Among the 57 nobles that had entered the competition, 12 had now been eliminated.
That left 45 nobles.
Aside from three, the rest had already fought and won.
On the other side, things had been far more brutal.
The commoners had suffered greatly—not just from their matchups.
In more than one instance, both participants were eliminated when it was clear neither possessed the qualified strength.
Victory wasn't enough if the officials deemed you unqualified.
And so, while a few rose—like Uga, the hulking youth who flattened his opponent with a single palm, and Renn Noah, whose swordsmanship left even mages speechless—many fell.
Now, after hours of trials, bruises, and blood, only 18 participants remained.
Among them stood Michael.
And three nobles who had yet to fight.
The arena hushed.
"Next pairing—Mic Nor versus Leonard Vale."
Michael stood.
There was no reaction from the crowd at first.
