Chapter Seventy-Two: The Practice Arena, Part 2
“Woah! I didn’t know Zenyth had anything like this!”
“I don’t know if we’re in Zenyth anymore.” Xavier responds, gaping along with me. Jade just has her jaw dropped.
When I jumped in the hole, I just magically ended up next to Xavier in a black space. In the middle of the space is a small stadium. It has stands, but only enough to fit around a thousand people, and a ring on the outside, which is circled by a drop that, twenty feet down, ends as a small moat around it. The ring itself is simple, with half of it being black and the other half purple.
“What is this place?”
“The Zenyth Stadiums!” A voice screams next to me, making me and my friends jump, but it’s only Th’ul, who shakes his head and laughs, his face still straight, “While they aren’t exactly located in Zenyth, more in the nothing, these stadiums belong to Zenyth.”
“But there’s only one,” Jade points out.
“Yes, most mages-in-training find one throughout their studies, and are able to train here. I guess this is ours.”
“What’s it for?”
“Well, practice, obviously,” Th’ul responds drily. “While you can fight a strange hologram, most choose to fight a partner. Here, we can spar with each other and grow in our magic abilities.”
“That’s amazing! We need to try it out now!” Xavier’s excitement is contagious, and I find myself wanting to try it out as well.
“I call first,” I say, and I run to the ring. Soon, I am on the far left, the black side, and Xavier is at the purple side.
Zade War Mage versus Xavier DefenseMage.
The fighting commences in one minute.
My body is suddenly encased in protective armor which I can’t see but I can feel. I assume it’s so I don’t get hurt. Looking at Xavier, who is staring at his body in shock and awe, I assume the same has happened to him.
Around the stadium, the stands are being filled by cheering hologram men and women, except for the two seats taken by Th’ul and Jade.
I look at Xavier, who already has magic on his hands.
“Let’s do this,” He mouths at me, but I return it with a glare.
The game commences in three, two, one.
Fight!
Immediately, I run at my friend, and I realize the first mistake I made, my sword clinking on my leg painfully. I really should’ve taken it off, but now it’s too late. This is about my magical skills, not my swordsmanship.
Xavier swings at me with a magically-enhanced fist, but I dodge it. Ever since he saw that magic done at the battle, he’s been training it, eager to be able to do it perfectly. And, to my great surprise, he learned it very easily. And so I must defeat by means other than close combat. Clearly, he would win at that.
Slinging my sword away from me, I throw a fireball at Xavier, who tries to dodge, but fails, and the flames pass through his side, singing him but not much else.
Xavier Defense mage health: 81%
“Damn,” Xavier curses, then swings with his fist, and to my great surprise, I find a boulder coming my way. I duck under it, and stand back up to find Xavier just as shocked as I am.
“I guess I can imagine the magic I do too,” He grins.
I need to know what he did. This feels like cheating, doing more than possible. But, reaching within myself, I do find the truth. He didn’t conjure the rock out of nothing. The stadium provided that. All he did was the levitation spell. My theory is confirmed when another boulder appears next to me,and I’m quick to use it, but Xavier easily blocks it and runs at me.
I can’t let him into close combat, so I throw fireballs, and try to levitate him, forcing him to rely on his shield. I also throw tiny lightning bolts—not my special magic, just something I’ve been learning recently—but none of this fazes him. Within seconds, he catches up with me, and lands a punch straight on my face.
While the shield the arena provided me protects me, I still feel the pain of the punch as it flings me back. It feels like I was curb stomped.
Zade War Mage heath: 46%
“Yes!” Xavier whoops. “Let’s go.”
“I’m not done yet,” I groan, standing up. “I’m still going to win.”
Accepting his challenge, I fling Fireballs as bait, and he falls for it, dodging to the left, where a rock meets his path. By now, the stadium is filled with all sorts of rocks, sticks, dust, and plenty of other things that could be found in a real fight. As the rock hits Xavier, his ankle catches another one, twisting it.
Xavier Defense Mage health: 62%
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“Oh, come one,” I groan. “That is unfair.”
Xavier grins. “Guess I’m just stronger.” Quickly, he gets up, although I can tell he’s limping.
And so, I decide I must take my advantage now.
It is time to get close to him.
Dodging the assortment of magic he sends at me, I hop past rocks and grab a stick long enough to do damage. As I get closer to Xavier, he brings his fists up, ready to punch me.
I don’t give him the chance.
I move to the right, and as he does so, his ankle gives way, and, squealing, he falls to the rock. With the stick, I beat him in the stomach, and his hands reach over to protect himself. And thus I defeat him. He never realized I was levitating the stick.
And so it’s easy to grab his neck and twist it, ending his life.
Xavier Defense Mage: Dead
Zade War Mage is the winner.
“I did it!” I scream as I feel the armor evaporating off me. “Too bad, Xavier.”
“That was not fair,” He groans. “I didn’t know they would keep my injury!”
“What, you thought it would magically go away?”
“YES! I call for a rematch!”
“Not until I go,” Th’ul interjects. “I need a go.”
“Winner stays,” I smile.
“Fine,” my friend huffs. “I will beat you.”
“Sure.”
— — —
The next hours pass quickly. We all spar—even Jade, when we realize the stadium also works for non-magic battles—and I quickly lose track of time, spending it all on strategy and magic and fighting. I begin to identify my weaknesses and my friends’ too.
By the end, I’ve won many and lost many as well. I think Th’ul has won the most, but I’m not sure. Jade was the one who fought least, but she seems perfectly satisfied with that.
“Wow, I’m done,” Xavier exclaims. “I couldn’t do any more if you paid me.”
“You’d do anything for ten dollars.”
“Not talk to S’sammi.” Th’ul points out, grinning.
“Who’s S’sammi?” Jade asks.
“Oh, you don’t know yet?” I grin. “Well, it’s time you did.”
“Please, no,” Xavier moans. “Don’t do it. Let me keep my dignity.”
“What dignity?” Jade wonders. “I haven’t seen it.”
“You remember the love potion I bought?” I ask her. She nods in response, so I continue. “I made him fall in love with a girl named S’sammi and he was trying to get in—”
“Nothing happened!” Xavier shrieks. “I just made a few stupid advances is all.”
“He went after her hard,” Th’ul says.
“You weren’t even there most of the time!”
“I heard the commotion.”
“Basically,” I explain, “He asked her out several songs, sang to her, moaned about her, the whole deal.”
Jade shakes her head. “That’s low.”
“See? Someone agrees with me!” Xavier exclaims, crossing his arms.
“Oh, I didn’t say I agreed with you,” Jade returns. “I was going to say it isn’t low enough for you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Xavier huffs. “You’re the one acting like you just drank a love potion every time you’re with Zade.”
“Oh, you want to start that up again?” Jade raises an eyebrow.
“Just saying,” He responds, backing away. “Shall we go back then?”
“Um…” I look around, not finding an exit. “How exactly are we supposed to do that?”
“Oh, I assume it’s something like—” Th’ul disappears and Xavier screams after him.
“That doesn’t help!”
A second later, he reappears.
“All you have to do,” He says. “Is ask to leave in your head. The stadium will do the rest.”
I want to leave. I want to leave. I want to leave.
I find myself in the hallway I’d left with my friends appearing there next to me.
“Well, that was fun. We should do this more often.” Xavier sounds excited, like he wants to do it again.
“We really should,” I agree. “But we’ll have plenty of time later. I need to rest now.”
“Same,” Xavier responds.
We walk back to our rooms, tired yet happy. I am self-conscious about how worn out I look until I remember that there was a row happening here in Zenyth just a few hours ago, so everyone will look like this. Still, that does remind me of the mages-in-training we pissed off. They’ve probably forgotten our faces but I don’t want to push my luck.
Thankfully, the short walk back to my room is uneventful, and once we arrive at the hallway with all the rooms, I breathe a sigh of relief.
“I think you can go now, Jay,” I say. “Now that—”
“Wait, what’s this?” Th’ul asks, brandishing a piece of paper.
“Where’d you get that?”
“It was on every door.”
To my surprise, he’s right. I go to my door, and tear out the paper.
Zenyth is proud to present…
The 77,864th ball. All mages and mages-in-training are invited to attend and to bring a partner (partners need not be mages). Any non-mage is also welcome to appear. It will happen on Sixth Day, Yuneall 18th, 167 PW at 1800. Be there with a formal suit or dress.
“Well, that sounds like fun,” I mutter under my breath. Jade, who was reading above my shoulder shrugs.
“I think it sounds fun,” She says.
“Of course you do,” Xavier teases. “I already know who’s taking you.”
I flush and look down. Meanwhile, Jade shoots a death glare at Xavier, who laughs and enters his room.
“Can’t get me in here, bastards,” He says, shutting the door.
“Who’s the coward now?” Jade screams as he leaves. “Zade, I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah,” I tell her, still blushing. Opening the door and refusing to look at her, I place the invitation on my bed. “I’ll see you later.”
I close the door.