Chapter 32: Same Mistake Twice

The next day was Leon’s match in the quarter finals. The next opponent had watched his match against Seth, but he clearly hadn’t come away with the same impression as everyone else, or at least it was in the same direction, just a different flavour.

"That was embarrassing," he said, standing near the entrance to the arena. "Seth really lost to a Grade 1 skeleton?"

His friend glanced at him. "You saw the match, right?"

"I didn’t, but still. Seth’s always been weak, who doesn’ know that? He relies too much on his summon to do everything itself and doesn’t know how to fight when things get difficult."

That wasn’t entirely wrong. Seth had been caught off guard by a skeleton that should have been a match in terms of Grade for his Fire Monkey, and once Leon started controlling the pace of the fight, he hadn’t been able to recover.

Then again, the boy wasn’t interested in considering that part.

He had a Grade 2 summon of his own, and as far as he knew, Leon was still using the same Grade 1 Skeleton Warrior everyone had laughed at during the awakening ceremony. That rumour was everywhere in school and even outside of school.

Leon Carter was still the one everybody knew as the failure of the Carter name, still the one who’d summoned a Grade 1 skeleton in front of the entire school and became a laughing stock for it. Nobody had bothered telling Damien anything more recent than that, and he hadn’t gone looking either, so as far as he was concerned, he was walking into an easy match.

’If Seth couldn’t beat him, that’s his problem.’

The boy adjusted his gloves and headed toward the arena. ’Seriously, giving some punk wings.’

Leon watched his opponent walk onto the arena.

The boy looked confident more than anything else, not in the way Seth had been, with the nervous energy of someone trying to prove himself, but with the casual certainty of someone who believed he already knew how the fight would go.

’Another one who thinks my summon is still Grade 1.’ Leon thought to himself, amused. Having the element of surprise always felt good.

Leon couldn’t blame him though. He hadn’t exactly made an effort to correct anyone’s assumptions.

The referee announced the match, and both sides summoned.

A large, heavily built undead stepped out beside Leon, towering over him.

Its body was covered in that same old armor, with thick bones and broad shoulders. The death energy that came from his summon sent chills running down his opponent’s spine, but after a short while, it seemed like his opponent’s expression relaxed a bit.

"I guess you really don’t have anything else outside that weird energy."

His own summon appeared beside him. A Grade 2 beast with a sturdy body and powerful limbs, built for close combat. It was an Iron-Hide Boar that was built more like a wall than an animal, with tusks thick enough to look like they belonged on something twice its size

Seeing that both sides were ready, the referee gave the signal to start.

The opponent immediately ordered his summon forward.

"Crush it!"

Immediately, like a slow engine starting and picking up quickly than expected, the beast charged forward.

Leon didn’t bother giving his undead a complicated command, all he said was, "Stop it." He had understood that this particular skeleton of his was smarter than the regular Grade 1 skeletons and even the Grade 2s. he wasn’t sure if it was something peculiar to Grade 3 and above, or just this one. Anyway, it was to his advantage, he didn’t bother questioning a dry wall.

The skeleton dashed forward two steps and planted its feet firmly unto the ground. Leon was almost concerned as his Skeleton Swordsman wasn’t drawing on his sword. It almost looked like it was trying to tank the attack.

Sure enough, to everyone’s surprise including Leon, the beast slammed into the Skeleton Swordsman.

*GANG!

The impact shook the arena platform, and for a moment, the two summons seemed evenly matched. Leon was very surprised, ’wow, it didn’t shatter into pieces, huh?’ He thought the fault must have been from his command, so he took note for the time being.

Just then, then the Skeleton drew on its weapon, and in one fell swoop, brought it down on the beast.

Instead of striking to cut, everyone, including Leon once again, was surprised when the Skeleton used the bottom of the sword’s hilt to land a powerful blow.

The beast was driven into the ground as if struck by a pointed hammer, and almost immediately, the opponent’s smile disappeared.

’What?’ He couldn’t understand what he was seeing.

His summon struggled to get back up, but Leon’s undead was already moving. It had already sheathed its sword, then proceeded to grab the beast by the upper body and lifted it off the ground before throwing it across the arena.

The beast crashed down and rolled several times before slowly picking itself back up.

’Wow, guess his hieght isn’t for intimidation alone.’ Leon thought to himself, amused.

The crowd went quiet at the raw display of strength the Undead Skeleton Swordsman had just displayed.

Leon watched the opponent stare at his summon in disbelief. ’He really thought this was going to be easy.’

The boy hurriedly issued another command, trying to get his beast back on in the game, but the skeleton was already there.

It caught the beast by the neck and slammed it down again.

Then again.

Then again.

Then again,

Seeing the uncomfortable domination of the fight, the referee stepped forward quickly. "Match over!"

With a command, the skeleton returned to Leon’s side, and he recalled his summon back into his summoner’s space.

The opponent stood still, looking at the spot where his beast lay, struggling to stand, whether in pain or disorientation, he could not say. He had spent the entire match expecting to win. He’d assumed Seth’s loss was a fluke, and that Leon’s skeleton was still the same weak summon everyone had mocked... Now he didn’t even know what to say.

Leon walked off the arena without looking back.

As he made his way back to the stands, he could hear the talks all about.

"Two wins in a row..." Someone said, sounding as though they were trying to convince themselves.

"Easy bracket. He still hasn’t faced anyone real." Another person scoffed.

"Yeah. Let’s see what happens when he meets someone strong. That weird energy is a real shaker for weaker guys."

Leon heard the comments as he returned to his seat. It looked like it didn’t matter how many matches he won. There would always be someone ready to explain it away.

If he beat a Grade 3 summon, then the opponent was weak. If he beat a Grade 2 summon, then the bracket was easy.

He wondered what excuse they’d come up with if he reached the finals, probably something about the other guy having a bad day.

Nevertheless, the tournament continued.

With Leon’s match over, the arena returned to its usual noise. Summons appeared and disappeared, students shouted orders, and the crowd reacted to every close call.

There were enough of other competitors who were worth watching too. Some first years who had also made it to the quarter-finals naturally stood out, well, not in the same way Leon did.

One of them was Linda Storm who had summoned a Yeti. She made an impression during her match. The massive summon raised one arm, and a wave of ice spread across the arena floor, forcing her opponent’s summon to retreat before it could get close.

Perhaps the other summoned beast was afraid or uncertain of the ice, but Linda didn’t waste the opening. Her Yeti charged forward, using its size to overwhelm the opposing summon. In the end, she won decisively.

’Ice powers, huh? That’s useful.’

Leon made a mental note of it.

A few matches later, Ray Stone took the arena with his Water Serpent. He was also a first year, and made quite the imppression during their awakening ceremony.

Unlike Linda’s Yeti, the serpent relied on movement, and was frustratingly difficult to get a hold of. It slipped around its opponent’s attacks, and even when it was caught, it would wiggle and get away from the grip, as though it was covered in slim.

Ray won after a drawn-out exchange, though his summon took a few hits along the way. In the end the damage wasn’t substantial since most of the hits slide off the snake’s body, losing most of the force it came with.

By the end of the day not everyone was as fortunate. Some students lost because their summons were simply outmatched. Others made mistakes under pressure, giving their opponents openings they couldn’t afford.

By the time the next bracket update appeared, the number of remaining competitors had dropped considerably.

Leon checked the names, and sure enough, once again, his match would be first and his next opponent had been confirmed.

And on the other side of the bracket, Aaron Grey’s next match was set as well, and he would be going up against Linda Storm.