"Inside-carving does not exist," Kenrith said. "This is a fact we all know. That said, Vivian's Blossom is a rather interesting, peculiar piece of work."

The beauty expert studied Vivi's sword intently, observing the veins inside. He used a magnifying glass to look at the runes beneath the wrap of white obsidian. To his credit, Kenrith examined the sword seriously, trying his best to make sense of what Vivi had crafted.

"Rumors say that Vivian has forged the base sword herself," Kenrith said, "using a difficult metal, botanic adamantite. With that in mind, the base sword is remarkably well made. I would offer Vivian an extra point for this, though this is not a blacksmithing competition.

"As a runesword, Blossom appears to have three runes. Swiftness, flow, and sharpness. A very good combination for a three-runed sword. However… the runes don't seem to be connected to veins. The surface of the blade is completely flat."

He continued studying the blade, adding ether through its veins. The veins lit up, but Kenrith wasn't surprised like other judges. His ethereal senses must not have been sharp. "The runes suck in my ether at a swift pace. That is the sign of proficiently carved runes. A network of something is visible through the translucent botanic adamantite. My ether flows through, into the odd network."

Yes, and that odd network is inside the sword, sir, Vivi thought.

"My judgement is rather perplexed by something so odd," Kenrith said. "Whether this is a real inside-carved sword or not, the sword does not radiate a beautiful aura like a traditional runesword. Blossom is interesting, but it is not beautiful, nor is it artistic. I will give it a score of three."

"Three?!" Lucius let out. "Three points! Just because the sword is not a leaky piece of junk, we get three points! This clueless idiot!"

That's how it usually goes, Vivi thought. Ether is pretty. And since inside-carving doesn't leak any into the air, the swords are not as pretty.

Lucius muttered curses silently.

It's fine, Vivi thought, though nervousness slowly crept to her chest. Let's hope Anthony's swing makes up for what we lost.

"Three points from Cambell," the announcer said. "A surprising score for someone who planned on a podium finish. This is the lowest score so far."

The audience chuckled, though not loudly. Curiosity radiated within them as well.

"But how will Blossom fare against surgestone?" the announcer asked. "If anyone, Anthony is the man to truly verify the worth of this proposed inside-carved runesword."

The announcer handed the sword to Anthony. Vivi took a deep breath. Her heart was racing now. Please, at least cut deeper than Zack…

Anthony held her sword. Before flowing ether through it, he, too, examined it curiously. He didn't just look at it. He held it at different angles, testing its weight. He nodded to himself.

Then he pushed ether through the runes.

A tremble erupted in the ethereal realm. Anthony's presence, the calm but dominating idle ethereal aura, jolted outward like a startled cat. The feeling didn't come from the sword, but from Anthony himself.

Everyone was silent. The announcer looked genuinely curious. Even the runesmiths around Vivi looked apprehensive.

Anthony was frozen for a solid ten seconds, utter silence filling the square. Eventually, he blinked, eyed the sword again, and readied himself.

He faced the surgestone block, went into stance, and threw a heavy overhead swing.

For a second, nothing happened.

Then the platform below the surgestone snapped in half.

The surgestone collapsed into two. A black line appeared on the turquoise stone, crossing all the way through where the sword had cut. A hint of red was visible after the black.

The turquoise part of the surgestone liquidized, collapsing on its own weight. All that remained of the block were two black slabs. One of the slabs collided against the other, knocking them on the ground with a heavy thump.

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Silence.

The announcer froze, his ether amplifier picking up idle wind. Kenrith Campbell nearly fell from his seat. The runesmiths around Vivi had their eyes wide open. Zack Vanhammer had his mouth wide open.

The cut inspector with the measuring tape stood idly, with nothing to measure. His clothes were splashed from the liquified surgestone. The color inspector was similarly confused.

Anthony was the first to move. He turned straight to Vivi. He ripped the amplifier off of his clothes and tossed it aside. A thump resonated across the square from the amplifier hitting the ground.

"You created this?" Anthony asked, the whole sentence filled with disbelief.

Vivi's heart raced a thousand times a minute. "Yes?"

Anthony merely blinked, lost for words.

The announcer's awkward laughter through the amplifier broke the silence. "Well, this is unexpected. The surgestone seems to have snapped… in half?"

The cut inspector and the color inspector were discussing what to do, both equally as confused. The color inspector pointed his device at the black cut. The cut inspector placed his measuring tape across the cut. His tape wasn't long enough to count it all, maxing out at a hundred inches.

"I, uh, think this counts as a red?" the color inspector was saying.

The announcer remained silent for a moment. He turned to the Storm Devourer and spoke into the amplifier. "Anthony. I think you are the only one with the ability to explain… What exactly happened?"

Anthony pushed it aside, speaking without the audience. "This sword is the real deal. Young girl, what is your name?"

"Vivian, sir," she said with a bow.

"You've created a masterpiece," Anthony said. "How much are you selling it for?"

Vivi's stomach was filled with butterflies. Her eyes couldn't see straight. The announcer placed an amplifier underneath her face just in time for her confused "uhhhh," to be heard all across the square.

"Worry not, the sword will be placed into auction after the competition!" the announcer reminded nervously. "First… Anthony. How many points would you offer Blossom?"

"A hundred points," Anthony said. "There is no competition."

Vivi felt like fainting. What was going on? A legendary warrior of the fourth elevation had called her a sword a masterpiece?

Anthony offered the sword back to her hands and bowed. She accepted it awkwardly, uncertain what was happening.

The announcer laughed awkwardly again. "Maximum points from Anthony. That makes ten points. And as for the results of the swing…"

The announcer turned to the color and cut inspectors. They talked without the amplifier for a short while, until the announcer said. "For the diameter of the block, Vivian scores a hundred and fifty inches with the color red! The surgestone block offers her forty points. Combined with Cambell's three and Anthony's ten, Vivian takes the lead at… fifty-three points…"

His voice was filled with shock. The same emotions filled Vivi. She couldn't believe what was happening. The world felt like an utter haze.

The audience was too confused to cheer. The competition paused momentarily as the announcer turned to the organizers, discussing what to do next. Testing Zack's sword would be problematic with the surgestone broken.

In the meantime, Zack Vanhammer had disappeared from the line. He was discussing something with the organizers near the sidelines with a wide scowl on his face—the hateful type. The organizers slowly started to frown as well.

Then they walked up near the judges' table for the audience to hear.

"Attention runesmiths of top split!" one of them called into an amplifier. "The organizers have been informed of an investigation from low split. Vivian Runeblessed, with her sword, Blossom, is being investigated for cheating!"

Vivi blinked. Eh?

One of the men, Vivi noted, was the organizer from low split. The same man with a self-serving smile who had declined Vivi's request for a replacement vise. He continued. "At least two major rules have been broken! Vivian's base sword was never registered. Additionally, she received outside assistance from runesmiths in low split!"

We cheated? Vivi thought, confused.

Nothing in her head made sense. She had cheated? Really?

Well, she hadn't read the rules.

"Lies!" Lucius shouted, appearing from Vivi's core. "This man is lying! We have not cheated!"

"The third reported cheat," the organizer said. "Vivian, during her runesmithing process, was spotted receiving help from a mysterious flying and talking red cat. A cat, who has just appeared out of thin air in front of us!"

"WE HAVE NOT CHEATED!" Lucius yelled. He was about to fly over, but Vivi managed to grab him from the tail.

"Calm down!" Vivi said. "It's alright, we can answer this."

Zack Vanhammer had his arms crossed. He spoke into an amplifier with a scowl. "Vivian Runeblessed. Is it true that, during the process, your sword vise broke, and you had to borrow one from a nearby contestant?"

Her heart started to beat. The satisfaction of Anthony's praise slowly turned to nervousness.

"Yes?" Vivi said. "He wanted to help me."

"Receiving help from anyone during the competition leads to a disqualification," Zack said. "She has admitted to it right here!"

Around her, more and more people were arriving at the scene. Organizers with papers, a few smiths from low split. They were discussing amongst themselves. Anthony Ailman assessed the situation calmly, assessing everyone as if they were his enemies, but he made no efforts to argue.

"No!" Lucius shouted in her head, staring at Zack Vanhammer with pure hatred. "It's because of him! He wants us out of here! He knows he will lose! This competition must be corrupt! Is Shivenar funded by the Vanhammers!?"

Calm down! Vivi thought. It's okay, let's talk it out.

One of the more authoritative men walked over to the announcer and whispered something to his ear.

The announcer nodded, and with a determined expression, said, "We have just received news from the marshals! Vivian Runeblessed, due to major violations of rules, has been disqualified from the competition!"

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