Jace the Elemental

Jace sat with his team, watching the remaining matches, though his mind was elsewhere. He kept replaying his own duel, thinking about how he had acted. He hadn't trained this hard just to become someone who lost control in the arena.

Still caught up in his thoughts, he felt someone poke his arm.

"Jace, do you understand why we were concerned?" Aurora asked softly. Her quiet tone was barely audible over the roar of the arena, keeping their conversation private.

"Yeah, I get it. Even if he's an ass, he didn't deserve what I did," Jace admitted with a weak smile.

"Wrong," Aurora said, still watching him. "Giorgi Bane is a spoon fed fool who's one step away from being abandoned by House Bane." Disgust tinged her voice, but only slightly. "It was only a matter of time before someone put him in his place. The problem is, it shouldn't have been you." Her tone softened again. "Whether or not he's a worthless noble, he's still a noble. And nobles are aggressive when it comes to protecting their status."

Jace frowned. "Are you saying you and the other nobles are going to come after me now?" His voice was harsher than he'd intended.

Aurora didn't flinch. "Me? No. The others…" She trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid. Her gaze shifted back to the arena, where two competitors were locked in combat. "You're supposed to be smarter than them, not play the silly games we nobles have to." Frustration slipped into her voice, an irritation at the very rules she was forced to follow.

Before Jace could respond, Ethan leaned in from behind them. "Not to interrupt the lovebirds, but we should really be paying attention to the matches. Y'know, to actually learn something." He grinned, clearly enjoying himself.

Aurora gave him an odd look, tilting her head slightly. "I don't understand why you keep saying that," she said, her voice full of genuine confusion. "Why do you keep comparing us to birds?"

The innocent expression on her face, paired with her sincerity, sent Jace and Ethan into laughter.

Ethan was the first to recover. "It's just a saying," he explained, still chuckling. "Like when two people are deep in conversation, totally in their own little world."

"Oh," Aurora said slowly, though she didn't look entirely convinced. "But why birds?"

Jace shook his head, still grinning. "Don't worry about it, Aurora. Ethan's just being… Well, Ethan."

Ethan leaned back in his seat, still smirking. "Hey, someone's gotta keep things lively. Otherwise, it's all brooding, noble politics, and mind games."

Aurora still looked doubtful but turned back to the arena. "I suppose. But you were right, we should be watching."

Jace followed her gaze, watching as one competitor summoned a swirling vortex of fire and wind. Despite the spectacle, his mind kept drifting back to Aurora's words. 'Be smarter than they are,' 

Good advice, but how was he supposed to follow it?

As the duels continued throughout the day, Jace kept replaying his match in his mind, thinking about Aurora's words. Giorgi was just a punk—he shouldn't have let himself get that angry. Instead of just winning, he'd let his emotions take control. And now, he might've made his whole team a target for some of the noble houses.

By late afternoon, the matches finally ended. Jace and his group made their way toward the posting board, where the final results were going up.

He scanned the list, finding their match first. His 3-0 victory stood unchanged, with no impact on his ranking. But Lila's team wasn't as lucky. After failing to score a single point, there were repercussions. The two who had participated in the two-on-two duel had both dropped to Rank 10. Giorgi, however, had plummeted all the way to Rank 15. At least the gauntlet participants had performed well enough to keep their ranks intact.

"Damn, what a drop," Ethan whistled, shaking his head.

Jace shook his head. "I didn't expect him to drop that far." He had thought he'd lose a rank or two at most, but not six.

As they were looking at their score, murmurs began spreading rapidly among the gathered students.

"What's going on?" Jace asked, scanning the crowd as the murmuring grew louder.

Lyra simply pointed, her mouth slightly open in shock.

At the very top of the list was the first match of the day—the one no one had been able to watch, since viewing was only allowed after finishing your own duel. And it was, without a doubt, the most shocking result of the day.

Team Christian (Rank 1) — 0-3 — (Rank 12) Team Elizabeth.