The first thing was first. I had to register for the competition. Thankfully, Lilly was with me, and she was so used to it that she practically did everything for me, which I was also grateful for.
The man running it was short and covered in scars. His skin and muscles looked coarse, almost like stone. “You want to participate, a girl your size?”
After staring at him for a moment I swallowed and spoke as confidently as I could. “I do…”
“Come here for a moment.” He pulled me aside and whispered in my ear. “No one is forcing you to do this are they, you are absolutely sure this is what you want?”
“I uh, I don’t look that nervous do I?”
“Yes, I see. Very well, what is your name, age, weight, class, and height.”
I hadn't checked my status in a while… ‘I wonder how it changed.’
“We can measure those if you need to,” Lilly said softly.
I just waved it off though. ‘I can measure them myself.’
As I gained more control over my magic I began to see more and more statistics, although others became more vague as the ability expanded.
[Height. 4‘8 / 140 cm]
[Weight 95lbs/43Kg]
[Age 15]
Strength
65
Agility
95
Endurance
128
Constitution
57
Intelligence
140
Wisdom
250
Total / Level
675
Faith
–
Divinity
***
Magic
40
‘You know, it’s not bad really. From what I’ve kind of figured out, my magic stat is just added to whatever other stats I try to increase with magic, or at least that’s the limit I can operate at relatively sustainably. Well, it’s something like that anyway. So assuming it’s always on I’m actually a bit weaker than Lu… But all my other stats are higher except CON… Which is super low… I guess I was right. If I take even one hit things could get ugly… But that’s the whole point of this contest, isn’t it? I hope I don’t regret this…’
I sighed, giving him the information. Apparently, they normally had to measure things with the judge present… But… Apparently, I was just so below average that it was unrealistic to think I would be in a different category… And so they just didn’t care… It made it a lot harder to celebrate the fact that I had grown over 4 inches, and gained over 15 pounds.
“So you’re the sister of Airsidh and Bhaltair…” The man said with a certain hint of disdain.
“I am…” I muttered back. I could never figure out if he was upset because I looked disappointing in comparison… Or if one of my brothers just pissed him off. Either way, it didn’t make it any easier to talk to him…
“Just try not to get yourself killed. The judge will call it if he thinks it’s getting dangerous, but even they can sometimes mess up. The last thing anyone wants is for you to get seriously hurt and have to miss out on a week of class to heal a broken bone. Know your limits… If worse comes to worse, focus on defending yourself. You have about an hour left to prepare.”
‘Wow… He actually sounds like a real adult…’ I stared at him for a while until he simply walked away to other things. ‘Wait… A weak to heal a broken bone?’ I grimaced. ‘Even with magic… That might be pushing it…’
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“I’m surprised you knew all those numbers already? I guess you must measure them a lot huh…”
‘Something like that… Maybe I shouldn’t have used magic like that, it might look suspicious…’ “Since I’m so small My mom would keep track of everything down to every breadcrumb I ate… Not too long ago I was 20 lbs lighter…”
She didn’t pry any further, but I could tell she was already coming to her own conclusions about what kind of life I must have led. It made me rethink giving her that information… ‘Being strong isn’t enough… I have to make sure I’m not suspicious either… In some ways that means I shouldn’t show off too much... If I go all out, but then later struggle to use a fraction of that power that might get me in trouble… Especially if I ever run out of manna and my abilities appear inconsistent and fluctuate… This is going to be a real headache isn’t it…’
“Ok, first, we should get you changed.”
I followed her back into the tint she had set up and felt the air warm as the fabric blocked the wind. “But, I thought the competition was still more than an hour away?”
“True… but you need to prepare, both physically, and mentally.”
In my head, I was trying to compare it to an esports competition, but I was finding it rather difficult... I wasn’t doing calculations, thinking through problems, or formulating strategies and reactions… I was preparing myself to feel pain, and potentially a lot of it… It was different entirely, although… Not entirely foreign all the same.
“Hey, runt. You didn't bring a change of clothes did you?”
“This is the only outfit I own…” I muttered.
She sighed, “Yea I figured… Wait… Never mind it’s not important right now. Don't worry, I always have two or three changes of clothes, the rounds can get bloody, and sometimes the clothes get damaged. Sometimes it’s better to just change than take the risk of a wardrobe malfunction. You don’t want to go into a round of acrobatics after a round where they set you on fire, does that make sense?”
“The part where you need a spare set of clothes… Or the part where you let them set you on fire…”
She gave me one of the spare uniforms, ignoring my perfectly valid new concerns… And we both changed, leaving a sign in front of the tent beforehand so nobody would wander in. Although… If Zu was there, I was sure he would conveniently be struggling with figuring out our written text…
“It's… a little… childish don't you think?” It was tight as well, but I could move, I imagined it was just meant to be like that. It had decorative flames down the knee-length black shorts. And the pink and black shirt that… Was really more like a sports bra, decorated with the same flames surrounding burning white flowers. ‘The only thing more shocking to me than this outfit… Is that someone hand-sowed this to this level without magic… And she’s using it as expendable cloth…’
“What are you talking about, that one is awesome. You look cool! Oh, but we have to add the paint.”
“Paint? Wait but you didn't wear any?”
“I didn't really have time to prepare… It is optional for competing, so I skipped it this time around.”
“I don't suppose–”
“Nope!” She cheered, grinning widely as she grabbed my shoulders and forced me into a chair next to a mirror. Next, she grabbed a fiery orange jar that almost glowed and began fingerpainting my skin as if I were a tribal warrior about to go into battle. The moment her slimy fingers touched my skin my brain basically shut down and I froze like a deer in headlights, the hair on my neck standing straight up.
“And done! Hope you like it because that paint won't come off for days!”
“WAIT WHAT!” My eyes came back into focus as I quickly looked in the mirror. The paint glowed and shimmered on my skin like an extra set of veins covering my whole body.
“So…”
I was left speechless.
“The rune of protection, the rune of strength, and the rune of luck, each written 7 times across the body, interconnected by interweaving threads and spirals. Small traces seep into your blood making your veins glow as well, signifying life and a readiness to push onward, and two dragons. One under each eye lifting your gaze to the heavens, never allowing it to fall.
‘Another bazaar tradition I’ve never heard of until now… Although… I recognize some of these symbols from armor I’ve seen.’ I sighed. ‘No wonder my brain is having a hard time recognizing this body as my true self.’ “On the bright side, my eyes don’t stand out as much now, it almost feels like I’m wearing a costume.”
She chopped my head so hard my eyes rotated until everything looked upside down, making me suddenly feel nauseous and close them, letting out a few tears as they watered before returning to normal. ‘What muscles even control them? How can they just rotate like that?’
“It’s not a costume! This is who you are! You aren’t pretending to be anything or anyone but yourself… And when you go out there, you are only representing yourself. Everyone already knows what your family can do, but this is where you get to show them what you can do.”
I rubbed my eyes before grabbing a handful of my hair and rubbing my head as well. “That really hurt you know…” ‘I didn’t have time to reinforce myself with magic…’
“Sorry…”
‘That speech was a bit cheesy… But it is as serious as she is making it out to be… I feel like I’m going out there to face death… I’m going to let them hit me? This whole thing is just stupid… That’s not how I fight at all…’ I took a handful of my hair and pulled it down in front of my face, staring at the white strands. ‘This isn't like me at all…’ I felt myself shudder as I thought of all the times I “Got hit” and all the events that scared my body, each scar also glowing faintly because of the paint… Making it all the more apparent just how many there were.
‘The last time I let someone hit me and just took it was awful… But when I tried to fight back he broke my arm…’ “Lilly…” I mumbled. “You don’t by any chance know all the weird cultural hair braids do you?”
She growled. “They aren’t weird! They’re cool. Of course, I know them… Even though I’m a commoner, I grew up in a noble house.”
‘I wish she’d stop yelling…’ “Can you braid my hair for me… I’m no good at it… I’ve tried a few times, but I can never get it right.”
She suddenly grinned stretching out her fingers before cracking her knuckles. “Ok, tell me which ones you want.”
“The warriors braid. I guess we can leave out the family braid this time… The unbreakable braids. Those are the three above my ear. Then the interlocking braids that show I’ve cheated death…” ‘She only put in two back then… But… Geez…’ “Four of them… And the seven little cute braids for the seven prayers. Don’t bring them together though.”
She stared blankly at me through the mirror, but then quickly got to work without so much as questioning me. Aside from the big changes, I also made a couple of smaller changes. The main one was that I had her leave all of my white hair out of the braids so that it was more noticeable. The second was that I had her wrap it all up in a high ponytail to keep it out of the way, rather than the intricate braid that held it back that my mom put in.
“All done!” She cheered, smiling brightly as she slapped my shoulders. “Man, you are perfect for this! Your hair is so full that it’s easy to see the braids, and your eyes really go with the war paint.” She squealed as if trying to hold in her uncontainable excitement. “And you’re so freaking cute!” She cleared her throat. “But… Still scary… And intimidating.”
‘Right… You know. I actually kind of get why Lu doesn’t like it when people call her cute now… Although. Honestly, I don’t like looking scary… Not that I have to worry about that…’
I couldn’t help but start to smile myself as I shook my head. “Thanks, Lilly.” It was strange how something so simple as a couple of braids could put me at ease, but as I slowly grazed my fingers over them it almost felt like I was holding my mother's hands. It was silly… But it calmed me down and let me focus. Not so much being warm and comforting as much as familiar, unlike everything else. ‘Letting someone beat me up was never my style. Kai just said I had to compete, he said I had to show I could take a hit… He didn’t necessarily give any other requirements though…’
The gears in my head started turning again as my fingertips started to tingle, just like they would before I put on a show back on Earth. I wouldn’t be using a keyboard, but even that brought me a certain sense of confidence sense I had grown more used to my fists anyway. ‘I’m starting to get excited…’