Fane officially announced the start of the tournament and began explaining the rules.

In fact, most people were aware of the rules of the tournament. But Fane thought it would better to reiterate them, especially for the young men who would be fighting.

The arena was huge, but all the people in the stands and the competitors in the halls could clearly hear Fane. Before he began his speech, he discreetly cast a simple spell that greatly amplified his voice.

"Before I announce the first contestants, I will repeat all the rules one more time.

" Fane said loudly.

"You may use any spells, artifacts, and various tricks for your victory. The purpose of this tournament is to give you the opportunity to do your best and to provide the necessary conditions for that. You don't have to worry about the safety of the audience, there is a very strong magical barrier around the arena that you will never break through.

"

Fane looked around the arena and continued:

"And most importantly, you are allowed to inflict absolutely any kind of wounds. You can even cut off a limb from your opponent, and more than one if you wish. Our special

"Summoners

" will heal such wounds quickly, so don't be afraid to hurt your opponent.

"

After finishing with what was allowed, Fane moved on to the prohibitions:

"The only prohibition is that you cannot kill your opponent. You'll be stopped if your attack is fatal, but we can easily tell if it's accidental or on purpose. If you deliberately meant to kill your opponent, then you'll be killed on the spot and no one will save you, just like that.

"

Although Fane said directly that any contestant who would break the rule would not just be punished, but actually killed, there was no dissatisfaction among the audience. Of course, not everyone agreed with such harsh punishment, but no one dared to show it.

After all, for the most part, the rules were fair. There were almost complete discretion, what could be better?

Many feared Fane, he was a powerful magician and it would be a great mistake to contradict him in the arena.

After finishing with the rules, Fane announced the first two competitors:

"Now that the rules are clear, it is time to name the two people who will start this tournament! Ladies and gentlemen! I'd like you to meet Dirk Lazoe and Fien Vierdag!

"

No one had known about the first two participants before Fane's words, so this announcement was unexpected both for the audience and for the participants themselves.

Hearing her name, Fien stepped away from the wall without any emotion and walked slowly into the arena.

Watching this, Evan thought to himself,

"

Evan could have stayed in the hall and watched the fight from afar, but he wanted to get a closer look. After all, he was curious how much progress Fien had made since their last duel.

The young man followed the girl and stopped in the corridor that led from the hall directly to the arena. He leaned his back against the wall and watched the start of the first duel.

Fien was already in the arena, while her opponent was just coming out.

Dirk was a tall guy of large build with tanned skin. He had short black hair and pale green eyes. He was dressed in the most ordinary clothes. He wore no Magical Armor or Magical Artifacts. His only weapon was a huge black hammer, which he easily held with one hand. Of course, it was the

"Catalyst

".

He stood in front of Fien, smiled and said:

"Let's show everybody what we can do!

"

The girl didn't say anything back and just nodded.

Dirk wasn't originally from Mossy Vulture, but he had heard of Marcel Vierdag and his talented daughter all the same. He was excited that his opponent would be a serious opponent.

Everyone was watching these two, including the two best friends.

"Marcel, I think Fien is going to be pretty hard to beat this guy. I look at him and I see an unshakable mountain. I like him, ahahahahaha!

" Zak said cheerfully.

Marcel smiled and calmly replied,

"You're right, Dirk Lazoe is an interesting guy indeed. But, Fien can beat him. After losing to Evan, she's gotten a lot tougher and stronger.

"

Marcel was confident in Fien, and it was reasonable. He'd seen firsthand how Fien had worked her hardest to outdo herself.

Everyone waited for Fane to announce the start of the fight, but instead he began casting one of his spells. Mana gathered at his hands and he said loudly:

"When the drop drops, you may begin.

"

Whoosh.

Immediately after his words, a sphere of green water appeared in the sky, above the arena. The moment the first drop appeared, the green sphere immediately disappeared. Fane simply cancelled his spell.

Everyone, participants and spectators alike, watched as one single green blob slowly fell down.

Fien and Dirk quickly prepared for battle.

Drop.

The drop fell and at that moment, the first duel at the

"Tournament of Precious Stones

" started.

Dirk instantly swung his hammer and attacked Fien. The girl had no intention of blocking this crushing blow and decided to retreat back quickly. It wasn't the hammer itself that she was afraid of, but what would follow that blow.

Bam.

The hammer thundered to the ground, and many cracks appeared from the impact, but that was only the first part of Dirk's attack. His hammer was

"Catalyst,

" so it was no surprise, that he attacked and cast the spell at the same time.

Whoosh.

Immediately after the strike, three stone blocks flew towards Fien from the hammer, leaving a deep mark on the ground behind them.

It was - < Zero Level Spell -

"Stone Wave

", Element - Earth, Creation Magic>.

The girl had expected something like that, so seeing the stone blocks rushing towards her, she simply jumped over them.

Bam.

The stone blocks crashed into the wall, but the arena itself was unaffected. The blocks were stopped by the barrier Fane had mentioned earlier. They just turned into dust, that's all.

Dirk's attack wasn't successful, but he wasn't going to stop there.

Whoosh.

The young man stretched his free hand forward and while Fien was still in the air began to cast another spell -

"Summoning the Stone Bayonet

", Element - Earth, Summoning Magic>.

Whoosh.

The next moment, a thick stone bayonet appeared beneath Fien and rushed towards her at lightning speed. Thanks to the rules, Dirk was not afraid to pierce through Fien, so he didn't hold himself back. This attack could indeed do critical damage to the girl.

Nevertheless, Fien was not about to fall for such a simple attack. She arched sharply at a strange angle and pushed back with her hand from the stone bayonet that had rushed past her.

At the same moment, she began to gather her mana and prepare for the attack.