The preliminaries went smoothly, though that was to be expected. Jove by no means considered himself to be a powerhouse. He had plenty of equals, and even more who surpassed him with ease. Yet the individuals who sported great power and skill normally would not mix themselves in with such a tournament. That wasn't to say that they wouldn't fight for sport. There had been plenty of instances in the past in which the greatest mages of the country would come together in a single spot and fight for the prize or the crown. However, these events were usually of a dramatically impressive scale. They brought in people from all over the country, sometimes the continent. They brought the eyes of nobles and royalty, and of guild masters throughout the land. They offered elixers and items of legend, as well as prize money that would sustain an individual for life, or afford to power them up to the next level. These events were beyond comprehension. A small city like Baska, hosting a tiny tournament with a prize of a few hundred thousand jewel, would never bring in those who defied common sense. With that in mind, Jove could attend this tournament with a bit of unearned confidence.
That confidence had been reinforced due to the fact that there were none who turned out to be real competition during the preliminaries, nor had there been any during the first few rounds. The fights ended in a single hit, even if the opponent had enough speed and reaction time to block. Normal humans often put all their time and effort into a single thing. Building their speed through repetition, or their strength through training. Some were gifted with monstrous endurance or constitutions. Yet when one was dealing with A rank mages or higher, all logic went out the window.
Jove, as it stood, was an S rank mage. This meant he was even more of a monster.
Defenses were broken through, and those who attempted to be elusive were ran down. None had been able to avoid his pursuit. A kick to their side, a knee to their sternum, an elbow to the side of the head. The attacks were made with brutal efficiency, and without concern for their well-being. He wasn't putting in enough force to kill anyone in these early contests, but he wasn't concerned with broken limbs or bones. There were plenty of healers on site who could bring people back from the very brink of death without trouble.
Besides, Jove was an efficient man through and through. Rather than drag things out, better instead to get the job done and go back to relaxing.
Perhaps there was an alternative drive there too. Over the past few days, Jove had finally started hearing the mumblings of the being who shared his body with him. The other entity had no control or influence, but that didn't mean that the rune knight intended to be a domineering host. He knew that the embodiment of Pride chose him as a host, and for that reason he decided that occasional demonstrations such as this would do good for the entities ego. It wasn't that Lucifer found enjoyment or confidence in the bashing of regular humans. Rather, it assured him that the one whom he chose to make a deal with went well above the normal confines of his race. He had reached a peak, and had already begun the ascent of the next mountain. This would be a major deal for the sin of Pride, and Jove didn't mind doing something small to guarantee their continued copasetic livelihood.
With the preliminaries and beginning rounds out of the way, there were only three rounds left. According to the tournament tree, there would only be a single chance for Jove to fight this tournament champion, and that was in the finals. He had no doubt the the two could make it there, however that meant that from this point forward he would have to take the fights seriously. He would no longer assume those he fought were weaker than him. That sort of arrogance could lead to defeat, and since he had already started the job, he did not want to go home without his pay.
(wc: 1048/2500)