Reincarnation Of A Swordsman: The Omni Mage

Chapter 72: 20 Mana Cores!

Instructor Dan's booming voice echoed through the coliseum as the contestants stood gathered after observing their matches.

"Listen up!" he called out, his arms crossed as he faced the 64 students who had qualified for the knockout stages.

"Tomorrow, the real battle begins. There will be three matches each, and if you lose, you're out. No second chances, no comebacks. It's simple—win, or go home."

Kyle calmly nodded his head as he listened, unlike some of the others, he didn't feel intimidated by Instructor Dan's words.

Rather, he felt pity. A tad bit of pity for those who had made it this far, only to return with nothing.

'I'm too kind. Why are my being bothered by their fate?' Kyle thought with a smile.

Dan continued to explain, cutting Kyle's thoughts.

"You'll fight three matches tomorrow..." Only on m v|le|mp|yr

"Three matches? That's impossible!"

Murmurs began spreading around the contestants as they expressed their disconcern from the match arrangements.

All the fights, especially at this stage of the competition were usually intense.

They had limited reserves of mana and would also be very exhausted for the next match—to sum it up, they did not agree with Dan's words.

"Quiet!"

Dan called, releasing some pressure on the student that made them shiver.

He stared at them with an eye that said: You don't have the right to argue with the rules.

"Now... May I continue?" Dan asked with an evil smile after the tranquility was brought back.

The students were buckling in their shoes from the pressure released by Dan, some even felt themselves peeing on their clothes.

Kyle handled the pressure better, as he was used to it.

This wasn't the first time he had experienced such from him, as had done it a few times during training to disorient his balance.

Even though he wasn't cowering in fear like the others, he still wasn't happy for the match arrangements.

He was absolutely sure he would fare miles better than the others when his stamina was considered... But he still had to play by the rules and regulate his 'mana capacity'.

It wasn't easy losing because you were claiming not to have what you had.

Hopefully, he won't lose.

'I just need to sweep each match wiyn minimal effort, right? How hard could that be?'

Dan continued, his voice echoing in the still coliseum.

"You'll fight two more the day after, and the final match on the last day of the tournament.

This tournament is a test of endurance as well as skill, may the best mage win. You have one night left to prepare, so make it count."

Kyle nodded his head at Dan's words, knowing that his road to victory wouldn't come easy.

"You're dismissed," Dan said, waving them off with his hand.

Kyle watched as the other contestants filtered out of the coliseum, most still silent and lost in thought.

As he turned to leave, a certain thought surfaced on his mind.

He made a connection with Void to communicate with him.

'Yo, Void. Care for a deal?"

[What now, Kyle?] Void answered lazily.

'I'll make a deal with you. If you stay behind and cultivate while I fight, I'll give you 20 mana cores once you reach level 10.'

Void's interest piqued instantly. [Twenty mana cores?! You ain't joking, are you?]

'Nope, I'm serious. But you'll have to get to level 10 first,' Kyle responded with a smirk.

[Deal! I'll stay back and cultivate like you've never seen before. Just you wait!]

Void said with a voice filled with determination.

Kyle smiled to himself as he left the coliseum, making his way back to the dormitory.

Void's greed was sometimes annoying, but at least it was easy to motivate him.

He could now rest easy tonight, knowing Void would be busy pushing himself and not putting his talents to waste.

He decided to spend the rest of the day cultivating.

Despite his exhaustion from the previous fights, there was no time for rest. He had to be ready.

***

The next morning, Kyle stood at the coliseum once again, the sun hanging low in the sky as the cool morning breeze swept across the grounds.

Without Void by his side, everywhere felt silent... Too silent.

But he pushed it aside, focusing on the challenge ahead today.

Around him, the other contestants were similarly preparing, some stretching, others quietly meditating.

Kyle noticed a few familiar faces, he hadn't spoken to them in a while, something he planned on doing soon...

'Maybe after the tournament, we'll have a small get together,' Kyle thought.

He won't face them now, but the possibility of meeting them in the later rounds was there, as long as they would win like him.

It didn't take long before the first set of matches were called for.

Kyle watched the announcement as the names flashed on the large board in the center of the coliseum.

His eyes caught his own name, paired with that of his first opponent: Marlon Kain, a Beast Tamer of the fire element.

As Kyle stepped into the arena, the usual magic barrier shimmered and enclosed them.

Across from him stood Marlon, a burly figure with a fiery silhouette of a large cat-like creature beside him—a flame cat!

How could he forget his very first kill in this world? It wasn't to say that the match would be easy since he'd slain a similar beast before.

The only reason why he could kill it was due to the outburst of sword intent.

Kyle remembered when Instructor Harris placed them alone with it and how the beast had tormented them.

'Well, thoughts aside. Let's do this!' Kyle said, focusing back on reality.

"... and when we're done with you, you'll wish you gave up long ago!"

'Oh. Bro's been talking,' Kyle thought with a smile on his face, he nodded his head at Morlon's words to make it look like he had been paying attention.

"You're nodding your head?!" Morlon grunted in anger.

'Seems like the talkative,' Kyle reasoned, staring back at Morlon without blinking. 'Let's fight already, man.'

The announcer's voice boomed through the coliseum, signaling the start of the fight.

"Begin!"

Marlon was quick. With a shout, he ordered his beast forward, and the flame cat lunged, fire erupting from its body.

Kyle sidestepped smoothly, activating Lightning Dash, and the moment the flame cat passed him.

He turned around, quickly catching it mid-dive, he charged his hand with Lightning Bolt and blasted the cat away.

'Amarteur,' Kyle sighed. 'Seconds into the match and I've gotten a direct hit.'

Marlon snarled in frustration as he saw his cat flung some distance away.

"Fireball!"

His hand glowed red and a searing ball of flame left his palm.

Kyle was ready, as he had already anticipated such move.

With a twist of his body that was still enhanced by lightning dash, Kyle dodged the fireball, letting the flames dissipate harmlessly against the barrier surrounding the arena.

A few more moves passed between them, but Kyle remained calm, barely exerting himself.

He used the minimum amount of mana, just as he had planned, making do with his runes in most cases.

'Let's end this.'

In a final move, Kyle released a Lightning Bolt, finishing Morlon off.

The flame cat, already exhausted from multiple failed attacks, collapsed to the ground beside its master with a direct kick on its face.

'Sometimes, I forget that I have inhuman strength as well!'

"Match over! Kyle wins!"