I obediently move. Jane extends her hand over the area touching the wall.
"Siegel – Aufhenbung!" she pronounces loudly. Her palm flashes with dark gray flame, sparks falling to the floor spread, outlining a rectangular perimeter.
When they connect, she waves her hand, filling the figure's interior. The flame burns through the floor, revealing stairs leading down. In a couple seconds the passage fully opens, then the flame disappears.
I watch in rapt attention, not missing the slightest detail. For the first time, Jane demonstrated magic in action.
"Holy shit, just like that? Didn't know you knew German," I say.
"Latin too. All mages know these two languages, most spells and magical scriptures are in them. And pick up your jaw, this isn't magic, it's child's play. Let's go down."
She steps onto the stairs and quickly jumps down the steps. I carefully follow her, looking around. The passage isn't anything interesting, just an ordinary corridor with dark walls.
After about 30 feet the stairs sharply turn right, its end becoming visible. Walking about the same distance, I find myself in the mysterious basement.
It's a medium-sized room with high ceiling, illuminated by blue lamps. Like Jane's room, it's packed with piles of things, most with unclear purpose: shelves hold books in worn covers without titles, multicolored crystals, vials with unknown liquids, creepy dolls, jewelry, tarot cards nearby. On one wall is a stand with medieval weapons. In the center is a relatively clean desk, ahead of it a wall with a closed black door.
"Fascinating... And completely incomprehensible," I describe my impressions. "What's behind that door?"
"Don't even think about touching it," Jane threatened seriously.
"Okay, no need to repeat twice. So what are all these items for? Did you really swing that axe?"
"Each thing is for a specific situation or spell, explaining everything would take several days. The axe, which is a halberd, was my last universal weapon, I used it when I was around 17. Then I created my signature scythe. By the way, you couldn't lift it even with both hands."
"Why's that? Looks perfectly liftable."
"It has strong enchantments that grant special effects. The more enchanted a weapon is, the harder it is for a normal person to lift it due to lack of magic sensitivity."
Now I know why Christine's sword was so heavy. But since I could lift it, its enchantments must be pretty crappy.
"So I can't use magical weapons?"
"You can if you wear special gloves, like the one I'm wearing. Groups create them specifically for super-enchanted weapons that are hard to use even for mages. I wore it to try stretching the bracelet with that red dagger," she nods to the desk where it lies. "You can't tell, but it's the most powerful weapon in the room."
"Will you give me something like the halberd?"
"No, you don't need such weapons. You don't know how to use them anyway, and you'll only be in the Game for a few days at most. For now, read this carefully."
She grabs a thin dark blue sheet from the desk and hands it to me. I take it and examine: beautiful orange waves drawn on the sides, at the very top an emblem with shimmering letter F, and lots of text written in white font. I start reading.
TOURNAMENT OF HONOR CODE
Dear participant,
The Magical Federation welcomes you to the Tournament of Honor! We are honored by your courage and readiness to risk your life for status improvement. We wish you the best success, which may lead you to victory.
Please familiarize yourself with these instructions and precisely follow all stated rules.
Remember, breaking rules will inevitably lead to disqualification, consequences of which may be unpredictable.
PREPARATION PHASE
1. It is STRICTLY forbidden to activate the bracelet before the tournament's official start.
2. It is STRICTLY forbidden to track other participants and/or gather information about them before the tournament's official start.
3. If you personally know other participants, it is STRICTLY forbidden to:
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Form alliances.
Enter into contact that could affect the tournament's course.
Enter into confrontation and/or attempt elimination.
4. It is STRICTLY forbidden to involve third parties in the tournament.
5. It is STRICTLY forbidden to break generally accepted magical laws.
6. It is STRICTLY forbidden to show aggression toward the observer.
7. It is STRICTLY forbidden to leave the administrative boundaries of the city where the tournament is held.
8. Except for the above, during preparation you may do anything you deem necessary. We strongly recommend training personal abilities.
These rules remain in effect until the main phase. Points 4, 5, 6 and 7 remain in force throughout the ENTIRE tournament.
MAIN PHASE
1. Official tournament start time: March 12, 10:00 PM. You MUST put on the bracelet within one day after start.
2. Time frames when competition is allowed: from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. Follow EXCLUSIVELY these frames.
IMPORTANT: Defense from attack outside established times is a participant's legal right.
3. Participants have the right to request help from the observer regarding tournament problems whose resolution doesn't affect its course. Do this EXCLUSIVELY in urgent necessity, as the observer is already aware of everything happening. Touch the bracelet and say "Facultas — Sustentatio" to summon.
4. It is STRICTLY forbidden to destroy an opponent's soul.
5. You have the right to form bilateral alliances with other participants. Duration equals 3 days. During the alliance, bracelets will prevent those who formed it from causing each other any harm. After the specified time passes, the alliance automatically annuls. You have the ability to form it again.
To form an alliance, touch bracelets with another participant and say "Facultas — Foedus". Number of alliances is unlimited.
IMPORTANT: Forming an alliance does NOT GUARANTEE ally's good faith.
6. The observer has the right to arrange local events with rewards to encourage participants. Participation is optional.
7. When 10 participants remain, the observer will notify each of them. From this moment, the tournament zone will shrink each day. The bracelet will let you see the boundary as a magical field. Crossing the boundary is strictly forbidden.
8. The tournament's winner is automatically recognized as the last remaining participant with activated bracelet. The winner's status will immediately be raised to highest. The bracelet will be deactivated by the observer and removed.
9. The winner is forbidden from participating in the tournament again.
10. Except for the above, during the main phase you may do anything you deem necessary.
The Magical Federation wishes you luck!
NOTE: Disqualification method remains at observer's discretion. Generally, light form—bracelet removal, ban on repeated participation and memory erasure; harsh form—physical destruction. Be EXTREMELY careful and do not break rules!
I finish reading the last paragraph, set aside the sheet and look at Jane.
"Don't know if it's good or bad that rules don't work. Of course, it would be much more convenient if we knew for sure I'm only a target from late evening till morning. And what problems can the observer help with?" I inquired.
"Main thing is he solves our problem, but generally... For example, during battle you destroyed a gas station and killed staff. Doesn't matter why it happened, fact is it reveals the magical world's existence, requires so-called cleanup. The observer will handle this: he'll make it look like cameras in the area weren't working, witnesses' memories will change, and externally it'll appear the station exploded on its own. Everything needs a logical explanation. By the way, same goes for participant deaths, observer will present them as accidents."
What creepy shit. Probably there are no limits to what's allowed in the magical world. How powerful is this observer?
"What does soul destruction mean? They seemed to emphasize that."
"That won't affect you. Are the instructions clear?"
"Yeah, if you ignore that I'm still in permanent shock."
"That's a minor obstacle. Keep it, in case you forget something. You need to know the rules in case our negotiations with the observer... drag on."
I carefully fold the sheet and put it in my jeans. Now that's one hell of a homework assignment.
"Jane, if you have such a cool basement... why the hell did you hide the bracelet under the bed?"
"Originally it was here, but when it turned out rules weren't working, there was risk someone would try to steal it. I know that happened to at least one participant. So I moved it there since they'd search the basement first. Thanks a lot brother, that worked out great."
"Let's leave that topic."
I still don't consider myself completely guilty, I thought.
Jane opens one of her desk drawers, takes out a heavy box, small ziploc with yellow round pills and throws them before me.
"Since you stole my Glock, that'll be your weapon. As you saw, regular bullets don't affect mages due to protective aura. These bullets are different," she patted the box, "they're heavily enchanted during creation, they pierce high-level protection, though there's better ammo. You should only load the gun with these."
"Yeah, looks more effective than the halberd. Could I have killed Boar with these?"
"Unlikely, that asshole was very strong even without armor and aura. But definitely could've caused trouble."
"Why did you deal with him so easily then?"
"Reduce stupid questions. So, bullets will give you the ability to kill or wound a mage, but the powers are still unequal. Take reaction time, by our standards, a normal person's is like a snail's. These pills partially solve that."
"You even have magical drugs?"
"Not exactly a drug. Officially, it's a powerful stimulant. All senses are sharpened to an incredible degree, thought processes are accelerated, you gain inhuman endurance and maximum performance from your body. Also, this thing will reduce the negative effects of my battle shadow state. Downside—terrible comedown and instant death from the slightest overdose. In short, can't get carried away."
I try to imagine what that's like, but suddenly another thought fills my head, making me shudder.
"This is all cool but why are you giving me this...?"
"You must be minimally armed and capable of something, since even having me nearby doesn't eliminate very dangerous conditions. And tonight they'll be triple dangerous, since we're going to kill that bitch who was allied with the armored one," Jane said inspired.