The day of the competition had arrived, Neidr was polishing his sword and Liam nearby stared at the rising platforms with anticipation. Countless gathered to see the spectacle as men prepared to risk their lives to glory, riches, and possibly love. Hours passed before the stands had finally been set up. Then, a hush feel over the people as they finally announced the first people to fight. They did one hundred bouts at a time, and Neidr was selected to be in that first group. 

Climbing upon that stage which floated high in the sky far above the ground below, Neidr steeled his nerves and looked at his opponent. Hopefully, all the training he had done till this point had prepared him for this. Opposite of him stood a young man, his arms were covered with fire and determination sparkled in his eyes. 

There were no obstacles in the way, the two men faced each other on a flat platform. Being thrown off? Almost certain death. Neidr closed his eyes and muttered to himself as the judge counted down. The young man laughed, 

"I misjudged you! I thought you would be a tough fight for someone of your mana capacity to stand before me. However, you are praying? Ridiculous!"[Young Man] As soon as the young man finished his words, the judge spoke the word,

"One."[Judge] Just as the young man prepared to chant a spell, an ice shard punctured his skull. There was silence and then one member of the crowd shouted out,

"Unfair! He attacked before the match started!"[Crowd memeber] The judge interceded,

"No, I said that last number, the match had started."[Judge]

"Bullshit! He started the chant before the count ended! There is no other way."[crowd member] 

"The rules are not to attack, there is no rule against chanting."[Neidr] Although against this ruling, it passed regardless. The people were rather unhappy, but Neidr had won, so he didn't care. Neidr got into the next match. An angry man with thick eyebrows had aring of earth rotating around him. The judge started the countdown. Neidr and the man both started to chant. Apparently this new guest had learned from the last. 

As the word 'two' was said, an earth spike launched at Neidr. It was disintegrated in the air by the judge, who furiously threw the young man out of the arena. Timing is important. As Neidr was fighting this way, Liam was blasting his foes away, left and right. No one stood a chance against his supreme might. The second prince, too, was dominating the competition. No man could cast a spell, as the prince would cast the reverse immediately, disabling the spell. 

This disheartened many men, but not Neidr, he was more accustomed to fighting without spells anyway. The third enemy Neidr fought wore heavy armor and wielded an ax. In fact, one could not see the enemy from all the armor they wore. Neidr started to mutter, and the man raised a shield, trying to block the incoming ice shard before coming into attack. As the word one left the lips of the judge, Neidr quietly rushed over to the enemy, and they hid their head behind the shield. Neidr swept to the side, and pushed the contestant off the platform. 

Needless to say, the crowd was not very happy. The fourth contestant arrived, behind them, many floating spears pointed their heads toward Neidr reminding him of his meeting with Liam. Good times. The fourth man began to chant and Neidr stayed on his toes, he knew he wouldn't always be lucky enough to get someone to screw up their timing. After the word one was said, an armada of spears flew at Neidr not giving him any room to move. He turned into mist and was thus missed by all the barbs. Appearing next to his shocked enemy, he merely pushed them over the edge. The fifth match arrived. 

This was the moment of truth. The second prince stood before him. He smirked at Neidr, Neidr started to murmer a spell and the second prince smirked. 

"You won't be able to get that off. What are you even trying for?"[Second Prince] Neidr continued to mutter regardless, and the second prince joined. As the judge said one Neidr shot off an ice shard that immediately dissipated. The second prince lifted his eyebrow, saying,

'see what did i tell you?' nonetheless, Neidr rushed forward and continued to murmur spells. The second prince frowned and said,

"You're wasting both our mana. Just because you know you're going to lose, you slightly inconvenience me?" [Second Prince]Five spells were cancelled as Neidr arrived next to the man, Neidr drew a knife and rushed forward. The Prince raised his eyebrows in shock and started back up. He angrily started to cast a spell. But the ice shard that neidr was casting flew at him. It punctured his hand and flew off into the distance. The second Prince screamed in pain, cancelling his spell. 

The second prince drew a sword with his good hand and held out his guard. Neidr retreated out of its range and drew his own sword. The second prince smiled and said,

"You're playing attrition with your spells? Clever, but you will run out of mana first. You must kill me now, or you will die. All I have to do is defend."[Second Prince] Neidr frowned, this wasn't good. He put his hand into his shirt and pulled out a bag, dashing its contents at the second prince. The second prince, threw his forearm over his eyes to protect himself from the irritant, but Neidr closed in, slashing at the unprotected arm, severing it. 

Now, he must act quickly. Neidr slashed at the Prince's neck before a man could say a word, severing it and leaving it on the ground. A hush fell over the crowd. The Prince had died. Everyone was sure that he will decisively crush his competition. Now, Neidr had a worry on his mind. Even if the king said that the second prince could die, that didn't mean it was necessarily without punishment. Neidr looked over to the judges to get a read of the situation. He was prepared to teleport away as fast as possible if he saw a hint of a nasty look on the face of the judge. 

The crowd broke out in whispers and the judge slammed his hand down,

"The king has said, in fairness, he shall not punish any man for the death of the second prince. The prince wished this himself. STOP MURMURING!"[Judge] Neidr sighed in relief. He would have to give up later in this competition. If he did it right after killing the prince, that would be suspicious. 

He wasn't out of trouble yet.