As they were concluding the events of the first day, it was finally time to assemble in the arena for the fight between the eleventh and twelfth-ranker. Of course, the newly-renovated part of the school had newly-installed modifications to accomodate at least five-thousand audiences.

As crazy as that sounded, the seating capacity proved to be just not enough for the viewers, since some just arrived for the sake of watching the fight alone.

The arena was no plain all-sand or all-grass like when Valeriana fought in it last time. They drove in a new environment sporting all of the basic elements in existence. With the weather a bit on the humid side, it came off a bit hot in the eyes despite being strangely tropical. It really made no sense, if you would look at it from afar.

There were plants, tall rocks, a small lake to the far right, a muddy terrain somewhere along the trail, and rock-strewn floor. The space in the very center of it all had been clear of any obstacles but a simple pavement joining the two opposite cavities under the arena.

The Twelve, of course, were granted special seats. The first day could hardly be called uneventful since it was totally the opposite. It was filled with nothing but assisting and laying down solutions to different problems and dilemmas encountered by the visitors. As such, majority of it had been leading the lost children back to the Help Desk so that they could be found by their parents.

'For goodness's sake, do please maintain a reign on your children so they aren't all over the place.'

Even Tamara had growing a headache ranting and lecturing the people so many times, but they were hardly listening. Needing to be hospitable, the Twelve could hardly say anything rude--that wasn't true for the third-ranker, nevertheless.

They could hardly even enjoy themselves in this supposedly joyful day. Perhaps tomorrow would be a bit calmer than today. Grand Openings were sure to be the most hectic one out of every others.

As the rankers took their places, one-by-one, the look of weariness and exhaustion had become like their school uniform--ever so present on their faces and body language.

"By the name of Prelurè, I am beat." Elfre sank on the cushioned chair and threw back her head as her quivering knees finally got their well-needed rest. "The people over my department were all stupid. Who said maintaining peace and order was easy?"

"Even I cannot help but admit that the incompetency of my underlings started grating on my nerves. It is all a simple matter of welcoming and service, but some are awkward when it comes to that." Raziel had this look of disgust on his face as he pulled out a mirror out of nowhere and examined himself. "I shall need a hydrating bath and some cucumber to remove these horrible bags forming under my eyes."

"Oh, please. You guys aren't the one who have it worse!" Aneeka's voice rose above the rest as she crashed on the seat beside the twins. "Clean-up is the toughest job. I have a hard time trying to make sure my people don't slack around!"

"The facilities and equipments are hard to keep track of." Genevieve muttered as she leaned on Zevlin's shoulders. "For goodness's sake, all those people had to do was log the borrowed things, but they can't!"

"I think it's because everyone's in a rush. Besides, it's only the first day, maybe we'll have it easier tomorrow." Valeriana whispered, dabbing her sweat with her sleeves. "Some of the exhibits are already halfway damaged, it won't take overnight just to fix those."

"No." Tamara countered, nudging the fifth-ranker ruthlessly she almost fell off. "It's because it's the first day. We barely even survived, for the gods' sake. The visitors need to know how to observe the rules in here and respect the ordinances we implement. If not--"

"Do have it easy now and relax for the time being." Rowe calmly called out to his co-rankers. "We now know what to do tomorrow so everything else will go smoothly. This is the first time we had to handle a major public event, after all. Go easy on yourselves."

Charles was quiet, surprisingly, as he gazed down on the open area before them. "Do you people not find it fun?"

They looked over their shoulders at the sudden mention of the words and questioningly regarded the fourth-ranker with their eyes.

"I guess it is sort of fun." Tamara agreed, shrugging.

"All-in-all, I think our performances weren't bad. The visitors seem to find our services gratifying . . ." Corvan trailed off, his hand flying up to pin back a stray lock from wandering on his face. "But there is room for improvement so we'll have to work even harder for tomorrow. Perhaps our assistants share the same sentiments."

The sun was quickly setting on its side of the sky and night was quick on its tail. The clouds were small blobs of puffs with a blend of purple and orange behind them, small diamonds embedded on their backs like freshly mined rocks from inside a cave. Fire flared from the torches pinned on the walls and a bigger source of light floated above to illuminate the entire colloseum-like structure.

"Who's doing the announcing for this?" Valeriana asked, looking over Tamara. "Wasn't it supposed to be you?"

"My throat's hoarse from all the talking. I think I deserve a break." She answered tiredly as she played with a lock of her red curls. Impatiently, she leaned forward and fought the urge to yell. "When is it going to beginnnnnnnn!? Come on, my feeling of excitement will disappear!"

As if she was heard, a voice boomed through the amplifiers.

'We apologize for the delay!'

Valeriana relaxed in her seat. This would probably be the first time she would be watching a duel. When she usually attended one, it had been her own. The experience was new, making her look forward to whatever kind of show it would be.

Beneath the arena were the two, opposite cavities shaped like a cavern to house the opposing teams. This was where the two parties were preparing as they geared up for the fight.

'Do you all feel excited?'

A wild roar from the crowd answered the question, riotous and deafening in intensity. The vibrations sent the girl gripping the arm of her chair in response. Tamara was only one of the many voices that screamed a 'yes' and the way she did it made her seatmates lean away. The arrangement of their seats was according to rank, so it was near impossible to avoid the third-ranker. Even in her seat, Tamara was simply commoving.

'In this sensational event, Celeste Academy holds a special tournament between two sides, a series of exciting duels for six days straight wherein the interestingly paired opponents shall be coming from the notable circle of the top twelve students in the Knight's Area of specialty. Assisting them in gearing up and all the extras for boosts will be the DevDept's Zeniths among the top fifty. Now for today's duel, with the ranks eleventh and twelfth, will be between Lord Keelan von Keiffer de la Kaiven and Brindon Jintaci!'

"People." Aneeka waved at them. "Look who's come to watch."

They all diverted their attention to the direction the tenth-ranker had been pointing to just then. It had been the same crowd Valeriana bumped into earlier that day, the current Celestial Knights.

Of course, they didn't look complete. There were only about six or seven of them present.

"I see an equally interesting face." Charles motioned to his far right, a smile toying with his lips.

Standing a bit further down had been a photocopy of Keelan, however, a more sophisticated and mature version of him. His strawberry-blond hair was shorter and his grass-green eyes had a bit more slant to them, making his face seem sharper. His chin was more pronounced and his clothes were that of a nobility's.

"Oh." Elfre squinted.

"It's the Denovegasian crown prince." Raziel whistled.

"Stop referring to the continental heirs as princes and princesses." Corvan angrily remarked, the term seemingly irksome for his tastes. "Our titles do not make us princes, we are Continental Lords and Ladies."

"But do you not think of yourselves as practically the same?" Zevlin asked. "I mean . . ."

"The only princes or princesses will come from the royal family and not the lower nobilities themselves. It is entirely inappropriate to regard us as such." Rowe corrected with a smile. "We are the Higher Aristocrats, so Lord and Lady are more appropriate as titles."

"The Continental Heirs, huh. So who's he?" Valeriana inquired, her brows rising to her hairline in curiosity.

"Lord Eres."

"Ah." The name snapped back in place. He was mentioned before. A titleholder of the Twelve before Keelan.

"He must be here to watch Keelan." Genevieve concluded.

Poor child. He must've had it tough with a tough-looking older brother. But Keelan was such a sweet soul. It was impossible to be tough to him.

"Is no one here to watch Brindon?"

"Brindon's . . . well, he never spoke of any family." Raziel was put through a thought at this. Everyone else, as well. "Did he?"

"Now that I think about it . . ." Tamara trailed off. "He never really speaks so we don't know that much about him either."

"You guys are no different." Valeriana pointed out. "No one here talks about themselves. Only I do that most of the time."

"It's because we're very careful about people's knowledge of us. Anything significant known may be used against you and we can't exactly have that because of the responsibilities we carry." Corvan cut in.

"Can we just focus on the duel, please?" Elfre blew out a sigh. "It's about time they stop with the introductions and get on with it!"

The announcer wasn't done yet, though.

'I know all of you are starting to get impatient so I won't keep you waiting much longer! As an experienced knight, Lady Seraphina would be holding on to the honor of initiating the fight! Duelists! Come forth!'

Cheers erupted as the two emerged from their respective corners. Keelan was impressively clad in his trademark vert green while Brindon was dressed in dull brown. The two looked certainly different for this event. While Brindon's appearance and demeanor did not sport any significant changes, the sobriety around Keelan was startlingly alarming for those who came to know him as a fun and outgoing person.

Whereas no arguments would rise about the eleventh-ranker's boyish charm, his hairdo and get-up at the moment hid all that under a manly aegis--a guise of a warrior. His hair had been slicked back neatly and his muscles had become more pronounced through the innate design of his apparel--broader shoulders, leaner legs, and longer arms. Keelan seemed more like his brother that very moment.

Brindon was austere when it came to disposition. None underestimated his capabilities despite being among the shortest in the male department. His features were androgynous in a way, but he was nowhere near soft when he came out. Naturally, he was smaller. However, that would make a huge impact on his speed and agility.

Valeriana wondered how he would fight in his specialty--bow and arrows--when obviously a duel would mean close combat. Long-range weapons would mean little when your opponent's a foot step away. Brindon could prove otherwise if ever, but the likeliness was small. Keelan had preference set for spears as long as his body. His height played a decent advantage.

With Earth as both their elements, they were more heavily guarded than Valeriana would be. It was expected that Earth would be a more straightforward element in terms of attacks.

They were nowhere close to understanding the significance of their armors yet, but that should be explained later after they were done and showed while the duel occured. The element of surprise, after all, was something that could not be spoiled.

"They're looking great." Aneeka said, smiling.

"Keelan's very different I wouldn't think it's really him standing there." Genevieve could not believe her eyes either.

As if sensing himself being watched, Keelan looked up to the Twelve's direction and waved a bit too cheerfully that it ruined the way he carried himself.

"That doofus never changes." Raziel chuckled.

When he caught the gaze of Lord Eres, on the other hand, his expression hardened and he visibly tensed. And just when they thought something happened, Keelan flashed the brightest smile he could manage to his older brother and waved at him as well.

Valeriana turned to Eres in time to see him responding with the same gesture.

"It must run in the family." Rowe laughed.

"Lord Eres is a very strict person when it comes to discipline. He trains the Denovegasian army himself. In actuality, he's a great general." Charles scribbled down speedily in his little notebook before anyone could even register him taking it out of his pocket. "But his kindness exists. The suitable one for the position as lord, if you ask me."

"I heard Keelan used to be chubby." Tamara was cackling at this.

"Yes." Corvan's words seemed to be stemming from experience. "When we were children, he could barely fit himself through the door. He became fit when he started the training regimen."

They all laughed.

"I would bet he gained a few kilos before the fight they probably had a hard time trying to fit him in there."

"At least they're both in great condition."

Seraphina stood at the edge of the audience's area, a big blue flag between her fingers. Keelan and Brindon saw this and got into position, their hands on their weapons and their stances ready.

The lady knight raised it high up before bringing it down to slice through the air. The bang of the wind against the cloth instilled a spine-tingling sensation as the announcer yelled.

'Let the first duel begin!'