Good day to you all! So, as of this writing, I have just recently seen Solo: A Star Wars Story, and I thought it was perfectly fine. I found Han's character to be about what I expected and the movie delivered on what it was supposed to be, in my opinion, that being it was heist movie. That's honestly what I see these Star Wars Story movies to be, just making a movie of a specific genre within the Star Wars movie. Rogue One was a war movie, Solo was a heist movie, so I can't wait to see the next movie type they make is going to be. Also, really hoping for a Kenobi movie, along with the rest of the world.

Creativity: And the cameo at the end.

Author: Yeah, that was awesome.

Anyway, so now we are moving into the next round of fights to go to the story's version of University. Well, more like a really nice University. That you have to fight your way into. Though if you think about it, it might not be so different from real life.

Okay, that's just gibberish. So, we're going to be having them all have their matches first and then we're getting into the real meat of the story!

Creativity: Yes… Is glorious.

Author: You're doing it again…

Creativity: Doing what?

Author: Oh, nothing… SECURITY!

We apologize for the interruption. Your regularly scheduled chapter will begin momentarily.

Ryo rolled his shoulders as he took his seat in the participants box. It was the next day of the tournament and he was buzzing with nervous energy. This was it. If he won his next fight, he'd have secured a position within the Sanctum. To say he was nervous now was an understatement.

Shaking his head, Ryo refocused his attention on the match that was about to start. Shiori was up first, facing Lyn from the opening match. Lyn summoned her naginata and twirled it a few times before holding it behind her, her empty hand held upright, palm towards Shiori. Shiori summoned her katana and gripped it with both hands, held to the right and parallel to her body. The two of them stared each other down, waiting for the word.

"Fight!"

Lyn's wings erupted from her back as she leapt into the air, her naginata becoming a whirlwind of motion and light before she unleashed a rapid-fire wave of energy arcs down on Shiori! Shiori's eyes widened and she slammed her blade into the ground, causing a dome of translucent gold energy to surround her! The arcs slammed into the shield over and over until it began to glow even brighter until it erupted in a golden flash! Lyn shielded her eyes as best she could, while trying to keep an eye on Shiori. Unfortunately, Shiori had already ducked into cover and was sneaking around to take shot at Lyn from the ground.

Shiori darted out from cover, a sphere of gold energy in her hand before her own wings appeared in a flash of light! She took to the air swiftly, launching the sphere ahead of her as she went. Lyn slashed the sphere with her weapon, but that only caused another flash to distract her. Before she new it, Shiori was above her, katana held at the ready. She swung the blade down towards Lyn, who saw Shiori out of the corner of her eye, and spun to block the attack with the shaft of her naginata. However, Shiori now had a new advantage and immediately began to force Lyn towards the ground. Lyn gritted her teeth as she was forced closer and closer to the arena below.

Finally, she managed to throw Shiori off and flared her wings to stop her fall. Shiori looped around and forced Lyn to stay on the ground as she landed and began pressuring her with her sword, unleashing precision strikes to expose an opening. Lyn spun her naginata at a feverish speed, trying to take back the offensive. But Shiori wouldn't have it. She made two more swipes to draw Lyn's attention to the edge of her naginata before thrusting her sword forward and flicking it in the opposite direction of naginata's rotation, causing it to slip from Lyn's hands! Shiori swiped her blade up to Lyn's throat, claiming victory.

"Victory to Shiori! Incredible precision on display, once again!"

Shiori bowed to the crowd and walked out of the arena with Lyn, who looked mildly disappointed. Ryo was still clapping as the arena was prepared for the next match. Much to his delight, Leith was up next. Her opponent was Glacieor, who already had his axe-hammer at the ready. Leith summoned her weapon and settled into her standard battle stance.

"Fight!"

Immediately, Glacieor swung his weapon in an uppercut strike, sending a miniature hailstorm towards Leith! Leith danced out of the way, creating massive balls of ice as she did so. Once she had close to a dozen, she lunged forward with the massive hailstones orbiting around her! Glacieor prepared his weapon for defence as Leith leapt into the air and threw her weapon like a javelin at him. As she did so, she launched the orbiting boulders of ice towards her opponent, causing them to veer off and approach from different angles of attack. Glacieor didn't seem worried. Instead, he spun his weapon into a backhanded grip and drove the business end of his axe-hammer into the ground, causing a massive pillar of ice to lift him to safety! Leith resummoned her blade and caused a pale blue ice to wrap around the blades, dramatically extending their reach and width. She then cleaved through the pillar and leapt upwards as it began to topple over, rearing her blade back to strike at Glacieor. However, he was prepared for this and brought his axe-hammer around to meet her strike, smashing through the ice she had wrapped around her blades and sending her flying backwards. Leith summoned her wings and looped around before creating several water lances and sending them flying at Glacieor. Glacieor merely dodged to the side as they approached, but failed to notice Leith closing in on him rapidly until she was right on top of him! She began to whirl her blade like a sawblade, unleashing bursts of ice and water at a rapid pace, forcing him onto the back foot until she drove his axe-hammer down and froze it in place before leaping over him, kicking him in the head as she went and leaving her weapon resting on his shoulder.

"Victory goes to Leith! A surprising display of ferocity!"

Ryo had to agree. Leith had been rather uncharacteristically ferocious during that fight, especially at the end. Had Leith been practicing that sort of fast, aggressive fighting style in secret? It made some sense, as was normally much more subtle and calculating when fighting, sans the hailstones. However, the hailstones were often a deterrent of misdirect to cover her next move.

Ryo's musings were swept away when he realized that the next match was coming up. He was surprised to see Phoenix was next, facing off against Magnus. Magnus raised his shield to the ready and held his sword up behind him. Phoenix twirled her halberd and settled into her standard battle stance, a light smirk on her lips.

"Fight!"

Phoenix immediately leapt into the air, her wings materializing in a plume of flame as she covered the distance between them in a single bound, weapon held aloft to strike! Magnus braced his shield arm for the strike as Phoenix wrapped herself and her weapon in flame before swinging the weapon downward, smashing against Magnus' shield, causing a blast of flame to erupt from between the two combatants! Phoenix used Magnus' shield to vault over him and swung her halberd around to trip him, but Magnus jabbed his sword into the ground, stopping the weapon dead. She immediately turned and swung it around herself before trying another overhead strike, but Magnus blocked it with his shield. Phoenix immediately switched tactics, swiping the spear point on the bottom of her halberd upwards to slash at Magnus. This seemed to work and Magnus backpedalled as he wouldn't have been able to block with his sword or shield, but immediately re-centered himself and began pressuring Phoenix with his sword, beginning a string of slashes and stabs that forced her backwards, twirling her halberd to block the onslaught. Finally, she had enough and slammed her halberd into the ground, causing a wave of fire to erupt from the ground! Magnus ducked behind his shield and Phoenix took the opportunity to leap over him and try her hand at another slash. However, Magnus turned just in time to see it coming and leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding the attack! Phoenix charged forward, weapon held behind her. Her smirk even wider. She saw Magnus readying his shield and immediately raised her weapon and slammed it into the ground, using it to vault up and over Magnus. By the time she was airborne, Magnus had unleashed all the energy stored in his shield, creating a blast a good deal more destructive than the one he had unleashed during his first match. It was so powerful, that it actually caused Magnus to skid back a few feet, right into the path of Phoenix's descent. She had her feet already pointed right at his face! Magnus was kicked to the ground, had his sword knocked away and his shield pinned to the ground before Phoenix levelled her halberd at his neck.

"Victory goes to Phoenix! An excellent last feint for victory!"

Ryo applauded vigorously. He had been concerned that Phoenix would lose the match, since her incredibly aggressive combat style typically would spell an instant win for someone like Magnus. However, it seemed Phoenix played into that and allowed him to build up charge before baiting him into using it at a seemingly opportune moment, when it was just providing her with the setup for a win. He had to admit, he didn't see that coming. Phoenix was much more intelligent than people would think from her fighting style, but even those who knew her well could be caught off guard.

Next up was the air match. Tempest walked onto the battlefield, along with Braes. Tempest summoned his gauntlets and hopped from foot to foot before settling into his battle stance. Braes summoned her spear and settled into her own stance. Ryo didn't exactly have the best view, but he could see well enough that Braes seemed to be regarding Tempest with some contempt. Ryo could only shake his head. For as powerful as Braes was, and she was powerful to be sure, Tempest already had this match won.

"Fight!"

Immediately, Tempest began rushing to the left, using his cyclone trick. Braes immediately began tracking him with her spear, before finally discharging a bolt of lightning that left a small, smoking crater when it missed. Tempest grinned like a maniac as he accelerated, whipping around the battlefield as Braes tried to hit him with singular bolts of lightning. Eventually, just after a narrow miss, Tempest suddenly changed direction and bore down on Braes, who snarled as she began aiming her spear for another lightning bolt. However, Tempest was already right on top of her, unleashing a flurry of blows with his claws. Braes grit her teeth as she spun her spear and pivoted alternatively as Tempest spun around her, swiping his claws at a feverish pace! Ryo could see that Braes was tiring, but he also saw something else. Desperation.

Braes' body began to crackle with electricity before she snarled and slammed the shaft of her spear into the ground, causing a pulse of electricity that threw Tempest away from her. She spun and launched another lightning bolt at Tempest, believing him stunned. However, Tempest had already recovered and his wings had appeared in a burst of thunder-clouds. He smirked as he performed a showy loop before rocketing off even faster than before! He shot straight up before stalling and going into a stoop, hurtling downwards at breakneck speeds! Braes' eyes widened and she began unleashing a torrent of lightning from her spear, trying desperately to force him off course. However, Tempest wasn't aiming directly for her. Once he felt he was close enough to the ground, he turned and flared his wings, turning almost all of his vertical momentum into horizontal momentum and charging his body with electricity! He slammed into Braes with unbelievable force and sent her flying into a nearby rock formation! She started to rise, but fell to one knee, teeth bared in frustration. The next thing she knew, Tempest had one of his claws resting above her head.

"Victory goes to Tempest! What a daredevil finale!"

Ryo let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He should have figured Tempest would pull a stunt like this, but that was a little bit nuts, even for him. He looked as Tempest helped Braes out of the arena, who looked a little dazed, but still frustrated by her loss. Ryo shook his head. Like he'd predicted, Tempest had won handily. Braes was a powerhouse, but she was predictable and preferred using singular attacks as opposed to strings of them. That, coupled with her obvious fondness for ranged combat put Tempest in a position for an easy win.

Next up was the earth match. Ryo watched as Terrek walked onto the field. His opponent was Sander, who was already gripping his hatchets tightly. He seemed a bit nervous. Ryo couldn't blame him. Though Terrek was not quite as imposing as Sander's previous opponent, he was much smarter and wouldn't fall for the same tricks. Terrek hefted his weapon over his shoulder and settled into a crouch. Sander twirled his hatchets before holding them out in front of him, a slight bend in his knees.

"Fight!"

Sander immediately slammed his hatchets into the ground, causing pillars of rock to start erupting from the ground, heading towards Terrek! Terrek charged forward, leaping over the incoming pillars before grasping his weapon in both hands and heaving it over his head before throwing it, like one would throw an axe. The weapon hurtled through the air towards Sander! Sander leapt sideways as the weapon smashed into the ground where he had been standing, creating a ripple through the earth that threw Sander for a loop! Terrek landed beside his weapon and pried it loose before whirling around and bracing his arm against the flat of his weapon as Sander attempted to retaliate. The hatchets glanced off his weapon, which Terrek then twisted and swung, forcing Sander to retreat! Sander's wings appeared in a flash of leaves and stone and he retreated to what he believed to be a safe distance. Terrek narrowed his eyes as Sander perched atop one of the many wood pillars that dotted the arena. He then slammed his hatchets together, causing a brief flash of light! Ryo's eyes widened when he saw what Sander had done. In place of his hatchets was a battle-axe that looked like a perfect fusion of his hatchets. However, it was noticeably larger than the hatchets and a tad more ornate. Ryo had read about fusion weapons before, but he hadn't seen any in training. They were remarkably rare, though there were telltale signs of one. Fusion weapons weren't possible without a minimum of two weapons to fuse. Strangely enough, they were more common when the weapons weren't mirrors of each other.

Ryo's attention was brought back to the fight when he saw Sander leap from the pillar when Terrek sliced it in two. Sander landed on the ground and dodged as Terrek let loose with another swipe. He rolled and leapt forward with his axe held aloft. Terrek maintained the momentum of his previous swing and twisted the weapon before bracing his arm against the flat of the weapon. The end of the weapon slammed into Sander's axe like the flat side of an oar, sending Sander hurtling back!

Terrek was after Sander in a heartbeat, weapon poised to strike! Sander leapt backwards and hurled his axe, which began to glow a dark green. Large stones began being pulled along behind the axe, though Terrek just leapt over the incoming projectiles. Sander's eyes widened and he slammed his palm against the ground before leaping back again. Terrek slammed into the ground, only to find it had been turned into quagmire! Terrek snarled as he began prying himself loose from the muck as Sander rushed forward, axe primed for a final strike! Terrek swung his weapon around and thrust into the swampy earth, causing a pillar of stone to erupt from the ground and lift him free! Sander slashed the pillar as he approached it to avoid being pasted. Terrek noticed that Sander was now vulnerable and leapt to take advantage of this. He leapt from the crumbling pillar and slammed his weapon into the ground, causing several spires of earth to erupt from the ground and cage Sander, leaving his head exposed! Before he knew it, Sander had Terrek's weapon resting on his shoulder.

"Victory goes to Terrek! Pulling free from defeat to seize victory!"

Ryo applauded Terrek as he broke open the stone cage that he had trapped Sander in before bowing to the audience and departing from the arena. Ryo noted that Terrek had taken to using more shockwave based attacks and defences recently, though it was entirely possible that he was doing that now that he had a bigger battlefield to work with. Most of their combat lessons were in smaller, more confined spaces, such as the sandpit.

Ryo stood up as it was now his turn. He was facing off against Shade. Ryo summoned his sword and settled into his battle stance. Shade summoned her own blades, spinning one into a backhanded grip and holding it in front of her while holding her second blade out to her side. Her eyes fixed on him with a cold glare.

"Fight!"

Shade shot forward, dark energy trailing behind her as her blades began to glow purple. Ryo gripped his sword with both hands and dug his feet in as Shade leapt into the air and dove at him, slashing with both her blades! Ryo swung his sword upward to meet her, flinging her overtop of him. Shade merely rolled and carried her momentum into another sprint, changing direction by digging a blade into the ground. Ryo's wings erupted from his back and he leapt into the air, flying to a wooden pillar and perching atop it before charging a sphere of dark energy in his hand. His eyes carefully tracked Shade's every move until she finally charged his position, launching bolts of dark energy from her blades! Ryo thrust his palm forward, launching dozens of dark projectiles from the sphere! They flew in non-linear patterns, but they all homed in on Shade regardless. Shade's eyes narrowed and she began ducking and dodging, deflecting and slashing, anything she could do to avoid being hit by the projectiles. When she had destroyed them all, she looked to see Ryo hurtling down towards her, sword held aloft and wrapped in dark energy. She leapt backwards as he thrust the blade into the ground, causing a shockwave of dark energy to erupt from the sword! Shade slashed through the shockwave and charged towards Ryo, blades reared back to strike! She swung his left blade towards him in a backhanded grip, striking true! But the blade stopped. Her blade was pressed straight against his palm. She looked to see that Ryo had encased his entire arm in dark energy, which was acting like incredibly durable body armor. Ryo's arm began to glow as he smirked before all of the energy he'd been containing in that area was unleashed upon Shade! Shade was thrown back and was rather disoriented, but not for long. Ryo pried his sword loose and it began to glow with dark power. Shade's own blades began glowing, though not quite as powerfully. She began stalking towards Ryo, who twirled his blade with a bit of flourish and swung it downward, launching an arc of energy towards Shade. Shade dodged around it and charged, weapons ready to strike. Ryo swung again and met her blades in a clash that sent a shockwave of dark energy out from the locked weapons! He shoved his sword against her blades for a few long moments before leaping backwards and launching a blast from his palm. Shade had been caught off balanced and the blast hit her square in the stomach, knocking her back. Ryo charged forward, knocking her blades to the side before spinning and slamming the back of his sword into her stomach, knocking her onto her back. He levelled his sword at her throat, claiming victory!

"Victory goes to Ryo! Incredible use of augmentation abilities!"

Ryo bowed to the audience and helped Shade to her feet before they left the arena. He couldn't believe it! He'd made it! He was qualified to study within the Sanctum! If he won the championship title, that would be icing on the cake, but nothing more.

"There will be a twenty-minute break before the next round begins!"

Ryo immediately rushed to the usual meeting spot from the previous five rounds. Shiori, Tempest and Leith were already there.

"We all made it!" Ryo half-shouted with glee. The others were just as ecstatic as he was. Soon they were joined by Terrek and Phoenix, the latter of which had an enormous grin plastered all over her face.

"Now all we gotta do is win the champion rounds!" Phoenix said in a contagiously enthusiastic voice. Terrek shrugged.

"I'm content with having made it this far and simply qualifying for study at the Sanctum, but that would be incredible." Terrek stated. Ryo nodded.

"It's gonna be incredible to study there. I can't wait until the tournament is over and we get to officially begin!" Ryo exclaimed with glee.

They kept talking for a while before they were called back to see the next round for entry into the Sanctum. Then there would be a break for the second day and they would head come back the next day for the final rounds.

Then it would be off to the Sanctum, where their training would truly begin.

And that's where we're gonna leave it for today. Sorry to disappoint, but we won't be going to be seeing the championships. Oh, you'll hear about them, but we won't be writing them out in detail. You've already had three whole chapters devoted to it and I'm tired of writing them.

Creativity: It gets boring after a while.

Author: No kidding. Next time, we'll be picking up in the sanctum. When exactly it'll be, I haven't decided yet, but it won't be the first day. We're getting into the… meatier part of the story. The stuff I've been wanting to write about for a while, but needed to do some setup for. I hope you all have enjoyed thus far.

Well, that's enough of that! See ya next week!