Nox, like everyone else, was curious about how Nyx would fare against Wendy, a student from the Vermilion Royal Academy. To get a better view, he decided to take a front-row seat.
The reason for this was that he wanted to study the two fighters' styles to devise countermeasures in case he faced either of them in the finals.
[Fight!] Thirteen raised his fists and cheered for Nyx as she ascended the platform. Because of his connection with his master, the panda could feel that Nox cared a lot about his twin sister.
And for Thirteen, anyone that Nox cared for was an ally worth protecting! The panda had been watching the fight from the taming space; he felt his blood boil and pleaded with Nox to bring him out so that he could view the fight in real life, instead of watching it through Nox's eyes.
At first, Nox wanted to resist despite Thirteen's sad eyes, but in the end, he couldn't and brought the panda out from the taming space.
When he did, the spectators became alarmed and backed away in fear. Despite the panda's cute exterior, it was still a magical beast. One Awakened even tried to use a skill on Thirteen, thinking it was a wild beast that had sneaked into the barony. Nox had to do a lot of convincing before they left him alone.
The story he came up with was that he had awakened a hidden class that lets him communicate with beasts and make them do his bidding.
The only beasts that refused to come out from the taming space were Fluffington and the ant queen. Speaking of the ant queen, Nox suddenly remembered what he had been forgetting for the past few days.
"Her colony, I was meant to sort out their problem." Nox massaged his temple, clearly frustrated. Because of the whole encounter with Goliath, he had failed to meet up with the colony.
'And she didn't even remind me?'
In truth, the reason the ant queen hadn't reminded Nox was because he had been busy since he returned. She had intended to tell him about the colony when the mock tournament was over.
[Master, you don't have to worry about that,] the ant queen spoke from the taming space.
[My skill, Pheromone Manipulation, allows me to communicate with my colonies and even summon them to any location I want. I can even control the life span and longevity of the members of my colony.]
"Huh, now that I remember, I did read something like that." Nox scratched his head and briefly reviewed the ant scourge's status information again.
[Pheromone Manipulation Description(Intermediate): The user can communicate with and control their ant colonies, summoning them to any location. They can also regulate the life span and longevity of colony members, and direct their behavior. MP Cost: 15 MP to activate, plus -2 MP per second activated. Cooldown: 2 minutes.]
"When the tournament is over, we'll summon all your friends from that dimension." Nox nodded his head when he saw that what the ant queen had said was actually possible.
"It seems you have a lot of fans," Wendy commented as she looked around. Although she was the dark horse, the entire barony was currently cheering for Nyx. She even spotted an odd sight of a panda with pumped fists jumping around making strange animal sounds!
Although she couldn't tell what the panda was saying, it had to be cheering for Nyx because this was the first time she was seeing the panda.
Curious, Wendy asked, "What's the relationship between Nox and the panda?" She assumed they were connected because the panda was cheering beside him and he didn't seem scared like the others.
This sight made Wendy even more intrigued with the mysterious boy who had eyes as dark as the night itself. She made a mental note to ask her mother more about him once this fight was over.
Instead of answering Wendy's question, Nyx pulled out her sword and pointed it at Wendy.
"Is this a tactic to rile me up before the fight?" Nyx shouted as she charged forward, her sword flashing, creating a bright arc of light.
"No, I didn't mean it like that, I was just curious!" Wendy hurriedly summoned her sword at the nick of time. The two blades clashed in a shower of sparks. Neither of them stepped back; they were both rooted in the same spot.
The crowd roared when they saw that both fighters were evenly matched.
"Woah, this match won't be as easy as we thought!"
"Did our little princess just hold her ground against someone from the Vermilion Royal Academy?"
"Five years, is she really five years?"
"Oi, old man, did you decrease your granddaughter's age? Now that I think about it, she doesn't behave her age," Gordon queried Nathan at the official desk.
"You dumb skull! Wasn't your wife the one who gave birth to Nox and Nyx?" Nathan retorted with an annoyed expression, resisting the urge to slap the druid silly on the head.
[Fight! Fight! Fight!] Thirteen felt his blood boiling as he watched the two exchange blows once more. If it was possible, the panda wanted to join the fight.
Now that he thought about it, since his father didn't particularly like Wendy, doesn't that make her an enemy?
Nox was also impressed with his sister's display. He wondered how he would have fared against her if not for his overpowered skill. At that moment he caught sight of a black and white creature dashing towards the arena with fists clenched.
The panda had already decided to lend a helping hand to Nyx and thrash the white-haired girl!
All enemies must be dealt with! Yes, important things must be said twice!
"Thirteen? What the fuck!" Nox was at a loss for words when he saw this sight.
AN: Your support is my motivation to write, so please don't hessitate to hit me up with those Gifts, Golden Tickets and power Stones...Also reviews would be nice.