"Young Lord Timothy, it is time for you to prepare for the sparring match because you are up next." as the next sparring match of two rank three experts who seemed to have some enmity with each other was getting close to its end, an attendant quickly brought Timothy to the waiting area where he would wait to be introduced to the restaurant. Every person who was involved in each match was properly introduced so the spectators could make any arrangements they felt were necessary to approach them.
This was a common practice when it came to public sparring matches that both the fighter and the audience would want to be known. According to many sources that Timothy had researched, one of the ways that they would remain influential, was attending such events either at restaurants or other businesses where they would hold sparring matches regularly for entertainment or even at the stadium where tournaments were held regularly between cultivators of almost every rank!
In the waiting area right outside of the arena, Timothy and his opponent the skinny youth who seemed to have a similar background to his when he first arrived stood opposite of each other but close enough to speak briefly before their match. "On behalf of my benefactors, I will give our match everything that I have and will crush you to pieces!" the skinny youth told Timothy while clenching his fists.
Such words did not bother Timothy, only he was unsure what strange mind control type technique those two rivals of his friends had used to recruit such a person. From the clothes this youth was wearing, it seemed that he was very obviously from a commoner background since the clothes were not quite rags, but very low quality that only farmers or other types of commoners would wear if they were stable enough to not need to resort to rags. It explained a lot since even the smallest gifts of kindness would sway anyone in his position and this made Timothy's heart clench.
He knew better than anyone what it was like to struggle through life and death every day but also to see citizens who once had majestic cities with powerful experts, in a single night crumble from a horde of demons. If this youth was in a similar situation and those two took him in or even offered a small helping hand, it would absolutely had been enough to make him swear a lifelong oath to assist them in the future. "I am sorry you feel that way. I promise that no matter what happens, your life with not be in danger from this match." Timothy told the skinny youth before sitting down to meditate quietly.
The match finally ended with a final exchange between the two experts of the third rank. Both had blood pouring from countless wounds on their bodies but at the very end they shook hands before going their separate ways. The artifact explained to Timothy that someday he may run into someone around his current level that would do something towards him that would only be forgivable if he exchanged enough blows with that person. In their case, it seemed that they had some enmity towards one another but it was not enough to stake their lives on the line.
"Next up are two young men one at the age of only thirteen while the other is at the ripe age of fifteen and close to turning sixteen. The thirteen year old teen is in the second year class of the Grey Imperial Academy while the fifteen year old teen has been recruited as a new member of the Crimson Order, a local organization here in the city whose history is filled with many strong experts that became known by building themselves up as a religious organization!"
"As the sixteen year old youth is of the second rank as a mage, the thirteen year old youth has similar achievements where he is a second rank mage but also a rank one warrior which means he is trying to become a dual expert. Guests, you should all know how much harder it is to raise your rank in two areas at the same time, so in theory we may be able to witness a true genius tonight!"
The female announcer of the match had done this with the other two matches, but each time it made Timothy cringe on the inside slightly because it was obvious that she was doing so to hype up the crowd. However, instead of many claps and cheering like the introduction to the first two matches of the night, you could only hear Timothy's table and their rival's table exchanging harsh words about one another while the remainder of the building was completely silent.
As he stepped up onto the stage, Timothy felt multiple energy waves around him, and as he looked around, he could vaguely see that over a dozen experts who were present that he had yet to meet during the night were testing him out. There was no way to confirm right now, but even the artifact told him that it thought that the silence was due to everyone wanting to concentrate since the Grey Imperial Academy was not known to have any dual experts attending their academy.
In order to be considered a dual expert, one's rank as both a warrior and mage had to be close enough together or high enough ranked to earn the title. In some cases, a rank six warrior who was also a rank four mage could be considered a dual expert but instead of being considered a rank six dual expert, they would for the most part only be considered a rank four dual expert. Therefore, in most cases, such individuals would instead just claim the title as a rank six warrior and use the fact that they had some experience as a mage only as a bonus selling point.
The judge called both Timothy and the skinny youth who was named Grant over to the middle of the stage and went over the rules of the match. There would be consequences if one of them died by the other's hands and there would be no room to fight dirty. The judge also stressed to them that many of the spectators were watching their match very closely so it would be best to not hold anything back. And with that the judge told them to get in their corners and finally waved his hand. "Begin!"
