Fortunately, the rest of the group made it through their fifth round matches without too much issue. Griffin struggled slightly, but managed to eke out a win after a grueling battle, making him the final member of the group to make it into the top thirty-two.

"And Boreik Griffinwing wins! With that the top thirty-two has been decided!" Halfthur announced. "There will be a brief intermission as we set up for the final rounds. Please feel free to grab some snacks, stretch your legs, and maybe check out the gift shop here in the arena. Matches will resume in half an hour. Fighters who have been eliminated can see Grea Grasdottir for their prizes. To those fighters who have made it this far, please join me down here to discuss the final rounds."

Rising from their seats, the group made their way down to the arena floor, with Gio tagging along as the audience began to stand up. Looking around, Eric recognized quite a few of the fighters who'd made it to the top thirty-two. Their group was by far the biggest, with six members still standing, but there were several other groups of two or three who'd all made it as well.

Among those that Eric recognized were Seryllia, Astrid, two of the stronger NPC adventurers that they'd observed, a member of Ryan's swordplay group, a trio of fighters who Jun had pointed out, and Turk and Aria.

Grinning widely, Eric strode over. "Turk! Aria! Good to see you two again."

"Kyp! Sorry, I saw you earlier, but I just couldn't find a good time to head over and see you. Turk kept telling me that we needed to focus on preparing for our matches," Aria replied.

Eric laughed, "No worries. I had the same problem. Did both of you manage to make it into the top thirty-two as well?"

"I did, but Aria lost in the final round," Turk said with a sigh.

"Ah that's too bad," Eric replied, turning to Aria with a consoling look on his face.

Aria giggled, "I messed up. It's hard to use magic on such a small stage."

"Speaking of which, I caught a few of your matches. Why aren't you using magic? Did you give up on being a mage?" Turk asked curiously.

Making a hushing motion, Eric leaned in closely, drawing the pair in to a huddle, "I'm hiding my magic for now. I'll reveal it when I need to surprise my opponent to win," he said conspiratorially.

Turk regarded Eric strangely, "Why are you telling us this? Aren't you worried you might face me?"

"You already know about my magic. Plus I'm fairly sure that I don't need the element of surprise to beat you Turk, no offense," Eric quipped.

"None taken," Turk said through gritted teeth, as Aria collapsed into a fit of giggles.

"I've got to get back to my friends, add me?" Eric asked, sending them each a friend request.

With a happy look on her face, Aria accepted, while Turk did so with a slightly more begrudging look, clearly still miffed over Eric's teasing.

Saying goodbye to the pair, Eric rejoined his friend's circle, where they were discussing the abilities of those who'd made it into the final rounds.

"Fighters! Thank you for joining us. First off, congratulations on making it this far. Out of more than a thousand partic.i.p.ants, you are the last thirty-two fighters standing. Give yourselves a round of applause!" Halfthur yelled, his voice no longer magically amplified.

Clapping their hands, the fifty-odd people standing in the middle of the arena gave themselves a polite round of applause.

Seeing this, Halfthur grinned and continued, "Now then. The final rounds will be conducted slightly differently than the previous rounds were. There will only be a single stage, meaning that only one match will occur at a time. I will be providing live commentary for the matches, and each match will be broadcasted to local towns and villages. This is your chance to become famous, so I hope that each fighter will do their best to put on a good show. And if fame isn't enough, then Lord Korin Wavesun here has a few items you might be interested in."

Bowing to Wavesun, Halfthur moved aside, allowing the tall n.o.ble to stride to the front of the dais.

"Thank you, Halfthur. My name is Korin Wavesun, I will be in charge of the strategic planning for tomorrow's expedition, and I am also the man who is providing the prizes for today's tournament. Now obviously, each and every one of you will be given admission into the elite platoon. However, the kingdom has also generously donated some valuable items in recognition of your skills and devotion to the wellbeing of Nova.n.a.lba. Items such as these," Wavesun said with a flourish, producing the glowing sword he'd shown Halfthur earlier, as well as a spellbook and a shining breastplate.

A collective "Oooh!" sound rang through the gathered fighters. Seeing this, Wavesun smiled, stowing the items back in his storage bracelet.

"There are sixteen such items that have been provided by the kingdom, as well as sixteen lesser magical items for those who are eliminated in the first round of the top thirty-two. First place will have the first choice of item, followed by second place, and so forth. Hopefully, this encourages you to give it your all," Wavesun said, giving the a.s.sembled fighters a knowing wink.

Hooting loudly, the players cheered. Each person who'd made it this far was an exceptional fighter. While there may have been one or two fighters who'd made it this far on luck alone, every fighter gathered here had the abilities and the courage required to win the entire tournament. As such, the thoughts of the gathered players were all the same, one of those items would belong to them!

Seeing the enthusiastic response from the fighters, Wavesun smiled, backing off to allow Halfthur to address them once more.

"Now then, the tournament will resume in roughly twenty minutes. Please be back here at centrestage in twenty minutes to begin the individual matches. If you are absent, it will be a.s.sessed as a forfeit, so make sure to be back on time!" Halfthur warned, dismissing the players.