Rise of the Devourer
Book 4: Chapter 17 — Tournament Pt. 4

The private training rooms under the royal palace were quieter than the main arena, but they were just as stunning. As he worked through the strange things about his improved Arcane Step, Noah was glad to have the room. The ability felt very different than just teleportation; it was more natural and fit better with how he moved.

He teleported from one end of the room to the other and then back again right away, trying how fast and accurately he could jump again and again. The switch was now smooth, with no confusion or delay between activations. It was like having an extra level of movement open all the time.

"Still getting used to the new toy?" Aurelia inquired as she walked into the room with her own training gear over her shoulder.

"It's different," Noah said, appearing out of nowhere next to her. "More responsive than I thought it would be. The upgrade changed how it works completely."

"Good for tomorrow's games," she said as she started her own warm-up. "Be careful not to show too much, though. People who have studied your skills will be in the later rounds."

Noah nodded, thinking about that. Because of the way the competition was set up, each round would have opponents who had time to study his fighting style. People all around the kingdom could have seen today's match. Anyone who did would have seen him teleport.

"That's a good point. I should probably work on some combinations that they won't see coming."

He did just that for the following hour, combining Arcane Step with his other skills in ways that would be tougher to guess. Teleporting in the middle of a spear thrust to modify the angle of the assault. Using the Cosmic Vault to get weapons while looking like you're in other places. Using void-lightning and spatial location together to make attacks that looked to come out of nowhere.

Other people from their group came and went from the training rooms all night long. Most of the time, Seraphina read books about magical theory. Sometimes, she tried out spell combinations that made the air glitter with strange energies. Valeria practiced sword forms with careful attention to detail, and her blade technique was as solid and trustworthy as ever.

Vion showed up for a short while, with flames dancing about her as she did control exercises. Noah could see that her dragon powers were still growing and that she was trying to combine the new parts of her ability with the tactics she had been using for years.

"How do you feel about tomorrow?" Noah asked, pausing in his own training.

"Confident," she said, putting out the fire around her hands. "My opponent seemed skilled, but not very complicated. I didn't see any strange tricks or skills."

"That's good. But sometimes the simplest fights are the most dangerous."

"That's true. Are you ready for the second round?"

Noah thought about the question. "I think so. Teleportation changes a lot of tactical options. I’d been miserably having to walk everywhere so it’s a relief to have it again. It will be interesting to see how the other winners adapt."

The training rooms slowly emptied out as the night went on, leaving only Noah and Erwest behind. The paladin had been doing combat prayers and blessing rituals to get ready for the fight the next day, both physically and mentally.

Noah inquired, "Do you want to spar? Could be good practice for both of us."

Erwest stopped meditating and thought over the offer, before grunting in agreement.

They went to one of the bigger practice rooms, where the walls were covered with protective wards that kept battle magic secure. The two men stood across from one other, weapons drawn but not in hostile attitudes.

"Normal rules?" Noah asked. "First to yield or first clear strike?"

Erwest nodded, and a golden light began to grow around his sword and shield. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Noah smiled, void annihilation crackling around him as he nodded. “Ready.”

They started to circle each other, both fighters looking at how their opponent was standing and where they were. Noah had fought Erwest in a sparring match several times in the past year, but the paladin's style had changed a lot over the last few months when they’d been off hunting wyverns.

Erwest made the first move by rushing in with a shield of divine energy behind him. Noah teleported to the side to evade the charge, but Erwest had planned for that and was already aiming his next attack at Noah's new location.

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"Nice prediction," Noah remarked, and then he blocked the blow and hit back with his spear.

"Your teleportation has patterns," Erwest said, and he blocked the blow with his shield. "You like to show up on the left when you're trying to avoid frontal attacks."

Noah arched an eyebrow and then teleported to Erwest's right, where he came in with a low sweep. The paladin's shield came down to block, but Noah was already gone again. He appeared above and struck down.

This time, Erwest answered in a different way. Instead of trying to block, he sent holy energy up in a burst of golden light that made Noah stop his attack and teleport away so he wouldn't be blinded.

"That's new,” Noah said.

"Divine Radiance." Erwest replied. "Good against opponents who move around."

They kept sparring, each trying out new moves on the other. Noah worked on teleportation patterns that were hard to predict, while Erwest showed how to employ his heavenly powers in a more tactical way. Neither of them was battling at full strength but when their weapons collided, sparks still flew.

"Your opponent tomorrow," Noah said, after a short pause. "Neal, right? What do we really know about him?"

Erwest's face became more serious. "Almost nothing. His path is Chaos Primer, which is rare. It was in none of the records, and Kaelan's didn't find much either."

"That's strange. Even less common Paths usually have some kind of record."

"We know that he's from the eastern kingdoms, he arrived in Drakonias only a few weeks ago, and his qualifying performances were... unpredictable."

Noah went back to his attack routine, teleporting in from different angles while Erwest changed how he was defending. "How is it unpredictable?"

"In the Dragon's Breath trial, he somehow arrived at the end with no one seeing him cross. In the Dragon's Will trial, witnesses say he walked through it backwards while juggling." Erwest repelled a particularly tricky strike that came from under his shield. "The reports don't make sense, which is probably what they want."

"Chaos magic," Noah thought as he came into view and switched to his throwing knives. "It doesn't follow the rules, by definition."

Erwest's shield work changed to fit the ranged strikes, with divine light making barriers where physical blocking wasn't enough. "How do you get ready for an enemy whose skills might change every time he uses them?"

Noah thought about this while he kept attacking. It was a real tactical difficulty because normal planning depended on knowing what your opponent could and couldn't do. If those changed in ways that weren't expected, old tactics didn't work anymore.

"That might not be the best way to go about it," he replied, teleporting back to close range. "Don't try to guess what he'll do. Instead, focus on what you do best. Your divine magic is always there for you—use that as your base."

Erwest nodded, understanding the idea.

"Don't react, then act. Stay on the offensive and make him respond to you instead of the other way around,” Noah said.

They kept dueling for another half hour, going through different situations and strategies. Both of them were breathing hard by the conclusion, but they felt more ready for what was coming.

Erwest looked at Noah and then paused for a moment before continuing. “I appreciate you taking the time,” he said, giving a nod before he walked out.

Noah just looked at Erwest in surprise, before smiling. “Well, what do you know. He does have a heart afterall.”

As they put their gear away, other members of their group started to come back to the training areas to get ready for the last time. Everyone seemed to be concentrating on getting as ready as possible for the new challenges that would come tomorrow.

"Any news on the second round brackets?" Vion enquired when she got there.

"Not yet," Aurelia said. "After all the first-round matches are over, they'll announce the pairings tomorrow morning."

"Assuming we all make it," Seraphina said in her usual frank way.

"We will," Valeria answered with serene assurance. "We've all shown that we can play at this level."

The group spent some time talking about the matches from that day and what they had learned about their individual skills and the general skill level of the tournament. The competition field was really remarkable. Even the warriors who lost showed a lot of skill and preparedness.

"The gap between participants is smaller than I thought it would be," Noah said. "Things could have gone differently in today's matches if only a few things had been different."

"That makes the later rounds even more important," Valeria said. "There's not going to be much room for mistakes."

As the night went on, the talk slowly moved from tactical analysis to more general subjects. There was always competition, but there was also a sense of community within the group. Everyone was dealing with the same problems and pushed themselves to do better.

Aurelia finally replied, "No matter what happens tomorrow, we've already done something important. It's not easy to get this far in a tournament of this level."

"That's true," Vion said. "I'd still like to win the whole thing, though."

"Wouldn't we all," Seraphina remarked with a smile that was unusual. "But just one match at a time."

Eventually, the need for sufficient rest and exhaustion became more important than continuing to prepare. The group slowly broke up and went to their various rooms, each with a mix of excitement and determination for the trials that lay ahead.

Noah was one of the last people to exit the training rooms. He worked on teleportation exercises for a few more minutes to make sure that the new movement patterns stuck in his muscle memory. With each application, the ability felt more natural, like an innate response instead of a conscious strategy.

Noah thought about how much had changed since they got to Drakonias as he walked through the palace halls to his room. The trials had checked their basic skills, but the tournament was showing how skilled the soldiers of the realm really were. Every fight provided fresh shocks, new ways to fight, and new techniques.

Tomorrow would see four more first-round matches, then the third round would start, with opponents who were even better and stakes that were even bigger.

But for now, getting some rest was the most important thing. The competition would go on whether they were ready or not. To be as ready as possible, they needed to have enough sleep and time to heal.

Noah had a sense of calm satisfaction as he relaxed into his room. Today had gone well. He was getting better at what he did, learning more about the competition, and all of his buddies had shown how useful they were. He was ready to face the new challenges that would come tomorrow.