Chapter 74: The Tournament IV.


    "Who was your first opponent, then?" Vi asked, her anger had subsided by now.


    Zeke cast a wary look at Lilly, grappling with conflicting emotions about his duel with her. He had sworn to himself that he wouldn''t go easy on her, but in the end, he couldn''t bring himself to follow through.


    Noting Zeke''s gaze, Vi asked, "Lilly?"


    Zeke didn''t attempt to keep it from Vi and nodded. The girl appeared dissatisfied with his response and frowned.


    "Why did you thrash that other fellow but let Lilly off the hook, even though she was the one who hurt you the most?" Vi was privy to the entire saga between Zeke and Lilly at the academy. The boy had confided in her over their summer together.


    Zeke''s mind was grappling with the question as well. Despite his confusion, he couldn''t shake the feeling that there was something important about that moment. Vi, sensing Zeke''s inner turmoil, remained silent, allowing him to sort through his thoughts in peace.


    "I don''t know. It just didn''t feel right, I guess," he said finally. His voice had be weary from overthinking the matter. Vi also didn''t question him further. She was content with making small talk and telling him about what she had been up to in thest couple of weeks.


    When Zeke''s name was called for his next match, he entered the arena. He cleared his mind and focused solely on the task at hand. With his full attention on the fight, he was ready to give it his all.


    His opponent, Daniel, stood across from him in the arena, already appearing rattled. Despite being one of the weaker fighters in their group, Zeke knew not to underestimate anybody. When their gazes met, Daniel flinched, and Zeke couldn''t help but feel a twinge of remorse for instilling such fear in his opponent. But he reminded himself that he couldn''t afford to let his guard down and pity his enemies.


    The announcer asked if they were ready to begin, and they both nodded in affirmation. The countdown began, and as the final word, "Fight," left the announcer''s lips, Zeke prepared to charge.


    However, just as he took a step forward, Daniel threw up his hands and cried out.


    "I surrender!"


    Zeke stopped in his tracks, stunned by the sudden turn of events. He looked at Daniel, who wore a triumphant grin, as if he had outsmarted Zeke in some way.


    Zeke''s confusion only grew as he witnessed Daniel''s jubnt expression. He couldn''t understand why the other student was acting so pleased with himself. Especially after having merely surrendered in the arena. Baffled, Zeke walked back to Vi, trying to make sense of the strange events.


    As he nced at Daniel, he saw that several other students were congratting him as well. This only added to Zeke''s puzzlement. But when he caught Daniel''s eye, the other boy''s smile only grew more self-satisfied.


    Zeke waspletely perplexed at this point. What was going on here? He heard a soft snickeringing from behind him. He turned to see Vi, barely containing herughter. Zeke felt a flicker of annoyance as he watched her struggle to keep from copsing with amusement.


    "What could possibly be so funny?" he asked in a testy tone.


    After another moment, she broke out in a full-on bellyugh. Vi''sughter was so uncontrolled that Zeke struggled to understand. He scowled, his arms crossed over his chest, as he waited for her to regain herposure. Atst, she managed to speak.


    "You don''t know why the boy surrendered, do you?" she asked, a twinkle in her eye.


    Zeke shook his head, still annoyed. Vi chuckled again. But the girl quickly sobered as she exined.


    "It''s because he thought you were going to break his ribs, just like you did to thest guy," she said.


    Zeke bristled at the usation. "I wouldn''t do that! I had good reasons for that thrashing!"


    Vi nodded, her smile still in ce. "I know that, Zeke. But the others who watched your fight don''t. They only saw you beat a boy close to death and walk out of the arena with a big grin on your face. They must think you''re a psycho who enjoys breaking bones."


    The reality of the situation hit Zeke. He felt a flush of embarrassment rise to his cheeks. He slowly pieced together what had happened and began to understand the source of Vi''s amusement.


    "So," he muttered, "the reason that guy Daniel looked so pleased with himself was..."


    He trailed off, feeling foolish, but Vi was all too eager to finish his sentence for him.


    "Yes," she said with a mischievous grin. "He, and from the looks of it, all the others think that by surrendering, they can rob you of your greatest desire - beating them up."


    Her grin grew wider, "I wouldn''t be surprised if they all surrendered instantly. They can''t beat you anyway, so why bother putting themselves in a position to get hurt?"


    Zeke couldn''t believe that the other students thought of him as a bloodthirsty monster. He quickly looked around to confirm Vi''s theory.


    He gazed over at the cluster of fellow contestants talking about the ongoing match. His gaze locked onto that of a youthful femalepetitor. He knew her to be one of the most remarkable fighters here. She was munching on a snack in preparation for her next fight. As soon as their eyes met, the snack halted mid-air and her expression transformed into one of shock. Her eyes started to tremble, but she didn''t dare look away.


    Zeke struggled to believe that this was the perception the other students held of him. Not after a single impulsive action. In an effort to rectify the situation, he attempted to put on his most charming smile and soothe the young woman. However, as Zeke tried to charm her with his smile, her panicked face twisted into one of absolute terror. She dropped the half-eaten potato from her hand, letting it fall onto the floor. Momentster, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. The situation would have been reminiscent of a predator ying with its prey in the wild, if not for the sudden peals ofughter from Vi. This finally managed to break the tension in the air.


    As Vi''sughter escted, Zeke struggled to grasp the situation. He couldn''t believe the image the other students had of him after a single impulsive decision. He watched as Vi, rolled on the floor, cackling uncontrobly. Despite his best efforts, Zeke couldn''t stop herughter. He stood there, powerless, as she gasped for air.


    Through herughter, Vi managed to gasp out, "Did you see her face? She looked like you were going to eat her!" This sent her into another fit ofughter, tears streaming down her cheeks.


    Zeke, however, couldn''t find the humor in the situation. The thought of being seen as a dangerous predator was unsettling to him. He couldn''t shake the image of the young girl''s face, frozen in terror, from his mind.


    Zeke had never considered himself a fearsome presence. With a friendly smile and approachable demeanor, people had always approached him willingly. Or so he had believed.


    His gaze traveled from the group of students to Vi. She had finally regained herposure and stood before him. He wondered if he''d been mistaken all these years.


    "Vi, be truthful," Zeke said, his tone serious. "Do Ie across as frightening?"


    Vi hesitated, clearly wanting to smirk. But upon seeing the genuine concern etched on Zeke''s face, she quelled her amusement. With a visible effort of will, she replied in a calm voice.


    "Well,pared to when we first met, you do seem more intimidating now," she said, gesturing to Zeke''s muscr build and sharper features. "But I don''t think that''s the primary reason people are afraid of you."


    Zeke hung on her every word, having been previously unaware of any fearsome reputation. He was eager to uncover the truth.


    "What do you mean?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.


    Vi took a moment to gather her thoughts before exining. "I think you''rergely unaware of how the other students perceive you. But when you think about it, it''s not surprising that they would avoid you after everything you did," she said.


    Zeke was still confused, unable to recall any such action on his part. "I don''t understand," he said. "What could I have done to make them view me this way?"


    Vi regarded Zeke with disbelief as she ticked off the points with her fingers. "One, you''re a mysterious Blood Mage with a perfect affinity - that''s terrifying. Two, you''re a Tri-affinity Mage - the only one in the academy right now. Three, half the first years were there for your first official duel. You didn''t exactly leave the boy in one piece back then either."


    "And let''s not forget!" she continued, cutting off Zeke''s attempt at defense, "that the only three people you seem to get along with are me, Sophia, and Leo from your ss. And we''re all noteworthy figures in the academy in our own right. Do you see how that might be perceived by others?"


    Zeke furrowed his brow, considering her words. He had never given much thought to how his actions and associations might appear to his fellow students.


    But Vi wasn''t finished. "And the most important point of all. Have you forgotten about how you and your mentor led a group of veteran mages to storm the Feuerkranzplex? Leaving only death and destruction in your wake?


    "There is even a rumor going around saying that you strong-armed the Feuerkranz family into agreeing to a duel to the death with Alexander. And that your mentor threatened to kill everyone if they refused. Can you even imagine how that looks?" Zeke hung his head in embarrassment. He had not known about the rumor. He couldn''t even defend himself as the rumors were true.


    Vi''s grin faded as she took in Zeke''s expression. "Really?" she breathed in shock, covering her mouth with her hand. Amusement sparkled in her eyes as sheughed, but after a moment she regained herposure and patted Zeke on the back.


    "Who would have thought old man Maximilian was capable of something like that? I''d bet there are only a handful of people in the entire empire who have the power and audacity to pull off a stunt like that." Zeke nodded, the memory of Maximilian''s imposing demeanor on the day they''d stormed the Feuerkranzplex still fresh in his mind. Vi cleared her throat, bringing Zeke back to the present.


    "And now you understand why the other students might be a little intimidated by you when you start breaking bones for no apparent reason." Zeke couldn''t deny that he felt a twinge of shame for not considering his reputation sooner.


    He nodded gratefully at Vi. "Yeah, it''s crazy that I never thought about it before. Of course, all the noble students would know about that stuff."


    Vi nodded understandingly before tapping Zeke on the shoulder with a confident grin. "Well, there is an upside to all of this."


    Zeke arched a single brow, waiting for her exnation. "This is your ticket to the elimination round, Zeke. The only realpetition you have left is Samuel."


    Zeke processed this. He realized that the fear the other students had of him could actually work in his favor. He didn''t care much about their opinions anyway, and if they surrendered immediately, he was all for it. As it turned out, Vi was right; every opponent Zeke faced in the arena immediately gave up.


    It wasn''t until the eighth fight of the day that Zeke actually had to fight. But when the announcer called out his name and his opponent''s, Zeke''s heart raced.


    "In the next match, we have Ezekiel von Hohenheim against Samuel Luftschloss."


    Zeke focused his full attention on Samuel as thetter stepped into the arena. The excitement and nerves in Zeke''s chest thrummed like a drum. Every beat reminded him of the day Samuel had bested him inbat ss. That entire affair had remained as a wound in Zeke''s heart. He never again had a chance for a rematch. Vi had intervened and effectively cornered the Luftschloss family.


    His jaw tensed, grinding his teeth together in anticipation. He saw the cocky smirk that had returned to Samuel''s face. This fight was long overdue, ever since Samuel had unted his engagement to Lilly in front of Zeke. He may have med Samuel for losing Lilly back then, but even those reasons no longer mattered.


    This fight was about regaining his self-respect and demonstrating his power. He would not hesitate to show all his strength. Whatever it took to beat Samuel.