Chapter 19 Junior Bracket

 

“Oh, they fucked” Kim whisper to Cade. Jace and Beth are leaning on each other in front of the fruit garden. They have been teasing each other and arguing about what to pick for the last 10 minutes 

 

“How can you tell? They have always been sickeningly affectionate with each other.” Cade said, confused. 

 

“Listen you guys, Beth is annoying. She won't let me pick” Jace and Beth came back to the table. Despite the complaints, both of them are smiling. The men at the surrounding table threw pieces of fruit at Jace

 

“Both of you are annoying. By the way, I signed you up for the junior tournament.” Kim said nonchalantly 

 

“I feel like your personality has changed too much. That's fine by me, but you might not get the mana stones if I win!” Jace points at himself smugly. 

 

“Haha! You win one round of the unrestricted tournament and you forget who taught you to fight. And this is my real personality, I was just being polite before!” Kim chuckled while eating papaya. Jace looked at Beth, his eyes asking for support. 

 

“...........Jace……..there is no one in the junior bracket that can harm your body, however, you have a higher chance of winning against Senior Wind Blade than you do against Kim.” Beth looked away, hiding her face behind a big piece of watermelon. 

 

“......fuck…” Jace drops his head. 

 

“You guys don't see other people in your eyes.” Cade looked around at the people sitting at tables near them. Dozens of glares are pointed this way. 

 

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“Welcome back everyone! I hope everyone in the audience had a great time relaxing last night.” Foxy three gave a cheerful greeting. On the VIP stand nearby, Miss Harlet is glaring at them to hurry up. “Eh, we will get right into it.” 

 

The junior bracket has 200 competitors and the first round will be a team battle. Each team will consist of four people, and only 5 teams will pass to the single battle round. Jace and Kim quickly found each other on the stage. 

 

“I guess we should find two more people?” Jace said. Kim heard that and smiled. She raised her hand and got the attention of the referees 

 

“We want to fight with just two people, is that ok?” Kim said to the referee. Jace was shocked. Before the referee could answer, Miss Harlet appeared in front of them. 

 

“I like you. Granted! If anyone wants to fight alone that is permitted as well. However, people that wish to form groups can not be larger than 4” Miss Harlet winked at Kim and disappeared into the fog. 

 

“This is training” Kim grinning at Jace 

 

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Jace learned quickly no one in the junior bracket could damage his body. Spells dissipate when coming in contact with his skin. He could bend or break normal mana stone weapons with his bare hands. But there were also many ways that people could harm him without damaging his skin. 

 

Once the people around him learned that his skin was harder than their weapons, they started to use creative tactics. One mage created an air bubble over his head, trying to suffocate him to death. Jace quickly grabbed a broken weapon nearby, injected a bit of mana into it, and threw it at the mage with all his power. The mage smirks at him and puts up 4 layers of mana shield, successfully defending against Jace's random attack. But that small moment was all he needed to close the gap between them before using his entire arm to pierce through all 4 layers of the mana shield. His arm went through the mage’s chest and out the other side before the mage disappeared with the teleporting light. 

 

Another Rune apprentice was using a weird Rune machine that shoots out weird liquid. Everyone who stepped on the liquid slid out of the arena, being eliminated in a humiliated fashion. The Rune apprentice was aiming everywhere Jace was moving, luckily Jace was too fast for a regular human to see. Once he realized that the man was aiming for him, he quickly ran behind him and threw him out of the arena. 

 

An Aura Warrior that seems to use martial arts that focuses on shifting momentum almost eliminates Jace. He waited until Jace ran past him and shifted his momentum, almost throwing him out of the arena. Jace flipped his body in the air and managed to grab a mage flying nearby, throwing him out of the arena. That momentum pushed him back onto the stage. When he landed on the ground, Jace lifted a giant tile on the stage and threw it at the Aura Warrior, crushing him. 

 

“Fuck, what the hell is that? Is he at a master's level already? He punched through 4 layers of Gohia’s mana shield. Wasn't he a mage famous for that Railgun spell?” a warrior nearby was shaking. The level of power and speed that Jace acquired with this physique is no longer at the level of a trainee. 

 

“Avoid him and get his teammate! They only have 2 people” Another mage that seems to be on the same team as the warrior said. They ran away from Jace, leaving him to the other team to take care of. Turning their attention to the small Eastern girl who was Jace’s teammate. The two of them were eye-catching from the beginning, and many people wanted to take them down. But what they saw in front of them was not a girl shaking from fear in the corner. 

 

Dozens of people are lying on the ground, moaning and crying. Their limbs are bent in unnatural positions. A few people are holding their throats or more sensitive areas. The small Eastern girl stood in the middle, looking down at the group of people as if she were a warlord looking down at her subjects. 

 

“Weak” only one word came from her mouth. The mage and the warrior look at each other. Nodding to each other, the two spread out, surrounding the Eastern girl from both directions. Before they could launch their attack, a sword dropped from the sky on top of the girl’s head. Earth spikes exploded from under her while a man wearing body-fitting black spandex appeared from thin air. Various pieces of equipment on his body are glowing with Rune light, his dagger speeding towards the girl at the same time as the spike and the sword. A three-directional attack. 

 

The girl jumped to dodge the spikes while launching herself directly at the man and his dagger. She jumped over his dagger, grabbed his shoulder, and pushed him into the sword dropping from the sky. A teleport light follows shortly after. It only took her less than 2 seconds to eliminate that man. 

 

The warrior smiled, his body shaking. He has never met someone so purely talented in martial arts. He shook his head at his partner before throwing down his ax and taking off his armors. 

 

“I, Norrath’s Warrior Kohor, humbly ask for a duel” Kohor brought his fist over his heart. A northern warrior tradition of martial challenge. 

 

“Mary Kim, Silla's Fist, I accept” Kim smiled at him. 

 

People fighting near them immediately made a circle. Most people have stopped fighting to watch the challenge. The audience’s attention has turned to this challenge as well. 

 

“You can use your weapon.” Kim waited until the warrior picked up his ax. Kohor bowed to her and then launched himself like a bullet train straight at Kim. She accepts his charge, using the back of her gauntlets to deflect his ax, the warrior was knocked off balance by the sudden momentum shift. Shocked, Kohor had never seen anyone block or deflect a warrior’s Smash, a small mistake and it would mean instant death. Kim immediately dashes in, standing a breath away from the warrior. Kohor quickly enhanced his entire body with mana. She is already inside the range of his weapon, the long range of the two-handed ax is a double-edged sword against an in-fighter like a pugilist. He would need to endure a few hits while trying to gain distance again.

 

A barrage of fists landed on the warrior, powerful and accurate, each punch hitting only the weakest spot on the human body. Chin, throat, heart, chest. The warrior spat out blood and fell to his knees, his weapon rolled on the ground. The defensive mana on his body seems to be as effective as paper armor. 

 

“Ah, trying to tank her hits like that is a bad idea” Jace watching on the sideline sympathizes with the warrior. He knows all too well that high defense means nothing against his master. 

 

The audience and the other participants were dead silent. Warriors are extremely tough, and so durable that they are used as a tank when fighting monsters. Yet, that proud wall of humanity was felled by a few punches from a small young woman. 

 

“........” Kim looked disappointed. She wanted a challenge, her fight with Chae in the lower bracket had ignited something in her. A hunger for battle. She got enough mana stones to support her family for decades, what she wanted from the upper brackets is a challenge. A worthy opponent. 

 

“Jace, clean them all up. I am already bored.” Kim walked through the crowd and sat down under a tree nearby. No other contestant challenged her. 

 

“Are we going to just leave that alone?” One of the Aura Warrior said to his teammates while pointing at Kim resting under a tree. 

 

“You want to fight her? Did you see the dozens of bodies over there?” the warrior points to the group of people still moaning on the ground with broken limbs. “It's one thing to get knocked out or even gravely injured until you get teleported out. But a broken limb will just hurt and she leaves you on the ground in pain. No, thanks” 

 

“You guys won't pass anyway. Don't think too much” a voice came from behind them. Jace dashes through group after group of contestants. His charge has so much force that weapons, armor, and even spells are broken and shatter in front of him. Jace would dash through mages and aura warriors with low defense, destroying their defense, injuring them and even outright eliminating many of them. Their warrior teammates were simply too slow to defend against his charge. 

 

“Jace, don't play. Just end it, I am tired” Kim looked at her apprentice, annoyed. 

 

“Ok,” Jace started to use mana and properly attack. His speed was so fast that he would suddenly appear next to someone, blow them away with a punch, and disappear again. Less than a minute has passed, and only 4 people remain on the stage. 

 

“What the hell is that guy? He is not even using mana. His body is that strong? What physique is that?” One of the last two contestants said to the other. Both of them are wearing black robes that cover their entire body. Kim got interested, they dressed like Chae. 

 

“You two are from the Heavenly Demon Cult?” Kim stood up, she could smell strong people. There were a lot of people around before and she couldn't see them properly, but now, it was obvious. These two are different from the others, like Chae. Kim licks her lips. 

 

“Hey, that little girl is looking at us like prey.” One of the two people said chuckling.

 

“I wondered what kind of person beat our childish sister. You are the one huh?” Both of them took off their black robes. They are both women, tall, dark-skinned, lean and muscular. Twins. Their features are those of people from the republic. Both of them held a spear, one silver, and one gold.

 

“Layla, Heavenly Demon’s Golden Spear.” 

 

“Ladona, Heavenly Demon’s Silver Spear.” 

 

“Jace” 

 

“Mary Kim, Silla’s Fist.” Kim's smile was wide. She was shaking from excitement. Jace looked at her and shook his head. 

 

“Do you want to go first?” Jace asked her. 

 

“No, you go.” Kim looked at him. “Fight them both. You won't win against them, but it will be good training.” 

 

“You underestimate me too much. Don't complain if I beat them both”