The day of the tournament finally begins. The Great Stadium is opened, and crowds of people keep entering the Stadium. 

Tartus and Zack are waiting outside. The contest is about to start but still no sign of Akin.

"Where is he? The time is almost up." Says Zack worried.

Zack and Tartus see someone running really fast in their direction.

"Wait! I'm coming!!"

It was Akin. After some seconds, Akin arrives at the Great Stadium.

"You're almost late! What were you doing?" Asks Zack.

"I just lost track of time. But I'm here now and ready to win!" 

Akin approaches Tartus

"Tartus, I did. I executed the fireball!"

"Yeah, Zack told me. But honestly, this tournament will be hard even with your new ability. The contestants are powerful."

"No matter who comes, I will beat them. By the way, where are the other contestants?"

"They are inside already! As I said, you're almost late!" Says Zack.

"Is that so? Then let's enter!"

Akin starts walking towards the entrance of the Great Stadium.

"Not there." Says Tartus.

"What do you mean? That's the entrance."

"King Willian built a new room for the contestants and their companions."

"Really? Where?"

"Behind the Stadium, just follow me."

"Then I hope you win, Akin good luck!" Says Zack and starts walking towards the regular entrance.

"What do you mean? Aren't you coming to this special room with us?" Says Akin.

"Huh? Can I?"

"Sure, come as my companion!"

"Thank you!" Says Zack excitedly.

Akin and Zack start following Tartus to the entrance of the new room.

"Hey, Tartus, why are you wearing like this?" Asks Akin.

Instead of wearing his dark cape, Tartus is wearing a long hooded brown cape, with the hood covering most of his face. From a distance, no one would recognize him.

"I don't want to bring attention. It's better if people don't know I'm here."

"I see. Being famous is hard, isn't it?" Says Akin, laughing.

Akin, Zack, and Tartus get to the entrance. Several guards are protecting it, much more than the regular entrance. The new room Willian built stays below the normal benchers and is close to the Stadium, where the fights occur. It has multiple rooms for the contestants to rest and prepare for the next battle. There are also some seats and a glass wall where the fights can be seen. 

"So, who are you?" Asks one of the guards at the entrance.

"I'm Akin, a contestant. Those two are my companions." Says Akin, pointing to Tartus and Zack.

"Akin, let me see."

The guard tries to find Akin's name in the list of competitors.

"Found it. Ok, you can enter. Your preparation room is the number 3."

"What's a preparation room?"

"Each contestant will have their own room to rest. Your's is the number 3."

After entering, Akin, Zack, and Tartus try to find the preparation room number 3.

"There it is!" Says Akin, pointing to the room.

The room is not really big. It only has a bed, a bathroom with a shower, and a toilet.

"I like it! It's a nice room. So when are the battles starting?"

Someone knocks on Akin's preparation room and enters. It was a guard.

"Please be at the entrance gate in 3 minutes. Here is the list of the battles."

The guard approaches Akin and gives him a paper. After that, the guard leaves the room.

"I guess it will start soon. What's on the paper?" Says Tartus.

"Let me see." 

Akin looks at the paper and then shows it to Tartus and Zack

"So that's the order of the fights! Akin, your fight is the last." Says Zack while looking at the paper.

The paper:                                                                 

First round: 

     1 - Aila vs. Paul

     2 - Noah vs. Kolman

     3 - Timon vs. Haley 

     4 - Akin vs. Moira

Semi-finals:

      5 - W1 vs. W2

      6 - W3 vs. W4  

Third place battle:

      L5 vs. L6

Finals:

      W5 vs. W6

"Huh? What are those Ws and Ls?" Asks Akin.

"W mean winner and L loser. W1 vs. W2 must mean the winner of the first battle vs. the winner of the second. And L5 vs. L6, the loser of the fifth battle vs. the loser of the sixth." Says Tartus.

"I see. Damm, I really wanted to fight now. But you know, I will be paying close attention to the other battles."

"Well, we have to go now. To the entrance of the Stadium, the first fight will probably occur soon." Says Tartus.

They leave the preparation room and go to the entrance of the Stadium. Everyone was close to the entrance gate already. The gate is close to the glass wall, where the fights can be seen.

Suddenly king Willains voice can be heard.

"Dear citizens! We will now start the first tournament of Erex! The three best competitors will be nominated as knights! I wish the best of luck to all participants, and I hope you all enjoy the fights. Those fighters here are the future of Erex! So without further ado, let's start the first battle!"

Willian was in the V.I.P area, with him all three governors.

"First battle Aila Volkov vs. Paul Ford! A battle is over when a contestant gives up or cannot keep fighting."

Aila and Paul pass through the gate and join the battle Stadium. They stay on opposite sides and prepare for the fight.

"Paul Ford is a student from the knight academy. He has great notes. That's why he was selected to join the tournament."

Willian continues.

"He will face our guest Aila Volkov. I know her name is hard to pronounciate, but that's because she comes from far away, more precisely from the ice lands. Aila is a princess, son of Igor Volkov, the king of the ice lands!"

"So, she is that princess you talked about." Says Akin.

"Exactly! I've heard she is powerful." Says Zack.

Aila has long blond hair and brown eyes; her skin is pale, like snow. Aila is wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and white pants. On her right hand is a golden ring with a snowflake symbol.

The contestants and their companions move closer to the glass wall to better view the first fight.

"So let the first battle of the day start!" Says Willian with enthusiasm.

"So who do you think is gonna win?" Asks Zack.

"That Paul doesn't look like a big deal." Says Akin.

"Huh? Why do you think that? He got good grades in the knight academy."

"It's just my instinct."

"And what are your instinct saying about Aila?"

Akin stays quiet for a couple of seconds.

"I don't know. I guess I will have to find out if she's strong or not by watching the fight."

Paul runs towards Aila, preparing to punch her.

"I will try not to punch you so hard since you're a princess." Says Paul while running.

"Wow, he is fast! He is as fast as you, Akin. Are you sure he's weak?" Says Zack.

"It's not about being fast. He already lost."

"Huh?"

"Akin is right. The fight was over when he decided to run towards Aila like that." Says Tartus.

Paul gets close to Aila and tries to strike a punch at her.

Aila slowly stretches her right arm, and before Paul can do anything, an avalanche of ice is thrown.

The avalanche was immense. The entire arena got quiet after seeing this vast power. With only one attack by Aila, Paul is left hanging on the sharp ice and passes out.

After a couple of seconds, Willian starts speaking.

"Wow. That was fast. Then the first battle is over! The winner is Aila!"

While Aila returns to the preparation room, knights come to the Stadium to clear the ice and bring Paul to a recovery room because of his multiple wounds.

"One attack... I didn't know she was that powerful." Says Zack.

"The princess of the ice lands. Yeah, she is mighty." Says Akin.

The tournament of Erex has just begun, with the first battle over and Aila going to the semi-finals.