The empty middle stretched twenty meters between him and the first tree on the other side. Not a large distance to run, but enough to launch a life-threatening attack. Hex went over the options available. Without constraints or inhibitions, he could complete the task on his own and still have energy left for another round. Unfortunately, he couldn’t go all out. The large crowd around him stared at each movement they made. And that was troublesome. Mixed with the average people sat the old monsters and powerhouses around the world. Hex believed he could overcome many obstacles. Trouble would chase him all the way till the end of his path if some of these onlookers sniffed out his secret. Even an inkling was enough to turn his life into a nightmare. ’Wait. Why am I hesitating?’ The thought struck him as he heard ’Mike’ being chanted. By a few. That was his name. A name reminding him about the character he was supposed to be playing at the moment. ’They expect me to pull off something spectacular. Hiding everything will only worsen their nosy eyes into my secrets.’ As the top scorer of the first round, he was bound to have people looking into him. He didn’t question if they knew him. That was a stupid question to lose time on. They knew. He knew that. For sure. He stepped out of the shade he concealed himself in. Yes. There it was. The cheers turned louder. He licked his lips, tasting the rising anticipation oozing from the crowd. A crowd with the desire to spectate a glamorous show. At the other side he noticed two figures step out. The women would be the ones leading the charge toward the tower. Hex would have chuckled if he had time for it, or the mood. Sterling, their princess, would be abducted by women. If not for the tournament, he would have allowed it. Just for laughs. He couldn’t, though. They had to win this round. The women noticed him too, albeit a little later. Not their fault. They weren’t cursed with enhanced senses as he. He spared them a single glance, and then set off. The ground beneath his feet burst open, leaving a crater behind. He flew five meters in a blink, when a series of explosions occurred. Thick, snake-like earth vines flew out, coming right at him. He counted ten of them. Each coming from a different direction, forming a web no average person could escape from. Flex Step - Second step. He dodged the vines. They were fast and struck the air, creating explosive sounds in the air. They missed him within a hair-width space but felt the air blast against his skin, burning him. Amidst the snaps and booms, he heard his female opponent shout. She was hurrying over. Her shouts urged her partner to follow. As expected. His opponents were smart. With the vines aimed at him, their path became free. Hex followed everything but didn’t stop nor react to them. Instead, he performed Flex Steps in quick succession, dancing gracefully with the vines, brushing close to them but never allowing any to touch him. The heat and bursts of the air did irritate him, though. Leave it to the merchants to be as irritating as possible while toying with a person’s sanity. The other side closed in. Perhaps, he could have a bit of fun too. The vines had seemed alive the way they wished to snap at him continuously. Someone had to be controlling them. Hex didn’t see who but he didn’t need to. With a meter to the other side, he turned to face the last vine coming at him. The vine stretched. And missed. The air exploded. Instead of taking that last step, Hex stretched his hand toward it. His hand blurred as it moved toward the retracting vine. The vine was fast, he was faster, though. The vine felt cold against his skin. A considerable amount of nature element coursed through it. With a thought he controlled his heart, sucking every bit of the nature element out the vine. ’A Refined Knight?’ The speed with which he drained the element out of the vine surpassed what was being supplied to it. Based on the element and control, Hex guessed the user’s abilities. The next moment his feet touched the ground on the other side while every vine snaking the air went limp and fell to the ground. A desperate scream, only audible because the crowd went silent, tore through the air. No one knew what happened. They couldn’t understand. The uproar after the brief silence from the distant stands filled him with pride, to be honest. His grin disappeared, parrying the arrow aimed straight at his head. "Perfect timing. He shot it as soon as I touched the ground." Hex murmured while moving behind the nearest tree. In time too. With a thack sound an arrow hit the trunk, on his opposite side. ’He can see me.’ The fact that the second arrow didn’t land at his previous spot but where he had decided to go, displayed the genius of his attacker. But if he believed it would land him an easy victory, he would be in for some serious surprises. This side had the same number of trees as the other side. Plenty to hide behind but any movement forward would expose him. A perfect set up for an archer hidden in the trees. Hex, however, had a good idea where the person might be. He could counter by sneaking up to the archer and unleash a surprise attack of his own. But that’s not what he did. Hex moved. Out of the shadow, into the open. He took a step. Then another. The cheers had subsided. And no attack came. Not surprising. His action had stumped the crowd and his opponent alike. Only when he took the fourth step, did he hear the air split and felt a burst of energy coming at him. It was fast. Yet not so fast he wouldn’t be able to dodge. He could be faster. He could move. But...he didn’t. Hex groaned and growled when the arrow struck him, piercing his shoulder. It hurt. Quite a bit. Even though he anticipated the attack, he stumbled backward. ’Perfect.’ He thought, not said. Instead, he growled and turned toward the direction the arrow came, as if he only realized now where the archer might be. With a roar, he pushed his feet, and burst forth. His hand jerked the arrow out. He moved with speed rivaling the arrow, flying over the ground. He caught sight of the archer, who seemed panicked. ’He didn’t move?’ Hex wondered. He should have. Wait. The flustered archer was the same man who had hurt his feet at the start when the ground exploded forth with trees and vines. The archer tried to knock another arrow but it was too late. Hex reached him with a nasty smile on his lips. As if Hex would listen. He kicked the archer against the temple, knocking him out of the tree. The man fell spread out on the ground, unmoving. Not dead. That would be a little too much. Only unconscious. Only two were left. It would end soon.