Chapter 335: Irene Graves

Irene POV

“Good luck!”

“You got this!”

“No pressure!” Brienne called out.

All of her friends wished her the best and cheered her on as she left for her match. However, she found that she almost snapped at Brienne before she could stop herself. It wasn’t exactly Brienne’s fault that she was annoyed. Her friends simply didn’t know how much pressure there was on her.

While most students would be ecstatic to reach the top eight or even the top sixteen, she couldn’t use those same standards for her own accomplishments and goals.

Because at the end of the day, she was fully aware that the top sixteen wasn’t enough for her family. They expected her to win. Or at the very least, get into the top four.

A tall ask considering that Derek Zenith, Liam Abrams, and Edgar Crow were all participating as well. However, now that Liam and Edgar were out, her parents really expected her to get into the top four. During her discussion with them last night, they had not subtly hinted at their wishes.

They practically demanded it from her in their usually sickening sweet way, always saying the right words to appear like the supportive parents they wanted to portray, but there was always that unspoken part of it. A threatening edge to their words.

She also couldn’t help but understand why they felt that way. Her older cousin, Faris, had reached the top four when she had attended Goldencrest. She even went on to place fairly well at the Tier 3 Tournament in the Capital—something Faris’s parents loved to brag about to her own parents.

The social dynamic and noble politics of House Grave were a weird one. At the moment, there was no real clear successor. Patriarch Toulen didn’t have any children of his own, which is why he announced to the House that he would be choosing someone from one of the branch families. Since her’s was considered part of the main branch, that meant she was included.

Although the Patriarch hadn’t stated any requirements for what he was looking for, people were certain of one thing. You needed appropriate levels of skill and strength, which was why her parents were so damn serious about her winning.

However, they didn’t seem to understand that she would be facing the person who had just beaten Liam in a more convincing fashion than she had ever seen throughout the four years she had attended Goldencrest. Even last year, when he had lost to a strong older student, it had been a gritty fight.

Yet, Julius somehow made it look simple. He took away Liam’s advantages and forced him to fight up close. Something she didn’t think anyone other than Derek would be able to do.

That made her nervous. When Lily had told her that Julius was participating, she hadn’t taken her all that seriously. None of her friends had either. A first-year commoner participating amongst some of the most talented noble children? That was not something that happened.

So imagine her surprise when he slowly worked his way through the ranks and got into the top sixteen. Irene had personally seen the fight between him and Darren. That one fight had made it clear to her that Julius was a threat, and he belonged in the top sixteen. She had fought against Darren before, and she had almost lost.

His ability to soak up damage and skill as a warrior was top tier. His berserk skill made it even tougher to deal with him. Still, Julius smashed him like he was a newborn Tier 3. Absolutely crushed him.

Then she saw him handle Liam with the same level of skill and power. She hated to admit it, but she was not confident that she could beat him. Her skillset revolved around being a mage and handling other mages.

However, she was able to discern from his fights that his body enhancement skill primarily relied on aura control. Not something she could disrupt or take control of. She might be able to influence his constructs, but considering that Liam had not been able to, she shouldn’t have any expectations that she could either. Plus, there was the fact that Julius didn’t seem to want to use them at all. He only used them when he was forced to.

She wasn’t just going to keel over and give up, though, so using the time she had before her match, she concentrated on finding a way she could use to win.

***

She anxiously twirled her hair as she walked down the tunnel. She had thought of some ideas that could work, but nothing absolute. Spectating a fight and being in a fight were two different things. Just because she saw his fights didn’t mean she knew what to expect. It was something that she would only know once she experienced it for herself.

She took a deep breath and drowned out the crowd’s screams. She looked across the field and spotted her opponent casually strolling toward the center of the stadium. It kind of irked her how unbothered he seemed by the entire thing. Either he had a heart of steel or a powerful focus skill that allowed him to keep such composure, maybe even both.

The official did the usual introductions and she decided to use this time to examine him one last time before the start of their match. Young and unassuming, those were the first thoughts that popped up in her mind when she looked at him.

He wasn’t the tallest, and he was actually quite shorter than many of the remaining participants. But underneath that youthful face was someone who enjoyed fighting. It had become apparent during the Darren fight, and was a very unique talent on its own.

She did her best to try and sense his mana, but his control of it was tight. His aura control was equally as tight. He wasn’t giving her hints for her to use.

When the match started, neither of them made the first move. They just slowly uncircled one another for a few moments. He still had that annoying, calm smirk on his face, but she used this extra time to prepare her own skills.

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Then suddenly he disappeared from her vision, it was only thanks to her barriers that she managed to block his strike. His fist smashed into it and she grunted as her defenses were tested.

It didn’t matter how many compounding layers her barrier had; the impact reverberated throughout the air in a shockwave, but thankfully, it held up.

He was so fast. She hadn’t realized how fast Julius was from far away. The speed was instantaneous, and it wasn’t like it was some kind of special skill. From what she could see, it was just the normal [Flash Step] skill that many people got.