Bastion had been given a plate of cookies to hold on to and hand out to the students as they passed. However, after Headmaster Caeden, heard that they misinterpreted their end goal.
As Ander entered the room, the odd-eyed boy smiled in a way only a few people would recognize as his right eye glinted with mischief.
“Want a cookie? Headmaster gave them to me. He also said to lay down as it’s past my bedtime.” Bastion said, implying that the cookies were drugged by alluding to a half-eaten cookie next to him. They were the kind that restored mana rapidly. But green hair didn’t need to know that. He was mean.
Ander paused. “No, thank you, Bastion. But, unfortunately, I have to go fight the headmaster.”
Bastion watched as Ander went up the stairs and vanished. Moments later, a loud thudding came from the stairway.
“Traveler, come and rest your weary soul and partake of cookies and milk before going off to face the mighty dragon,” Bastion said his lines right this time.
“Hmm… I’ll take a cookie,” Brion said, confused, as he examined it. Noticing a D Shaped symbol on it. Upon seeing that he consumed the cookie greedily, his mana rapidly refilled despite not knowing when he spent it.
“Kid. Do you know the muffin orc?” Brion asked as he began to meditate.
“I just deal out the cookies, I don’t talk to the source.” Bastion replied.
Minah and Max stopped by, and Bastion considered lying again. But only Brion was right here, so doing so would be obvious.
So he repeated the line he told Brion in a droll monotone that didn’t befit someone his age. As though the cookies weren’t really worth the effort of eating.
Max stopped as he noticed Brion meditating, which prompted Minah.
“Do you really want to stop and eat the cookies? They’re probably drugged.” Minah said.
“Would Brion eat drugged cookies and enter meditation with a fight right there? We aren’t at our best right now.” Max pointed to the staircase.
“This is ridiculous, I’m headed up.” Minah went up the stairs as intended.
Bastion’s face betrayed the glint in his eyes, and Max caught on. “You did that on purpose.”
“Did what? I just repeated my line for the third time.” Bastion altered his truth.
“Uh huh. I know that look. How you share that look with my old roommate makes no sense.” Max sat down and took a cookie.
Arthur left Max’s body and also took a cookie. The owl stared at the child in front with suspicion.
Max scowled. “Why are you worried about him touching you?”
“Probably because I steal the powers from those I touch. How does the owl know that?” Bastion said as he stared back at the owl.
“Did you steal my power?” Max asked.
“I don’t remember touching you.” Bastion lied, hiding his fake tells. He had done so a while back under the headmaster’s orders. He wanted to see if Bastion could mimic Max’s taming power only for it to do something else.
Max felt his mana surge and decided it was better to direct it than interrogate a child.
Bella, Hel, and Tiffany arrived next, refilled their mana with the cookies, and the group of five, six including Arthur, went upstairs.
----------------------------------------
Kyrion stood alone in a circle, his body fully transformed as his horns seemed to have grown longer with time. Scattered around the area were seeds he casually tossed into the floor, not trying to bury them yet.
Ander entered, his expression bestial. “You’re not the headmaster.”
“And you seem to be looking with your eyes pretty well today,” Kyrion said with a stony expression.
“What does that mean?”
“I’m the final boss of the night. You’ll need to team up with the others.”
“You’re cocky for someone who doesn’t fight often.”
“Just because I don’t fight you, doesn’t mean I don’t fight.” Kyrion replied.
Ander clicked his tongue and started the fight off by charging forward. His body shifted into wind and lightning as he traveled.
Kyrion stomped onto the roof calling forth a barrier of the earth to intercept.
Ander solidified and moved to the side and dashed into the opening Kyrion at his back. Then, bringing forth his claws coated in electricity, he attacked.
Kyrion vanished and reappeared behind Ander, his left hand wrapped around his friend’s skull and lifting him in the air.
“Go get some air.” Kyrion spun, building momentum as he launched Ander off into the distance.
“I’ll get you for this!” Ander yelled.
Minah entered the area soon after, confused. “Is Ander fighting the headmaster overthere?”
“No. He decided to go get some air.”
“You’re my opponent aren’t you.”
“No. I’m supposed to fight all of you at once. Please sit still and wait for the others to arrive.”
“Uh huh…” Minah didn’t buy it and attempted to attack Kyrion head-on.
Kyrion conjured a blade of wind around his hand and casually slashed it at the ground, causing a large gouge in the land around him. He then moved forward, aiming for Minah’s neck. Faster than an untrained human could react.
Minah used her ability to slow the boy’s attack only to realize the force was too much for her to stop, so she rolled to the side instead.
Sadly it was a trap, and Minah soon found herself encased in a stone sphere with a rectangular hole to see out of.
“Huh? How did you?” Minah said before getting cut off.
Kyrion then caused a plant to grow under the stone sphere, raising her high in the air.
“Looks like I’ve captured a princess. Great.”
“This isn’t fair!”
“No it isn’t. That’s the point. If I can beat you that easily, how do you expect to get past the first round? I know that I’m in the higher tier or strength as a practitioner but I’ve met people who are just as skilled or cunning. Sinbad is one you should watch out for, as I don’t think I could beat him yet. Noah from Norn is also someone to be on guard against. There are others you need to watch out for as well. Teams will be shoring up their weaker team members, you need to see the actual gap in power. Besting you alone is child’s play.” Kyrion seemed to grow apathetic.
“I was trained by the headmaster before, how can you be so far ahead?”
“I don’t feel pain on the level most do. It takes alot to actually hurt me, so I push my body until it starts breaking at every chance I get. This is to train my will power, or spiritual strength.”
“Spiritual strength?”
“A combination of mana capacity, mana output, endurance, willpower, and influence.”
“I have never heard of influence.”
“It’s your ability to influence the world around you. Most don’t gain access until the expert rank. It’s also why they say a practitioner can never kill an expert.”
“What do you mean?”
“Experts are protected by influence. It’s what makes them seem so durable. It’s why no matter how physically strong I get, without using influence I can’t harm an expert. It’s also why Gamodren kept trying to dissuade it early on. Thing is, under the right conditions I can use influence. One of those requires my domain to cover an area completely, I also need to be in my manifested state. Finally my intention and willpower needs to be directed at my target. Strong emotions can help, along with resolve. My resolve is to win the tournament by fighting as little as possible.”
“We can unlock influence as well if we have all the pieces.”
“Yup. Have you figured out how to enter your manifestation state?”
“Still learning. I don’t have the trigger quite yet.”
“No wonder, do you not train?” Kyrion crossed his arms.
“I train all the time. Unlike a certain promiscuous captain.”
“I don’t think you used that word right.” Kyrion said plainly.
“Please, half the student body knows you’re using that place to satisfy your dark desires.”
“My desires are not dark. On the contrary, I find them perfectly healthy and normal.” Kyrion replied without skipping a beat. But, of course, nobody insults his love for food.
Minah looked down at Kyrion with what appeared to be a look of disgust.
----------------------------------------
“What?”
Brion, Hel, Bella, Max, and Tiffany arrived minutes later. Having noticed that Minah was trapped and Ander was missing.
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“Good. Now we can begin. Tiffany, it’s time to stop sandbagging, you made it and they aren’t as far along as they should be.”
“It took you that long to figure it out?” Tiffany seemed unimpressed.
“Excuse me for thinking my allies had reached a level of understanding considering their prowess.” Kyrion crossed his arms.
“Are you calling me weak?” Brion asked.
“Yes.” Kyrion said bluntly.
“No.” Tiffany answered stoically.
“Care to elaborate?” Hel asked, looking between the two.
“Brion. Alone you are weak. It’s just that simple. You know this. It has nothing to do with your endurance and prowess in combat and everything to do with you not accepting your own weaknesses and strengths. You are probably the third strongest person standing here in terms of how well your training is going. Sadly you haven’t embraced it yet.”
“So. You know then.”
“Know what?” Bella asked.
“No…” Hel seemed surprised.
Brion charged forward to engage his opponent, ending the conversation.
Kyrion moved into the charge and hit Brion in the stomach with a palm strike. His hand seemingly passed into his friend as the world grew lighter.
“Brion!” Bella raised the gravity to her current maximum in an attempt to get Kyrion to his knees.
Kyrion took it head-on and seemingly continued forward. Brion’s body vanished as the earth shattered.
“He just killed Brion.” Hel recoiled as she began to summon swarms of her insects.
“No. He didn’t. Scatter!” Tiffany ordered as a blade of force cut through the shattered earth hiding Kyrion from sight.
Kyrion carried an earthen greatsword in one hand while another seemed to rest on his hip. His weight was still amplified, yet his movements seemed perfectly stable, as though his endurance had grown significantly on top of his already monstrous strength.
“Now who’s first?”
“Oh, silver light from the heavens, grant me strength. Come into me so that my foe may know your justice, your law. Let my words only speak the truth.” Tiffany rattled off a chant as her brown hair gained an unnatural shine, as though bathed in the moonlight, her eyes became silver, and her rapier became a straight sword.
Bella began the process of transforming into her werewolf form while concentrating on restraining Kyrion despite not being able to fly upwards.
Max kept an eye on his sister trapped in the stone prison above. He didn’t quite understand what was happening, but he knew that beating Kyrion without Minah would be impossible.
A streak of lightning passed through the sky and headed straight toward Kyrion. However, instead of dodging it, he reached out and grabbed it with an offhand before rotating and throwing the lightning off the tower into the lake surrounding it.
“Next time don’t make your intentions known. I could sense you the moment you entered my range.”
“You shouldn’t be able to hurl lightning.” Bella stated.
“One that wasn’t just lightning. It was Ander semitransformed and in a manifested state. Two, only one person in our group has any resistance to lightning. That same person is capable of giving it to others under certain conditions.”
Bella seemed confused, and her grip on Kyrion slipped.
Tiffany appeared at Kyrion and cut his cheek with her blade.
A wave of force shot out from Kyrion and tossed Tiffany to the side.
Kyrion took that opportunity to retreat thirty feet back, tossing the sword into the air and catching it for show. I won’t move from this spot. If you want to fight me ahead, then go ahead. I’ll also let the others join you.”
Kyrion tossed the sword into an area separating him from the others. “So long as you don’t attack from behind that sword then I won’t retaliate. Anyone who crosses that line will be have consented to the battle to come.”
Kyrion let the stone sphere holding Minah fall back to the ground.
The rules were established, and the bounds were set. They now had time to plot their next move.
Ander soon found his way back to the roof. His body was soaked, and his clothes were wet. “Ok. So, what’s the plan? Clearly taking him head-on will be dangerous.”
“Max, that greatsword. I need you to grab it and act as the vanguard. Minah will act as support, boosting our speed and slowing his attacks while I aim for the back. Ander, charge him head-on when you see an opening. Don’t try to aim for his back. You’ll either get in my way or face a counter you can’t defend against. Finally, Bella, decrease his weight and get him off ground if you can unbalance him even a little, I’m sure we can pull through.” Tiffany told the others her game plan.
“Tiffany. So you know, I’m not trained in using a greatsword.” Max said solemnly.
“Shouldn’t matter. So long as you can grab him then you can use him. Kyrion isn’t trained in swords so why would he be able to use blade techniques.”
“What are blade techniques?” Max asked.
“It’s complicated. Just let the blade lead the way forward.” Tiffany stated as he watched Kyrion wipe away the cut on his face.
“Do you think we can win? Also what will I be doing.” Hel asked.
“You will provide cover and aim to either hit or disable him. And no, I suspect that we don’t stand a chance.”
“You just managed to cut him. Why do you think that we can’t win.” Minah asked.
“If I’m right then you’ll understand the truth by the end.”
Max scowled. “I think I get it.”
“Now, move!” Tiffany ordered.
Ander turned into a bolt of lightning as he crossed the line and rounded around Kyion in an attempt to get behind him.
A wall of earth shot up and protected Kyrion’s back from assault before moving to meet Ander head-on.
“How the hell!” Ander was getting pushed off the roof of the tower.
Minah stopped the wall from moving, allowing Ander to retaliate.
Max made it to the sword moments later, grabbing hold and finding that it was really stuck in the ground.
“No.” Max pulled harder, but to no avail, the sword was stuck, and there was nothing he could do about it.
“Oi! You’re doing it wrong.” A voice echoed in Max’s head.
“Then how am I supposed to lift it.”
“Only half of the requirements met, resonance at 25%, weight reduced, strength increased, endurance increased, speed increased. Skills available for use, juggernaut fighting style unlocked and set. Lightning resistance up. You do not meet the requirements for true integration. Foreign interference detected. Resonance raised to 100%, rapid regeneration gained, pain nullification gained, physical capabilities increased by 4 stages. Hero’s aura, allies within range heal passively, and have their abilities increased by 5%. Fighting style gained, way of purification. Master wielder registered Maximus. Mastery skill obtained, hero’s resolve. Telepathic link established.”
“Oi! Hello! Max!” A disembodied voice echoed in Max’s head.
Max has been flooded with new information. “What? Brion where are you?”
“I’m the sword. I’m surprised you were able to fully resonate with me.”
“The sword? Is this what you were embarrassed about?”
“Yeah. What kind of swordsman would I be if all I did was turn into a sword.”
“Where was Kyrion in comparison?”
“80% pre manifestation 95 % post. Although it seems your ability amplified your resonance, I still may cause you harm if you aren’t careful.”
“I should at least be able to beat Kyrion with you then.”
“Unlikely. That isn’t Kyrion you’re fighting. So I can’t be too sure.”
“Who is it then?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Now go, the others need our help.”
Max regained his focus on the world around him and noticed that tendrils made from plants were flying around and hitting everyone inside the area. In moments Bella and Hel were grabbed and raised high into the air.
Max moved towards the vines and quickly swung the sword, which surprised him. The vines were severed, and the two girls began to circle their opponent to keep him off balance.
Tiffany reappeared behind Kyrion a second time and moved to attack, only for a vine to wrap around her foot and hurl her off the tower.
Instead of falling into the water below, Ander had flown after and caught her. Bringing her back into the fight.
Kyrion let loose a stomp that shook the tower and caused Max to lose his balance as he entered the area.
Moments later, Kyrion found himself helpless, with nothing to push off of, as he had been paralyzed by a combination of Minah and Bella.
Ander shot off a lightning bolt, and Hel sent out a swarm of bees to box him in.
Kyrion kicked off a shoe, and the bolt seemed to track it as he used the momentum to spin while aloft. As he did so, the wind built up, and the bugs soon found their way into a pile of ichor on the ground.
Max jumped up to cleave Kyrion directly, only to be caught by a tendril of water and rooted to the ground.
Tiffany appeared above Kyrion and quietly fell towards his exposed back, only to make contact with the sandal on his other foot. As though he predicted it.
Kyrion used his tendril of water to through Max into Bella, breaking her concentration and allowing Kyrion to land back in his spot as Tiffany fell behind him.
Wind surrounded Kyrion and forced the others away from him as wind, water, and earth began to spin around him like a hurricane on dry land.
“What in the abyss is that?” Minah stood there watching as her allies were swept up and tossed back out of range.
No one was in shape to fight as one thing became clear. They were helpless in the face of true power.
Max looked to the others, who seemed to nod, before eyeing Kyrion knowingly. “We get it. We can’t win. We surrender. Now either teach us or let us get some rest.” Max seemed to be bleeding from open cuts on his arms.
Kyrion clicked his tongue as he removed his eyepatch. Revealing a familiar prismatic iris soon hidden by a pair of sunglasses.
“Well. You did good. But as I expected, only Tiffany here could actually hurt me.”
“Should have known this was a trick. No way he could beat us all at once.” Minah scowled.
“No. He’s gone for a different reason. There was a required meeting for captains and he’s headed back to the mainland.” The headmaster shook his head.
“Couldn’t it wait?”
“I’m pretty sure they were waiting. I’d rather not lose our spot because we kept officials waiting.” The headmaster scowled.”
“So. He would have had to fight us if this didn’t happen. What did you expect?”
“A much quicker fight with less of me trying to teach you all lessons and more of him knocking you out one by one without harming you or letting himself get inconvenienced. Not hurt, inconvenienced. Because his pain tolerance is high, regeneration dulls it further unless it’s lightning based.”
“So lightning doesn’t work on you, but it still works on him.” Ander stated.
“No, I was him in all but soul. One of my powers lets me take on the form of someone else. I can only do it for a limited time and it requires components and research. I didn’t do anything he couldn’t.” Caeden stated.
“Earth affinity. Since when?” Ander asked.
“Since before he formally became a student here. It just isn’t combat oriented. More construction based. Why else would I have summoned a wall of earth?”
Ander stopped to think, “Not combat oriented, is that why he was doing all that construction early on?”
“Yeah. My son had milked it for all it was worth, a power combination like that is rare and very good at creating. The type of expert that reshapes landscapes. Revitalizes desserts. Turns once barren continents, fertile.”
“How can he be so much stronger than us?”
“Because while rarely tested to that point, he knows the limits of his abilities and knows how they work in harmony. His spirits have reached the point where he can accommodate all into a single manifestation. I wanted you to see that if someone as powerful as him, who only wished to heal others and avoid fighting could be that powerful. What could you all do if you spread the scope of your abilities.”
Tiffany scowled. “When you say all but soul. Do you mean that only your soul remains when you transform?”
“Kindof. It’s like I’m changing professions. From a teacher to a chef or vice versa. I keep my mind, but my focus changes. It’s why I’ve taken an interest in Bastion. Us mimics need to stick together.” The headmaster stated.
Minah scowled. The headmaster’s main power was different. So why was he able to use something so bizarre? “How could Tiffany cut you?”
“She met the requirements to do so and succeeded in landing a blow.”
“So. Where do we fall short?” Ander asked.
“Ah, right your issues. Ander you’re strong, diligent, and passionate about training. Sadly, you’re an idiot.” The headmaster’s bluntness caused Ander to fall to the ground.
“The only person in the group as dumb as you is Minah. All that training and yet you haven’t learned anything.”
Minah fell to her knees as well. “I’m sorry master.”
“Oh right. And Ander, you do know what a tiger is right?”
“A tie what?”
“You’re getting some supplemental study sessions on top of your training. “Lightning, magnetism, tigers, and you.” Had Cecil make it during his off time. There is also one I wrote, “Spirits that lie.”” The headmaster handed Ander two hefty tomes.
“Why?”
“You have control and mana but lack power due to the nature of your spirits. They don’t trust you yet. Do some reading.”
“How to tell someone something without telling them anything. Where did you study that book?”
“Moving onto Minah’s idiocy. The usage of your power while growing is in versatility, is doing so at a slow place, your creativity is also lacking. Given the nature of your ability it can do a lot more than what you use it for.”
“I know. Just need to adjust my suit.”
“Ah right. Cecil won’t be back. Left with Kyrion as the Co-Captain.”
‘No!” Minah looked down in despair. Then she looked up. “Wait. Why is he Co-Captain?”
“Brion. Let Max get the hang of using you as a weapon. I’ll also rotate wielders to see if anyone else here is compatible with you. We just got three more slots.”
“So Cecil has joined the squad?”
“Yup, he’s been voluntold.”
“I see. Will he be fighting?”
“Only if any of you are seriously injured or find yourselves in need of training between rounds. Or if he wants to.”
“But we have a healer.” Ander asked.
“And if he gets killed or injured?”
“Given what you showed us. Assuming it was the truth. Killing him would be quite hard.”
“He could be indisposed at the time of injury as this tournament has multiple parts. It isn’t a simple fight till someone collapses.”
“It isn’t? Then what’s all this fighting for?” Minah asked.
“Problem solving. There will be times when events overlap and one ally may be on another side of the tournament. You could be doing anything from demonstrating accuracy to hunting monsters.”
“The main event to worry about however is the team event. Aside from that there’s the Solo combatant tournament. Up to four members from each team can enter that one, and it’s been decided that your leader will not participate in it as to not draw attention.”
“Why would it draw attention?”
“The Solo combatant tournament takes place during the first four days of the tournament. It would be troublesome if he became a target early on.”
“How troublesome.”
“You could be out a healer if he’s taken out. Most teams would do so upon realizing he can regenerate. By the team tournament those who break rules will be either wiped out or removed for causing trouble. Those who bend them may still be present but it’s safer for everyone if he doesn’t fight until then. He’ll also be fighting with his regeneration turned off during the first three rounds.”
“So he’s handicapping himself?”
“No, I’m making sure that we get as much as we can get out of him before he has to show his cards.”
“I see.” Max looked at Minah and then the others. “Looks like we have some training to get to.”
“Where are our other teammates?” Hel asked.
“One is eating cookies and milk, while the other is studying gone as well.”
“Those are some teammates.” Brion harumphed, returning to his natural form and moving behind the group.
“I mean. They are kids. What do you expect.”
“Wait. You’re taking those fledglings with us?” Tiffany took a step back.
“Yes and you will like it. They will act as assistants and will be able to continue their own training. It’s highly unlikely that they will even get to fight.”
“You could have taken Raven. Or any of the other older students.”
“I could. And the experience would be worth it for them. But not as much as it will be for those two as they can participate the next time it comes around.”
“Ah. Preparation.”
“Correct. Now I suggest you all take a bath and hit the hay. You all smell like you’ve been rolling in the dirt.” Caeden vanished from the tower, leaving the students alone.
“I feel like I got bamboozled.” Bella muttered.
“We all did. I’m not satisfied with showing this form and not getting to show it off fully.”
“Sorry Tiff. But I can’t really move.” Ander fell to the ground like a stone, his body still and his reactions weak.
“He went over Minah and Ander’s shortcomings and left the rest of us alone.” Bella mentioned.
“Max needs to up his resistance and experience in combat. You need to learn how to be mobile while using your power so as not to be captured. Hel needs to learn how to communicate and coordinate her actions better. I need to get stronger. Brion needs to master his shift so that he can go in and out of sword form quickly.” Tiffany stated.
“And you know this why?”
“It’s our glaring weaknesses. I’m strong but even with it my spiritual strength can hardly harm an expert.”
Brion tossed Ander over his shoulder, and team Drisil left the tower.