Ciar scooted his chair forward and leaned his elbows on the table. The chatter in the restaurant was more lively than usual. This was because the first tournament of the year was approaching. The bi-weekly tournaments started three weeks after the school year began, giving the new students a chance to grow their power to a respectable level before competing. Of course, Ciar was ignoring the surrounded noise, focusing instead on the person sitting across from him.

Luna smiled as she took a sip of water, the pearl necklace sparkling in the bright lights of the restaurant. Ciar and Luna had slowly drawn closer to each other over the past weeks. While Ciar still spent a lot of his time alone, he had found his favorite times were when he was with Luna. Sure, hanging out with Ryle, when the older student found time to get away from his other freinds, was fun, but he just didn't click with Ciar like Luna did. The way she spoke, how she accepted him, her polite but relaxed manners...she was almost perfect.

"You gonna participate in the tournaments Ciar? I bet you could win a lot of Lun from winning the tournaments." She said, swirling the water in her glass.

"I don't know, Luna. Of course I want the extra Lun, the respect winning garners, the pride of being the best, but at the same time...I feel like showing my strength has its downsides as well. I mean, I don't really want all the popularity that could come with it, or the bullying. Looking like...this...is already bad enough."

"Oh come on, Ciar. I know you better than that. You can act like you care about their opinions all you want, but I know you don't. I've seen how you brush off...no...completely disregard their looks. There's no downside to you participating in the tournament, just do it! View it as a break from your studies, alright. We both know that is something you need." She insisted. Ciar slid down in his chair, a sigh escaping his lips.

"Luna...I...I just want to study in peace. All the publicity it-"

"Oh hush," she interrupted, "don't hide it from me Ciar, you don't want attention brought to US. Your worried what your strength might do to US. You seem to forget you are not the only special one here. I may not be participating in the tournament this time, but I can take care of myself fine."

"Fine, fine. That is why...and I know you're right. It's just...I'm not done training yet, I don't think I'm ready. Why do you want me to do it so bad, Luna?" Ciar asked, exasperation straining his voice.

"Because your stuck up in a damn shell, Ciar. I know there is something more to you, something you don't even trust me enough to tell. I'm fine with secrets, for now, but I am not fine with you shutting your true self in. You've been bottling up an urge to fight for over a week now, and it's doing more to you than you think."

Ciar thought a moment, and realized she was right. His frustration with Udo had been growing recently. The infusion of void into his muscles had gone so smoothly, but the progress since then had been minimal. Hendricks had warned him it wouldn't come as naturally to him, but he had expected better results. He was secretly leagues ahead of everyone in the other classes, except maybe alchemy. He had progressed with incredible speed in both magic and sword fighting. Udo, however, had continued to elude him. His blood refused to fuse completely with Void Power. The frustration had slowly grown into a repressed anger waiting to be released. Perhaps he did need a release. The tournament would be a perfect avenue to vent before he got back to studying. Besides, Luna was right, his worries were foolish. Luna was probably second only to him in strength among the first years, he had nothing to worry about.

"Alright, Luna, I'll do it. You're right, it will be a good way to vent my frustration. I'm sorry, if I haven't been myself."

Luna smiled brilliantly at him, reaching a hand across the table and folding his hand in hers. Her grip was soft and warm as she squeezed gently.

"Apology accepted. It's just, next time, tell me about it okay? It's foolish to bottle it all up inside." She said.

Despite himself, Ciar began to chuckle. Soon, he had lost control of himself, doubling over the table, muffling his laughter as much as possible with his sleeve. Luna sat back, confusion flashing briefly across her face.

"What?" She demanded.

Trying to regain a semblance of control, Ciar responded, "It-it's just, for one so young you sure do give off sage advice. 'It's foolish to bottle it all up inside,' she says, 'it's doing more than you know,' she says."

Luna feigned an offended look before she too began to laugh. Ciar and Luna spent the rest of the night chatting at the restaurant. When Ciar finally left for the night, he could not help but ponder his situation with Luna. Despite living with emotions for several years now, he was still quite new to it all. The way he felt when he was with Luna was so much different than with his parents. With his parents, he cared dearly for them, but it was more because they had cared and nurtured him than deep seated feelings. With Luna, it was different. He felt something deeper when he was with her...something he couldn't yet explain.

'Perhaps, this is what the mortals have always referred to as love?' He pondered before dimming the lights and going to sleep.

-------------------------------------

There were two kinds of bi-weekly tournaments. There were smaller tournaments that only individual classes, such as Psionic Studies, would participate in. These were used to determine who was the student leader of the class, and the rewards were smaller. The second kind was the class-wide tournament. Not only was this tournament much bigger, but it also boasted better rewards. Much more Lun was rewarded for the large tournament, and the winner would have the honors of being recognized as the strongest in the class. Naturally, Ciar enlisted his name in the larger tournament, alongside 95 others. Four people, including Luna, had refused to participate in the tournament. Luna had said that, while she was a great mage, she did not wish to face Ciar in the arena as of yet. He had offered to forfeit, but this had only angered the girl. She had made him promise that, if she participated in the future, he would attack her with full force.

With 96 total participants, the bracket was split into two sides of 48 each. When the numbers narrowed down to 3 on each side, the brackets fused, and another round was held to determine top three. The three remaining students then faced each other all at the same time to determine the winner. Some people found this controversial, as someone could win by backstabbing opponents when they were occupied with the other. Lunaris, however, refused to change the rules, stating if someone was fast enough to capitalize on such a moment, they deserved the win.

The matches were held over the course of three days: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The arena was split into 4 sections, with a duel happening in each. While this limited the audience's ability to see all of the fights, it expedited what would have otherwise been an incredibly long tournament. Despite the tournaments being limited to only the first four years students attended the school, the tournaments still ran over the majority of the time. Ciar had signed up on Thursday night, making him the last to sign up. His first battle was scheduled for 10 AM on Friday, against a kid called Hyder.

Positioning his sword on his right hip, Ciar left his dorm at 9 30, arriving slightly early. He found his way to the combatants waiting area, where he awaited his turn. Finally, his time came, and he rose from his chair, walking out of the double doors into the arena.

Ciar momentarily froze when he entered, stunned by sight of the arena. Almost all of the 1250 seats were filled with spectators, all of them cheering loudly at the combat below them. Turning his attention away from the crowd, Ciar focused on what would be his portion of the arena. The ground was a light, sandy material Ciar could not recognize, and there were no obstacles placed around the arena. The walls, made of enchanted iron, rose nearly 10 meters up on the perimeter. A mana shield hummed to life, sealing off his quarter of the Arena. Finally finished familiarizing himself with the terrain, he turned his attention to his opponent.

Hyder was a large, muscular youth. His chestnut hair was long and tangled, coming down to his shoudlers. His horns curved backward and shone a sleek red. His beady, black eyes stared at Ciar, his disgust evident. He stepped forward, his elaborate, heavy mail rattling. He hoisted a battle hammer off of his shoulders and slammed the head into the ground, sneering at Ciar.

"So," he said, his high pitched voice not matching his appearance, "it's the defective runt of a commoner. Why don't you run back to the whore that birthed an abomination like you and leave us real Fellites in peace, eh? You and your filthy, disgusting girlfriend are as bad as the damn humans."

Ciar did not respond, but he felt a rage boiling up inside of him. He could ignore the insults to himself and his mother, but Luna was a different matter. His gaze hardened, and he placed the sword he had drawn back in its scabbard. While he couldn't kill the boy due to rules and the time magic of the arena, he could still humiliate him. He would beat him soundly with his fists until the boy bent over and begged. Then, he would keep beating him until an adult intervened. His eyes never leaving Hyder, he shifted his feet to slightly past shoulder width. Bringing his hands up in front of his face, Ciar bent his elbows slightly, keeping his palms towards Hyder. While the fusing of Void Power and his body was a top priority for Udo, that did not mean he had not learned some of the basic, less strenuous maneuvers. Ciar was confident. If his fists failed, he could simply defeat Hyder with Psionic Magic.

Finally, a bell rang inside the shield, prompting the beginning of the dual. Hyder ran forward, raising the warhammer above his head. He shouted at he swung viciously toward Ciar's head. Ciar's feet shifted forward and left as he avoided the blow, crouching down as he did so. His hands flew in a blur, his right slipping between Hyder's arms and grasping his right forearm, pulling down while his palm made contact with the underside of Hyder's elbow, blasting it upward. Despite his armor, Hyder's arm bent awkwardly, and a small snap followed by a scream. Ciar released his opponent and leapt backward, distancing himself from Hyder. If he had managed to fuse his Void Power with his blood, he would have been confident in following up with a strike to the sternum. Currently, though, he was not confident in breaking the armor, so he chose to retreat. He eyed Hyder, watching as the boy clutched at his arm, the hammer forgotten on the ground. Ciar smiled and leapt forward, amplifying his jump with Void Power. His right knee connected squarely with Hyder's nose, snapping his head backwards. As his knee connected, Ciar's left hand planted itself firmly on Hyder's shoulder, finding the spot where his armor joined the shoulder plate to the main chest. Hyder's shoulder popped out of place as Ciar was boosted into the air and over Hyder's head. Using a slight boost from gravity magic to keep himself airborne, Ciar, now behind Hyder, twisted completely around, his hands reaching out for Hyder's neck. His hands grasping Hyder's throat, Ciar thrust back and down, toppling Hyder backwards and slamming his head against the ground. Landing lightly on his feet, Ciar carried his momentum, flipping backwards away from his downed opponent. Ciar watched Hyder, looking for any signs of movement. He did not expect to see any, and he was not disappointed. When he grasped Hyder's throat, he had applied enough Void Power to seriously fracture it. That, combined with the slam onto the ground had probably broken the vertebrae in several locations. Ciar knew that Hyder wasn't dead, just paralyzed, so he did not worry about the consequences.

He looked up at the crowd, and was met with silent, gaping faces. He smiled bitterly to himself as he walked toward the gate. He knew that he was not expected to win, and he also knew the brutality he had shown was not something people usually showcased at the tournament. Ciar did not care. This tournament was an avenue through which he could release the anger he had pent up over the last week, and also a way he could improve himself. As the door closed behind him, Ciar checked his status.

Status Name: Ciar Race: Primordial Oblivion (Primordial) Age: 8 years (about 50 million years) Sex: male Fame: 0 Currency: 0G,0S,0C Class: none Subclass: none Subclass: none Subclass: none Level: 4 (0/160) Skill Points: 60 Titles none Attributes Health: 120/120 Void Power: 300/300 Health Regen: 1.5/min Void Power Regen: 2.0/min Strength: 12 Constitution: 12 Dexterity: 6 Perception: 6 Intelligence: 30 Wisdom: 25 Willpower: 25 Spirit: NA (sub)Physical Resistance: 12 (sub)Magic Resistance: 25 Skills Void Body (MAX) Void Mind (MAX) Void Power (MAX) Void Control (MAX) Primordial Oblivion (MAX) Status Conceal (MAX) Basic Sword Mastery (lvl 3) Basic Dodge (lvl 3) Basic Gravity Manipulation (lvl 3) Basic Space Manipulation (lvl 2) Basic Time Manipulation (lvl 3) Basic Reality Manipulation (lvl 2) Basic Mind Manipulation (lvl 4) Basic Telekinesis (lvl 3) Udo (lvl 2) none Spells none

He had improved a lot over the past 3 weeks, especially in his Psionic Magic. He had discovered that fusing the Void Power with his muscles had not only improved his physical attributes, but also his total Void Power. He also believed that his physical stats were lower than his bodies actual power. Of course, he really had nothing to base it on, as he had not had a physical body before coming here, but he had a feeling. Ciar also noticed his status was getting to be a bit long. After experimenting a bit, he found he could organize it to suit his needs with simple thought commands. After he was finished, Ciar also decided to allocate his Skill Points. He had not done so yet because he wanted to know where he was at in a real fight before applying them. The spars he had with Herold in Basic Weapons Training barely counted as a real fight. The tournament fight, however, had given him a general understanding of his strength, so he was ready now. When he was finished, he called up his edited status.

Status Name: Ciar Race: Primordial Oblivion (Primordial) Age: 8 years (about 50 million years) Sex: male Fame: 0 Currency: 0G,0S,0C Class: none Subclass: none Subclass: none Subclass: none Level: 4 (0/160) Skill Points: 0 Titles none Attributes Health: 200/200 Void Power: 500/500 Health Regen: 1.5/min Void Power Regen: 2.0/min Strength: 20 Constitution: 20 Dexterity: 11 Perception: 10 Intelligence: 45 Wisdom: 45 Willpower: 25 Spirit: NA (sub)Physical Resistance: 20 (sub)Magic Resistance: 25 Skills Racial skills

Void Body (MAX)

Void Mind (MAX)

Void Power (MAX)

Void Control (MAX)

Primordial Oblivion (MAX)

Status Conceal (MAX)

Melee Skills

Basic Sword Mastery (lvl 3)

Basic Dodge (lvl 3)

Udo (lvl 2)

Manipulation

Basic Gravity Manipulation (lvl 3)

Basic Space Manipulation (lvl 2)

Basic Time Manipulation (lvl 3)

Basic Reality Manipulation (lvl 2)

Basic Mind Manipulation (lvl 4)

Other Skills

Basic Telekinesis (lvl 3)

Spells none

Ciar was very pleased with his status. He knew he was exceptionally powerful for a person of his level. Nobody his level would have his status. In fact, he was as a level 7 fighter. Ciar, certain that his victory in the tournament was assured, relaxed as he waited for his next fight.