Armad gritted his teeth. He had wanted to keep the Dance a secret until the semifinals but he had no choice.

"Dance of Uncertainty!" Armad summoned his most powerful sword - or at least he thought he'd summoned it. But he didn't.

You do not have enough life energy to use the Sword.

Life energy left: 17

Life energy cost for the Dance: 30

Net: 13

"That's impossible... " Armad always kept a minimum reserve for desperate situations. But their fight with Niyashi was so intense that he forgot to leave enough energy behind to activate the Dance.

He quickly canceled the closest spears with his bolts but there were more spears than he could handle. Forty-four spears to be exact, all of them a meter away from him. Armad was pressed against the wall. He'd no life energy and no any trick to escape. He could, of course, surrender but that wasn't an option.

Suddenly, Armad felt a gentle squeeze in his pocket. Before he could identify the source, an excruciating pain arose from the same pocket. He felt as if someone had pressed a burning charcoal on his skin. He didn't keep much in that pocket. In fact, the only thing in the pocket was...

The book... Armad cursed internally. Of all places, the book had decided to activate in the middle of an arena full of people.

The pain was so much that Armad tried to threw the book away. But..

You have received life energy from Saif Iqra.

Life energy left: 66

The pain disappeared immediately and he was as good as new. Armad didn't know how the transfer was done but he would have plenty of time to check it out later. Right now, he needed to win.

He created fifty lightning bolts and fired them at the remaining spears. There were forty-four spears which were canceled by forty-one bolts. Nine bolts went on to crush Niyashi.

It took time to explain but everything happened in a blink. At one moment, the spears were about to impale Armad, and in the next, his bolts had crushed both the spears and their master.

The ring was completely destroyed by the impact. When the dust settled, Armad stood over the unconscious body of the prince.

Everyone looked at Armad in shock.

"Armad is the winner. He's successfully trashed his opponent by hiding his true power. A cute trick if you ask me. Please, where are the doctors? I want them to take the fallen candidate to the medical bay. We will soon come back with Leafy Green to determine the semifinals." Ghalee announced the winner.

I wasn't hiding my energy.. Armad thought. He didn't know how he got his energy back. Yeah, it was Saif Iqra, the mysterious Saif Iqra which was coveted by all. But how exactly did it replenish his energy back? Was it a one time thing? What would be the requirements for accessing it again? So many questions.

Although, Armad wasn't sure about what happened, there was one man in the arena who knew exactly what happened. He was Uznu Urúrú. A tiny magic lamp in his pocket glowed with powerful runes, sending vibrations into his body. Uznu smiled for the first time in years. The magic lamp was created by Gimba Urúrú - the number one First World's craftsman. It was specially designed to react to the magic of the Book-sword whenever it was within five hundred meters.

"I have found you." Uznu murmured with a clenched jaw. He had been looking for the Book-sword for fifteen centuries, ever since he saw it at the Battle of the Book-sword. It was finally within reach. He turned his attention to Armad. But, unlike The Missing Four, Uznu Urúrú decided not to act in haste. He knew more than anyone that the Book-sword had its consciousness, and it would cause problems if he wasn't careful. He wouldn't let that happen, no matter what.

Finally! He clenched his fist.

***

Armad found Aish waiting for him a few meters away from the ring.

"Oh my!" She exclaimed, holding Armad's hand in hers. "You got me worried back there." She knew there was something about Armad's last attack. Maybe it was the way he waited until he was almost dead before he did it. Or maybe it the strength of the attack. But something didn't seem right. She didn't want to distract him so she kept it to herself.

"I didn't know the Duchess has a promising brother like you." Duke Nista said from the side. He was together with other Officials from Seith.

Armad gave the Duke a halfhearted smile.

"Duke, it's only natural. He's a Daikirin Protector and an Alchemist. He has the potential to become a king." Aish said, intentionally teasing the Duke.

"Uncle, I want to become your student. Teach me how to become a mage." A small child next to the Duke told Armad.

The Duke laughed. "That's my late brother's son. He is enthusiastic as ever. This actually reminds me about something. It's about the Triple-factor. Besides, the information we have already submitted to the System as a reward, we also have something even more enticing. If I return home safely, I'll share it with you."

Armad made a puzzled look. "Thank you, but.. I don't know why the Duke thinks I will be interested in the Triple-factor."

Aish looked away and pretended she didn't hear.

"Well, you can sell it." The Duke said. "I will definitely hand it over to you when I return home safely." This time the Duke brazenly emphasized the last word. The surrounding people gave him a puzzled look.

Armad and Aish left the Duke to his politics.

Ghalee brought four leaves of the Leefy Green. They were all red in color with the same butterfly shape.

"Each leaf has a name on it, representing the four remaining contestants that will fight in the semifinals. I'll first measure them in front of everyone. Bring the scale."

Four officers dressed in white came forward with another Alkadar. Ghalee put the first leaf on the head of the statue and waited for the reading.

1,2,3...5.

Five. That was the weight. He repeated the same process with the other three leaves and they all showed the same number.

"As you can see, our leaves have the same color, weight and shape. I'll allow them to fall freely under gravity. The first two that hit the ground will be our first match." Ghalee explained how to use the Leafy Green.

The audience waited anxiously to see who would be the first to hit the ground.

Bizaya had the most supporters, obviously because of home advantage. Followed by Hán Amuru who was supported by the countries of the Third World. Armad had gained some supporters after winning the last match, but he'd also made enemies of the Burja - Niyashi's home country. He and Tyren had the least supporters.

Ghalee put the four leaves together, and in front of the whole crowd, he threw them. The leaves flew upward for about four meters before they reached their terminal velocity and started falling.

Thousands of eyes were fixed on the four leaves all over the world. Everyone wanted to see the first leaf that would hit ground. The name on the first leaf to hit the ground would fight against the name on the second leaf to hit the ground. The last two would be the second match.

The Jinzidal used this way to eliminate any bias during the draws. The people saw it as a free and fair selection process because Leafy Green was widely known for producing leaves with the same size, shape and weight.

The leaves continued their downfall slowly and steadily at roughly the same level until they were two meters away from the ground. Wind blew and two leaves fell faster than the rest.

As soon as the first two leaves hit the ground, the officer in charge ran forward and collected them. He showed the names to Ghalee and the VIP before he showed it to the rest of the audience.

The first leaf had Hán Amuru on it while the second leaf had... Armad.

The audience cheered loudly. Any of the semifinals would be amazing, but it was still good to see lightning versus fire. The audience discussed the probable outcomes.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Of course, it's Hán Amuru. The man is said to be born in hell. I believe that Armad guy has some talent but he can't possibly compete against Amuru."

"You don't know that. I bet you won't say that if it was prince Niyashi. He defeated a crown prince, stop underestimating him."

"Skell has a point. This match is unpredictable. We have to wait and see."

Armad was standing by Aish's side when the results came. She was worried but she didn't show it.

Armad instinctively turned around and saw Hán Amuru giving him the most vicious glare he'd ever seen. His eyes alone made Armad felt as if he was thrown into a furnace. Armad could sense an insane amount of Djinn magic coming from the boy. The boy wanted to burn him down to ashes - he wanted to burn everything down to ashes.

Armad glared back at him.