talent."

  "According to who?"

  "The Duchess who called him her nephew."

  "He defeated a Rank 5. I'd say she isn't wrong." Freya said.

  She was right, of course. Beating Caleb wasn't a small feat. Caleb had a repelling field that disrupted constructs and a mana pool that was frankly unfair for his age. To beat him, this Julius person had to be a monster. A complete unknown tearing through the ranks.

  The capital was in an uproar because nobody likes losing money, and everyone had bet on Caleb.

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  ***

  General POV

  The news hit the capital like wildfire, and for once, the flames refused to die down.

  "Eight finalists! Only eight remain!"

  The Chronicle's evening edition sold out within the hour. Then the second printing sold out. By midnight, people were trading copies in back alleys for triple the price, and still demand outpaced supply.

  Julius, Tessia, Garrett, Jason, Theodore, Darius, Wilhelm, and Fredrick. These were the people who would compete in the final stage of the third event!

  The reactions were immediate and varied.

  "Garrett Brennan, obviously. The man's untouchable."

  "Tessia's been holding back this whole tournament. Did you see her last fight? She ended it in twelve seconds."

  "Twelve seconds against a peak Rank 4! The Sword Saint trained her well."

  But the name on everyone's lips wasn't Garrett or Tessia.

  "Julius Ravencroft. Who the hell is Julius Ravencroft?"

  "He beat Caleb. That's who he is."

  "That tells me what he did, not who he is!"

  The betting houses were in absolute chaos. Odds that had been carefully calculated over weeks of tournament data were now worthless. The entire framework of predictions had been built around Caleb reaching the finals, and Julius had quite literally come out of nowhere and shattered that all with a single fight.

  "We're hemorrhaging money! Every major bet in our books was on Caleb!"

  "Then adjust for Julius!"

  "Adjust to what? We don't know anything about him! He came out of nowhere!"

  "He didn't come out of nowhere. He's the Duchess of Ravencroft's nephew."

  "That tells me his bloodline, not his fighting style! What's his specialization? What rank is he really at? How did he beat Caleb's repelling field or whatever?"

  Silence.

  "Exactly. We know nothing."

  In the taverns, the debates raged louder than any tournament fight. Heck, some people were wasted out of their minds enough to actually start brawls.

  "I'm telling you, Julius is the real deal. You don't beat a Rank 5 by accident."

  "Caleb just advanced. He wasn't a true Rank 5 yet. His foundation was unstable."

  "His foundation was stable enough to crush everyone else he faced!"

  Julius's name kept circling back. The man was a wild card in the truest sense. The mysterious man appeared from obscurity to defeat the tournament's presumptive champion.

  "Has anyone actually seen his fights? The earlier rounds?"

  "I tracked down some recordings. The man doesn't fight like anyone I've ever seen."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean he's... I don't know how to describe it. He's just really good. He… copied the repelling field and used it to beat Caleb."

  "...How?"

  "How the hell would I know?"

  The noble families were having very different conversations behind closed doors.

  "The Ravencroft line has always been talented, but this is something else entirely."

  "The Duchess has been keeping him hidden. Trained in secret, no doubt. This was planned."

  "You think she orchestrated this?"

  "I think she knew exactly what her nephew was capable of, and she waited for the perfect moment to reveal him. What better stage than the tournament finals?"

  "If that's true, we've all been outmaneuvered."

  "When aren't we outmaneuvered by that woman?"

  But Julius wasn't the only name drawing attention.

  "What about Theodore Lockheart? The man's still in it."

  "What about Theodore Lockheart? Please. The man got lucky with his bracket. He hasn't faced anyone truly dangerous yet."

  The speaker was a merchant who'd clearly had too much ale, and found himself on the receiving end of a dozen incredulous stares.

  "Are you deaf or just stupid?"

  "Excuse me?"

  "Theodore Lockheart topped Instance Seven. He killed Beast Kings. He's won every single fight in the third event. And you're still calling it luck?"

  "His team killed the Beast King. Tessia was—"

  "Tessia was on his team, yes. And Theodore was the point-carrier. And he fought and killed despite that. You know what that means? I've watched every recording of his fights. Every single one. The man doesn't fight like someone getting carried. He fights like someone who knows exactly what he's doing."

  Another voice joined in, and this one was considerably harsher compared to the last one. "Three events. Three events he's dominated, and you people still refuse to believe it? At this point, it almost makes me think you're being paid to say this nonsense."

  "I'm not being paid!"

  "Then you're willfully blind, which is worse."

  The merchant sputtered. "People don't change that much! A year ago, Theodore Lockheart was a disgrace!"

  "And a year ago, you probably couldn't afford that coat you're wearing. Things change. Results don't lie."

  "The results could be…" The merchant had no words.

  "Accept it or don't, but stop embarrassing yourself."

  The merchant fell silent, nursing his ale with a sullen expression.

  Around him, the conversation shifted to something more productive.

  "I'm not saying Theodore will win. I'm saying he deserves to be taken seriously."

  "Agreed. Anyone who makes this far deserves respect."

  "The question is how he matches up against the others. Julius is a complete unknown. Garrett's a monster. Tessia's been holding back and we still don't know if she's fighting with her all. Jason and Darius are both dangerous in their own right. Theodore's strong. He's the best I've seen in years. Whether that's enough to win against this competition... I genuinely don't know."

  "For the first time in a long time, the finals are actually unpredictable."

  The speculation about the final pairings was reaching fever pitch.

  "It's a random draw. Anyone could face anyone."

  "Gods, imagine if Theodore draws Julius. That would be the shortest fight in tournament history."

  "What if Julius draws Garrett? Now that's a fight worth watching."

  "That's THE fight. The wild card versus the known monster. Julius beat Caleb, but Garrett's been dominant since the first event."

  "Tessia versus Julius would be interesting too. Two people who've been hiding their true strength."

  "Has Tessia been hiding? I thought she was just pacing herself."

  "Same thing."

  "It's really not."

  Meanwhile at the Chronicle's headquarters people were working through the night, trying to make sense of the chaos. They were happiest they'd ever been working through the night willingly because they could not miss whatever was happening.

  "We need profiles on all finalists. Detailed breakdowns."

  "We have profiles on most of them. Julius is a ghost."

  "Then make him less of a ghost! Interview people who've seen him fight. Track down his training history. Find something!"

  "The Duchess and her household isn't talking. The Academy records show he attended briefly but withdrew for 'personal training.' That's all we have."

  "That's nothing!"

  "That's all we have."

  "Then print what we know and speculate on the rest. The public wants content. Give them content."

  The morning edition would feature extensive breakdowns of each finalist. The anticipation was building to unbearable levels.

  "I haven't been this excited for a tournament finale in twenty years!"

  "Twenty? Try ever. We have a newly revealed monster, an untested prodigy, the Brennan heir, and Theodore Lockheart somehow in the mix. This is unprecedented."

  "Don't forget Jason and Darius."

  "I'm not forgetting them. I'm just not as excited about them."

  "That's your mistake. The ones you overlook are often the ones who surprise you."

  "Like Julius?"

  "Exactly like Julius."

  The draw was set for the following morning. Eight names. Four initial pairings. The path to championship would be revealed, and with it, the shape of the tournament's climax. Every betting house, noble family, tavern and market stall waited with bated breath.

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