Unlike the previous challenges, for the third challenge, the participants were allowed to sit in the stands to watch before they actually participated. They were sectioned off and closer to the arena than the rest of the crowd but they were allowed a birds eye view of the competition.

  The two matches for the day were between teams one and three and teams two and four.

  Alden was in team three. And as he loosened his stance Isran gnced through the crowd. It was even more packed. The arena had been made smaller and more stands were added for the crowd’s benefit. Isran couldn’t find the woman she was looking for and it started to hike her nerves.

  They were there, she knew they were there. But she needed to see that they were there.

  “I am amazing,” Isran mumbled almost inaudibly under her breath.

  Elowin pced a hand on her back, she smiled at the elf, grateful for his attempt.

  “Welcome inhabitants of Kestin!”

  The crowd cheered the loudest Isran had ever heard them cheer. But then again, the crowd was much bigger. Almost double the size it was previously.

  The gnome wasn’t the one speaking, it was an elf.

  He had cotton candy pink hair and wore a fluffy pink coat. White paint around his eyes contrasted with his obsidian skin.

  “Today these aspiring younglings will fight!”

  The crowd answered enthusiastically back.

  “Now little adventurers the rules are simple. Win and get a cumutive point for you and your team. Successfully subdue your opponent and that’s twenty points. Win with no submissions on your end is forty points per pyer. No friendly fire… that would be taking away ten points.”

  Isran watched as guards handed each team a bag.

  The elf continued. “In the dungeon, sometimes loot is in the hands of those nasty creatures. Steal loot from the opposing team and get a nice fifty points! You have twenty minutes to fight.”

  The crowd cheered loudly again.

  “Well now, if you wouldn’t mind getting into position.”

  Each team picked one end of the arena and spread out lightly. Isran watched Alden’s stance and grip. Not only was she taking notes on the other team, she was going to learn as much as she could from watching Alden fight.

  “Now will the crowd count with me?”

  The crowd cheered in excitement for a while before settling down to begin the count.

  “Team one against team three starts in three!”

  “Two!”

  “One!” The st counted number drowned out by cheering.

  Alden immediately took off, running towards the only mage in the group. The man pointed his channelling staff at Alden and Isran watched as a fireball materialized in front of it.

  Alden timed his dive as close as he could make it, barely avoiding the fireball but losing his sword in the process.

  The mage took several steps back and pointed his channeling staff at Alden as the orc rolled to his sword, picking it up and continuing his roll. It was a very video game maneuver, and Isran wondered if he had a skill helping him or if he was just that good.

  The mage’s hands were unsteady as he tried to get Alden in his range but before he could another Alden appeared in front of the original Alden.

  The mage faltered a bit and it was all Alden needed to immediately close the distance, grabbing the channeling staff with his free hand and smming his head into the mage’s. The man was out like a light.

  Isran’s eyes flickered to a gnome wielding a sword and shield, he was evading the swings of a rge hammer. Isran recognized Darvin, as the dwarf tried to hit the gnome. She could tell he was getting frustrated with the evasion py and was swinging with a lot less purpose.

  Looking back at Alden, she watched as the orc body smmed Darcy. The cow woman was about to sm her steel club down on an elf. The man scrambled away and stretched out his hand shakily. A second gnome appeared before Darvin, confusing the orc momentarily and giving the gnome just enough time to sm his shield into the dwarf’s face.

  Darvin dropped his hammer as he fell back to the ground.

  A human man with a rapier had just withdrawn his sword from another mage on Alden’s team. Isran hadn’t seen much of what the mage had done or could do but she also didn’t see more of the human man since a fireball hit him in his side, sending him flying a few feet before lying motionless on the arena floor.

  The fire mage turned to a shield-bearing ox-man that had scrambled onto his feet. The usual metallic sheen of his shield was marred with bck, it was probably due to the fireballs unched at him.

  The gnome joined the fight between Darcy and Alden. Irritating the cow woman. She tried to move away from her assaints, causing her to trip over her own feet.

  When she met the ground Alden kicked her head hard, his leg being closest to her. Darcy was a formidable foe and wasting any time would've been dangerous.

  When Isran turned to the fire mage and shield bearer she saw the fire mage knocked out cold.

  The gnome, the fast little thing that he was, took the opportunity to attack.

  A ssh to the ox man’s calve was enough to make him colpse to his knees. The gnome then rushed to be face to face with the ox man before smming his shield in the kneeling man's face.

  The arena was quiet for a bit before the pink-covered elf cpped.

  “What a beautiful match!”

  Then the crowd cheered. Isran watched Alden look into the crowd with a proud smile on his face and for a moment felt jealous. She wished she could be so sure of herself that she could just look up into such a rge crowd and smile.