Silas groaned while Tendan strolled alongside him. His company was fine when he could make use of it, but he seemed to be getting too friendly.

‘I couldn’t find a cipher for the note in the library, and he’s been following me from there to the cafeteria, til now’, he sighed while peering over at him.

‘But at least he’s either taken the hint or worn himself out. He’s been awfully silent on our trek to the next class’

They walked by a large gateway, connected to a tall building that seemed circular from the outside. As they traversed the darkness of the rather large corridor that connected to the gate, they headed towards the light at the other end. Though they stopped short of exiting when faced with the options of weapons to choose from, from a rack displayed to the side of the walls.

Tendan picked a thin wooden blade, a rapier, before moving to a separate rack that held only a circular gadget. He promptly stuck that to his chest, a glow emanating around him briefly before disappearing.

‘Should I pick a rapier this time as well? No, I still need to familiarize myself with a broadsword before I solve the conundrum that is my sister’

Following Tendan’s example of placing a gadget onto his chest as well, they finally continued through, revealing a colossal sized open, circular flat expanse, with rows upon rows of seats held atop the walls that confined them on such a flat plain. And stood above the walls was a transparent dome, that could be mistaken as glass had faint speckles of mana not emitted from it every now and again.

‘To think I’d have to perform here sometime like a gladiator. The assignment of this core class is to partake in a tournament hosted here… I guess the class itself is more training to that end’

He stopped looking at his surroundings, catching up to Tendan as he made way to the groups in the middle of the arena. The groups were divided into 2, one of them looked ordinary, but the other hosted an assortment of magics from their hands.

Fire, water, soil… It seemed the magicians liked to show off while bored in waiting, each elemental floating above the limbs they could best display it on. Or perhaps they were exercising their veins in preparation for use.

The duo grouped up with the bland looking characters. Though such a crowd seemed to amass a higher average of brawn than their counterpart. While settling in, he turned his attention to the same professor he had the class before, though she seemed to be waiting for something.

Ding… Ding… Ding…

“Okay classes, you’ve little more than a month to go. I’m sure you’re well enough acquainted with each other, so please each class pair up with another. I don’t want any fuss, but while trying your best don’t go too far. It's alright while red, but when the shield lights up grey, I don’t care how upset you are. Stop fighting, or I’ll stop for you”

“Who’re you going for?”, Tendan whispered to the side.

“You gonna take the top dog like last time?”, he pointed to a dark skinned elf that stood with the other group. It was the same person he introduced last class.

“The Master?”

“Yeah, perhaps dispute a point with him, like you did with Cyanide”

“You saw that?”, Silas’s eye winced, ‘then did Kiyah also?’.

“Dude, what do you think I was gonna focus on while joggin? Why I was late? Nah, gotta see what my pals were fighting for”

“I’m not your pal”, he immediately retorted.

“Come on, you and I are cut from the same breed, we’re unlike the others. We see beyond the confines of our flesh. Muscles don’t dictate our minds”, he tapped his forehead.

“You’re greatly over-exaggerating something there”, ‘especially since the mind is a muscle… Though it’s good he’s ambitious’

“Whatever man, you see that guy over there?”, he pointed to a boy tailing behind the person he acknowledged before.

“I’m gonna make an impression on him”

“You do you”, Silas lost interest in conversing as his own gaze fell upon the other group.

‘The Master huh? Since he’s a faction leader it could prove beneficial to establish a point of contact, but I have nothing to offer. And I can’t compete with a ranker yet…’, he watched as the person of interest paired up with a black haired therian.

Instead his eyes traveled aimlessly upon the varied members of the opposite group. That was until his sight befell a boy standing by himself, his hands crossed over as he stood by carelessly carrying a languid expression.

“What about him?”, Silas nudged as he motioned to the outcast.

“You know my rate”

“Nevermind”, he instead walked towards the isolated mage.

“Hey, don’t you think there's a reason no one wants to pair with him?”, Tendan called out as Silas drew away.

But such an exclamation was obvious, and it didn’t matter. There was nothing to this class, he just needed to get through it for the plan to begin. And besides, he wouldn’t always have information on opponents. It was time to experiment how well he could endure against the unknown. The device on his chest would stop him from being humiliated anyway.

So with that in mind, he examined the stranger as he availed himself to their presence. The boy stood at a confident height, level with his own. With a head full of short, thick strands of wine-red hair, spiked at the ends as it curled down towards his eyes. He used those pair of teal green eyes to questioningly scrutinize Silas on his arrival.

But as Silas stood before him without a word, he turned to the Professor content with his partner by choice. The less banter the better, he’d already received more than enough of a daily dose by Tendan.

“Alright, if everyones gathered, do try not to get hurt. And cultivators, do feel free to do anything other than rush your partner. Experiment, for such an opportunity won’t always be available”

“Hey, are you sure you want to partner with me?”, a hand placed on his shoulder.

Though he easily squirmed out of his grasp as he turned his head with a silent glare.

“Aight, by your choice”, the boy shrugged.

Yet on witnessing Silas remain unmoving he drew a long sigh before deciding to make distance instead. A mage was nothing without the time to chant a spell. Yet such a notion was dispelt in an instant as he turned his head, motioning to follow.

“You coming?”, he exclaimed.

Silas ignored him as he diverted his attention to the Professor, where she stood before a pair of girls. One pink haired, the other a simple brunette. She ushered for silence as she raised her hand, motioning for everyone's attention.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“These will be our starting contestants. Everyone be sure to reflect on their battle, and please remember that I’ll be asking for your opinions afterwards”

She used the same hand as she placed it on the girl before her, “think of this as a light punishment for being late last class”, and chuckled while lowering her voice.

The pink haired girl stared back at her vacantly. Though her grip tightened around the swords held in both her hands. It took a few seconds as if to register the meaning of her words before she slowly nodded her head.

“Oh don’t be like that, someone had to go first. Just don’t be late next time, you’ve a year to go. Don’t let them get to you…”

Silas finally lost his attentiveness as he sat next to his partner for the class. The red headed boy only grunted in response to acknowledge his presence, shortly sharing a collective silence as they analyzed the other duelists settle closer to the walls around the arena, imitating themselves.

Though unlike themselves most were happily chatting with each other, few acting snarky instead. Only a single other pair seemed to share their same fascination with silence, as Silas’s full attention laid on The Master and his partner on the other side of the arena. He didn’t even bother to divert his attention when the first duel started.

“Begin!”, the professor shouted before stepping back from the fight.

A translucent circle appeared before the brunette girl as lines formed to steadily reveal runic symbols. Though oddly enough the pink haired girl only stood there absorbed in her own thoughts. And Silas remained uninterested as he continued to examine the complacent expression of The Master.

‘Someone that’s distinguished yet ostracised… Perhaps he is my best bet, but would he care for Kiyah? She’s of the Grismere faction, and he’s only at odds against the Aksumite. He should be fine with the Serafin but since the Grismere ostracises demi-humans too… Maybe I could make an example of her to boost his faction and establish a connection as a result? But there’s no guarantee…’

Swwwwishing

Silas briefly turned his attention to witness the aftermath of the explosion of water that cut through a layer of dirt debris. Only a small dirt barrier crumbled before the pink haired girl, of whom had toppled over backwards a few paces, her swords on the ground beside her. Faint water splashes emitted a centimetre distance from her body, protected by a strange glow that faded out as the moisture descended to the ground.

‘I didn’t think she’d be versed in earth spells, I think that barrier means she’s a Silver tiered core at least? I guess she’s got the talent; didn’t become a ranker in the first year for no reason. A shame she fell off’

His attention diverted to her opponent who mercilessly started conjuring another spell. Though what he expected from her face wasn’t reminiscent of the grace a mage would usually display.

“Hey cheater, are you having fun creeping where you belong?”, she snickered.

‘She’s using the simple water slice spell, but to add such power she’s probably got a Gold tiered core at least… Or is that too high for her age? Maybe Light Gold… Unless she’s a ranker? If only Leoghan spent half the amount of time studying faces, as well as his books’, he sighed.

She sent another water spell at the pink haired girl still in recovery, yet the girl coughed as she weakly swung her hand up and muttered something under her breath, a rune circle appearing before her finger tips. She coughed a few more times while the remnants of her previous dirt barrier shot towards the water bolt that formed into a thin sharp mass. Only to explode it mid-air on collision, giving her enough time to recover her footing.

‘How does one utilise magic in that way? She’s using a water bolt spell, and making it sharp and deadlier. I can do that with my blood, but using gifts is a different process to the application of magic’

“This is just despicable”

“Hm?”, Silas’s thoughts were interrupted by the boy next to him.

“I distinctly recall the lass there pleading not only a week ago how they were being mistreated by everyone else because of their status”, he pointed at the brunette.

“Yet now look at her, what’s she doing? They’re all just monkeys juggling at their seniors' discretion. Complaining about the mistreatment of nobility yet they respond in kind”, he sighed, “hypocrites. Politics is stupid”

“Mm…”, Silas just murmured as he observed The Master once more.

“... You one of them?”, his voice reached for Silas’s ears once more, such that he tilted his head as he stared back at the boy’s fiery gaze, “what faction?”.

“None”

“Hah, good. Wondered if you were trying to recruit me or something”

“...”, they shared the silence once more before a separate voice overtook them.

“Witness my newest technique!”

A multitude of mini water blades scattered in the air as they descended on a curved trajectory towards the pink haired girl. She charged forward with her dual broadswords, the water blades making smaller impact splatters around her as she dodged a few, but they proved endless and unrelenting.

It didn’t help that her weight dragged down her attempts to be graceful, and it wasn’t long before some attacks landed on her wide figure. As soon as she was hit once, she staggered. Then all the others found her an easier target, the force accumulating upon her body, flinging her away.

The barrier surrounding her body glowed a permanent red as they were pelted by the incessant sharp attacks. She coughed out a few bated breaths while rolling on the floor, before gritting her teeth in frustration and hitting her swords against the ground; her hands opening wide. But her opponent only raised her arm in the midst of conjuring another spell.

“What a loser, you're giving up already?”, the brunette's words only egged her on.

“Okay, that’s enough. We’ve a w-”, the professor intervened.

But her eyes turned serious the next moment, as her feet left the ground propelling her forward.

“Don’t!”

For underneath the pink haired girl's hands that grasped at the ground, was another rune symbol being emitted from said hands. A glow emitted from it, emphasising the amount of mana that was being channelled into it. So it came to no surprise when a pillar of dirt extruded from the ground in the instant, shooting her forward as it erected tens of metres outwards. It only took a few seconds for her to reach her opponent, carried by the momentum. Yet it only took that much time for her to feel lethargic as well.

In combat, a mage consuming all their mana was a death sentence after all. For losing all their mana would leave them tired and unfocused. The equivalent of a man being sleep deprived for days. Her act itself was a dangerous stunt, but what made it lethal was the spell her opponent panickedly shot towards her in self defence.

Schwip!

A water slice made contact with her body. The sound of glass shattered resounded through the air, as the red barrier that protected her, crumbled under the power of the opposing magic. A deep slash embedded across the pink haired girl's breasts, cleaving across to her shoulder, blood spilling in that instant. But before the magic could cleave any deeper, it shattered as the professor clutched at it, and she caught the girl mid air with her other hand.

“It… Didn't…?”, but despite having saved her, the professor appeared to be in a state of shock.

Gasps followed as the professor laid down the girl, stabilising her. Blood vomited from the girl's mouth as her bones were exhibited for all to see, but no one dared say a word. No one that was, except…

“I… She… She tried to kill me! It was self defence!”, the brunette screamed.

But the professor didn’t respond, only checking for a pulse before sighing. She then checked on the wound, witnessing as it ever so slowly recovered. The blood splurts waned over time as if the body made an effort to keep the blood within.

“It’s fine, you’re fine. Just go… Sit with your friends. She’s got the gift of recovery, so she’ll… She’ll be fine…”

“Ah, is that right?”, the brunette quickly changed her tone.

“Oh yeah, she had that trash gift”, Silas couldn’t help but overhear someone giggle from the sidelines.

But if the professor heard them, she didn’t bother to correct them. Instead, she lifted up the bleeding girl and walked out of the arena with her. Where she went was obvious, but leaving without an announcement was concerning. She was just quirky like that.

“So, ah… Class dismissed?”

No one knew who exactly said it, but no one bothered to answer. It seemed most were too astonished to say anything. If the devices were that flimsy, that could be them after all. And others… Followed The Master as he was next to walk out of the coliseum.

“Welp, it was nice meeting ya I guess”, the boy besides Silas was next in getting to his feet, and promptly departed with a wave.

“Mm”

Silas just sat there. He wasn’t a part of the gang that were just waking up from their stupor. No, his thoughts progressed in a different direction.

‘Magic and potions don’t recover blood loss, only wounds but… Gifts don’t have that restriction. Or at least mine doesn’t… Hm’

‘...’

‘Ah, fuck. Now the infirmary won’t be empty’

Some people took the absence of classmates to duel in various areas of the space, but most left. And only one stood by the entrance. Silas gazed at the boy. At Tendan, as he waved back over at him. He couldn’t help but sigh in response.

‘And it’s not as if I can just enact the plan…’, he sighed deeper this time.

‘What should I do while waiting for classes to officially end?’