~Chapter 3~
The children wake the following morning and head to the northern portion of Challenger's isle. They were to report to the Preliminary stages at noon. Emer and Cmar lead the children there.
Cmar was giving Nout quick fighting tips as they walked. He wanted to help, but only seemed to be making him more anxious about what was to come.
The Preliminary stages were in a lowered area accessible by stone stair cases. The area was surrounded by a short fence where people could stand to watch the bouts. Razan and Lucar took places around the fence, keen on watching their children compete. There were four circular stone stages with drums set next to each of them. There was a large platform with a large horn affixed there, a place where announcements would take place.
There were already hundreds of competitors waiting around the preliminary stages. Aero and Jirro were giddy at the sight. Ruben and Corri were simply happy to partake in the event. Nout only became more nervous.
Jirro looked around, there didn't seem to be anyone else as young as them among the competitors. There were no rules concerning the age of competitors, but it was discouraged for kids to enter. Fortunately, Jirro and the rest of them were no ordinary children.
An older man with a white beard wearing formal robes stepped out onto the announcement platform holding a cup of tea. He stood next to the large horn affixed there and spoke into it, the horn serving to amplify his voice.
"Hello everyone! Welcome to Age 987's Fighting Tournament! I am the Tournament Organizer. You can call me Cho."
Heads turned and all attention was on Cho. "This year's tournament has a fairly strong showing, with 252 of you competing. I'd like to go over the rules, it is important you follow these rules exactly or you'll be disqualified." Cho took out a sheet of paper and began, "Our tournament is score based. You can gain a point by landing a clean and powerful strike on your opponent, or knocking them out of the ring. A strike will only be scored if it very clearly makes contact with your opponent, and appears to hurt them in some way. You must be precise, and powerful. If a competitor is unable to continue or surrenders, then they will lose the match immediately. Whenever a point appears to be scored, one of our tournament staff will beat a drum, and both fighters will be asked to return to their starting positions. When the drum is beat again, the fighters will resume."
Cho caught his breath, took a sip of his tea and continued as the information sunk in with all of the competitors.
"For the preliminary bouts, you will fight until a single point is scored, and for the bouts in the finals, three points will be required to win. For the two extraordinary fighters who finish off the tournament, you will fight to five points. Only the 16 finalists will be awarded prize money. All finalists will receive 1,000 Ivases. 5,000 if you make it to the quarter finalists. Those that make it into the semi-finals will receive a substantial 20,000 Ivases. 2nd place will be given 50,000 Ivases. 1st place will be awarded 100,000 Ivases and will be granted the title of the Greatest Fighter of Age 987."
The crowd of fighters murmured to each other. Jirro and Aero had no idea there was prize money for the tournament, they just wanted to join in for fun. If they did win, they had no idea of what they'd do with the money. But the idea of earning that much was still exciting.
"Weapons, biting, and intentional strikes to the groin or eyes are illegal. For those of who have sharp appendages such as claws or tusks, we ask that you blunt them before your matches. We don't want any one getting seriously hurt here, or worse."
Nout gulped loudly when he heard that. Jirro placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a look as if to say, 'It'll be okay'. Nout gave a nervous smile and nodded.
Cho skimmed over the paper to make sure he hadn't missed any essential details, "We'll begin preliminary matches soon. When your name is called, report to the appropriate stage. Some advice, I've noticed that competitors who wait and counter in the preliminary bouts tend to last longer. Sheer aggression isn't always the way. But feel free to use whatever techniques suit you best."
With Cho's announcements out of the way, the tournament began in earnest. More spectators came around to the fences surrounding the area to watch. Aero, Jirro and Corri all did quick stretches to prepare themselves for the ensuing matches. Nout tried to imitate them, but couldn't do it as fluidly as them. Bouts began on each of the four stages.
"Corri and Hugo to stage 3!" One of the tournament organizers called out. Corri whipped her head around and headed towards her stage.
A large and hairy man shared it with her. Hugo looked apprehensively at the little red haired girl who was to be his opponent. He had to be at least three times her weight.
"Who would let a little girl like that fight?" Someone said among the spectators.
Corri and Hugo took their starting positions on the stage as indicated by marks on the ground. Hugo looked incredibly uncomfortable, it probably didn't feel right for him to fight a little girl.
Corri took a stance similar to her father's but much lighter on her feet. The judge presiding over the stage beat a drum to begin the match.
Corri bounded into the air at the man, and before Hugo could react, her knee struck his nose. Hugo gripped his nose in pain, and the judge beat the drum again. "Point to Corri! Match over!"
Corri smiled.
Jirro was the next of the group to enter the stage. He battled a young man, perhaps an 18 old, who had a lot of fire in him. Jirro toyed with him, dodging each of his blows with ease. Jirro ducked under one of the boy's swings, and pushed him out of the ring, earning him the win.
As Jirro finished off his bout he saw Nout, who looked absolutely terrified. Chief Cmar had begun his own match and couldn't provide his son with any words of encouragement, so Jirro figured he would try to help.
"Hey Nout, lets try something," Jirro said. He put his hands up and had Nout to do the same. They did a quick mock battle where Jirro advised Nout to use his trunk to grab his hand, which provided Nout an opening.
Aero stepped onto the stage, and noticed his opponent taking a peculiar boxing stance. Aero imitated their style before landing the first strike and scoring. Emer and Cmar, were both seasoned combatants and made it through their bouts easily.
Ruben went up for it's bout. His opponent is aggressive and landed the first strike... but futilely. The boulder child didn't budge, even as the man hit him a few more times. Ruben lazily threw his own punch, and scored as it's rocky fist made impact with him.
"Daru and Nout to Stage 1." A voice called out.
Nout's whole body tense up, but Jirro placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Remember what we practiced."
Nout wrapped his around his face like a scarf and stepped onto stage with a light-footed kick-boxer. He readied himself. The drum was beat, and the kickboxer charged in. Nout managed to block the blows but was being forced back.
"Hold your ground!" Jirro shouted. Nout planted his feet just as he was told.
The kickboxer threw a round kick but it was stopped, not by Nout's hands, but his unfurled trunk which grabbed their leg. He swung them by their leg off of stage.
"Ring out! Point to Nout! Match over!" The Judge shouted. Nout looked to Jirro and they smiled at one another.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOxtrEUrzO
