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"Dude, those cheating rumours about Sergio…" Jan scratched his head, a worried expression replacing his usual easygoing attitude. "Do you think they\'re true?"

Bazz grinned, an impish look in his eye. "Sergio? Topped one of the nastiest brackets in the prelims. Full of those ranked snobs, too. Don\'t think a cheater could finesse a run like that. If nothing else, the dude is strong."

"But what about his match against Rel?" Jan\'s worry wasn\'t unfounded. Rel, with all his skill, was still mediocre from what Jan had seen from him and an unknown quantity.

"Did you see any of his earlier matches, Bazz?"

"Nah, was stuck in my bracket," Bazz shrugged, then yelped and ducked out of the way as Jan flicked him on the forehead. "Ouch! Hey, what was that for?"

"Don\'t say \'stuck,\'" Jan scolded. "Sounds like you made a lazy exit. What was your record like, anyway?"

Bazz rubbed the offended spot, but he was unable to suppress a slightly boastful grin. "Eighteen and two, my friend! Tough loss to Louise, then it was back-to-back-to-back wins…enough to sneak in, thankfully."

Suddenly, three newcomers plopped down on the seats beside them.

"Honestly, Rel versus Sergio seems like a good matchup to watch," she scoffed. "I bet this will end quickly, one way or another."

Jan, ever easygoing, grinned a greeting. "Hey, Lyra! Hey, Camila, Val."

The three girls waved at Jan but Bazz barely spared a glance, focused on the pre-match tension below. continuing, "I think this match could be close. Sergio for the long haul, but that crossbow guy might pull a trick or two early on. Who knows." He paused, then pointed towards the arena. "Besides, that Rel dude had it easy – undefeated in his own bracket, right?"

Jan shrugged. "You\'d think so, but I think Rel\'s been pulling his punches until now. I\'m sure of it!"

Both Bazz and Camila scoffed nearly simultaneously.

"No way," Camila retorted. "His bracket was full of no-names. It\'s called being efficient, not hiding anything."

Bazz chimed in, "Exactly! I tried snooping for replays, but no one was filming the bottom-of-the-barrel stuff. Too busy gawking at the big names throwing around fancy magic..."

____________

ACHOO! Ah, I swear there\'s something in the air...

____________

"Speaking of big names," Camila smirked, eyes fixed on the arena. "What\'s the over/under on seeing some serious skill from him anyway?"

Valencia, usually an active part of the discussion, remained strangely silent. Her eyes seemed glued to the spot where Rel stood, and an uncharacteristic blush dusted her cheeks. It seemed the incident with Rel had left its mark, but clearly, his victories had piqued her curiosity.

Before she could find her voice, a wave of anticipation washed over the stadium. The announcer\'s voice boomed over the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Knock Out Stages! Only the thirty-two finest from yesterday\'s matches remain...and only sixteen will advance! Today, we bear witness to Pinnacle Academy\'s rising stars. Let\'s give a roaring welcome to our two students opening up the first round of the knockouts! - Sergio Vex, ranked Fifty-Seven of the Class of 1-B!"

A spotlight caught Sergio on the opposite side of the arena, the glare of the morning sun reflecting from his shield.

Cheers, and the occasional boo rose from the student section. "And opposing him - " the announcer\'s voice took on a hint of drama - "Don\'t let his current rank deceive you! He\'s at the knockout stages for a reason! – Rel Laurence! Rank 989! A contender to watch, for he alone, boasts a flawless twenty-match win streak from the preliminary stages!"

Silence, then an explosion of surprised and degrading comments.

"989th?" A surprised shout came from somewhere within the stadium. "Is this dude for real?"

Another student voiced his complaints, their voice dripping with a hint of disgust, "Looks like someone snuck his way through the easy route..."

Negative buzz quickly filled the arena. Jan blinked in astonishment, while Bazz broke into slightly strained-sounding laughter. He tried to play it off,

"You wanna bet if Rel wins?"

Bazz suggested the idea to Jan before shortly replying to him with a smirk on his face.

"If Rel wins then you\'ll be buying me lunch all week and I want you on your knees apologising in the morning before class begins." Jan stroked his chin grinning at embarrassing Bazz.

"Harsh punishment Jan but deal!" Bazz shook Jan\'s hand, "If I win then lunch is on you for the whole week!"

As the trio of girls looked at the two idiots bantering up bets Camila watched both Rel and Sergio getting ready on stage.

"Well?" Camila nudged Valencia one last time, a teasing light in her eyes. "Who\'s it going to be, Val?"

"..."

***

[Pinnacle Academy Stadium 1 - Arena A: The Main Stage]

Passing through the tunnel, Instead of the usual narrow corridor leading to a specific arena, there was only one path ahead, bathed in blinding light. The roar of the crowd assaulted my ears, louder than before. They\'d combined the stages.

One massive stage. Now that… well, that changed things. I stepped out into the dazzling glow and onto the cold stone arena floor.

Even with the prior day\'s matches under my belt, the size of this space was imposing. Tens of Thousands of seats circled around me, filled with chattering students, faculty, reporters, and countless pairs of eyes now scrutinizing me.

A chill of unease came down my spine. It felt like the entire academy was watching me... I glanced at my competition, trying to see any advantage – there was only Sergio Vex and… I stopped short.

There were many eyes from what I could see in the stands. Especially that all the guild leaders from the top 10 were watching.

Looks like Gerrard from afar is looking at me with some discontent. Sorry I guess...

Before I could look around at any more special characters, a booming voice echoed over the arena speakers. The crowd hushed instantly...

________________

Authors Notes:

- The way the early parts of the tournament works is that the 20 students in each group compete for wins which is worth three points, draws 1 point and a loss which is 0 points. The top 2 of each group will advance and the third place of each group will compete in an extra match to earn their spots for the Knockout stages. The 10 students with the most wins out of the 20 advance to the knockouts.

For a clear visual this is what it would look like:

Group A winners:

[Jan - 1] <- Advances to the next stage

[Lyra - 2] <- Advances to the next stage

[Brandon - 3] <- Has to play an extra game for the qualified

***

[Knockout stage qualifiers Standings]

[Name 1 - 10 wins - 0 losses]

[Name 2 - 8 wins - 2 losses] <- Faster winning time

[Name 3 - 8 wins - 2 losses]

[Name 4 - 7 wins - 3 losses]

[Name 5 - 5 wins - 5 losses]

etc...