image [https://i.imgur.com/dNYFpOJ.png]
Two weeks had quickly gone by and classes still hadn’t resumed, leaving many of the students wondering what was next for them. However, today, things were going to become much clearer. As the clock hit the afternoon hour, an announcement was made across the entire campus.
“Attention all first year students, please make your way to the first year assembly hall for a meeting!” It said loudly, repeating multiple times over the next few minutes.
Carmen and Elise quickly got dressed and exited the girls dormitory, rushing towards the assembly hall at the center of the eastern building. Once there, they grabbed a seat with Mariah and patiently waited for all of the other first years to trickle into the room. As the last few students took a seat, a couple of teachers stepped onto the stage.
“Hello students, I’m Instructor Bailey and I’ll be in charge of the university during the absence of Headmaster Quinn and Lady Ravala. I know this has been a very difficult time for you all and the uncertainty of the future has put quite the damper on your experience here at LaVeda. Well today, I hope to shine some light on what to expect very soon.” Instructor Bailey said as he straightened the cuff links on his green button up shirt.
“I got a message from the University Board today and they've decided to end the semester two months earlier than expected. The school has taken extensive damage and without proper leadership or staff, teaching the rest of this school year will be nigh impossible. So, after tomorrow, you all will be permitted to leave the campus and go home so we can begin the repairs for the Fall semester.” He added, causing the room to explode with cheers and excitement.
As the assembly hall filled with chatter, Instructor Bailey put his fingers into his mouth and blew out an incredibly loud whistle. The sound quickly silenced the crowd, allowing him to continue talking.
“Now, with that being said, we’ve come up with a solution for your final grades. We’ll be holding mock battles to evaluate your progress since the midterms. How well you use your skills, the level of your Resonance, Manifest handling, and overall combat knowledge will be compared to your performance in the midterm and your score will be given accordingly.” Instructor Bailey said with a matter of fact tone.
“As long as you show improvement, winning the fight won’t be required to get a good score. Here’s how we will choose your opponent.”
He looked over to his left as another instructor walked onto the stage, her short brown hair swaying with each confident step.
“For the mock battles, we’ll split you all up into groups of thirty based on your rank. For example, ranks one through thirty will be group one. Ranks thirty-one through sixty-one will be group two, so on and so forth. This will prevent a top ten student from fighting a rank seventy student, keeping matches fairly balanced.” She said, pointing up at a large holographic screen showing how everything would work.
“When your group is called, walk up to the stage and reach into this box. The number you pull out will be your opponents rank and the person you’ll be fighting for this exam. Incredibly simple. Are there any questions?”
No one had anything to say and so the selection process began. Group one was called to the stage and they all stood single file, in order of their rank. The instructor called their last names in alphabetical order and Carmen was the fourth person to be called.
She walked up to the box and reached inside. Carmen pulled out the folded piece of paper and opened it, revealing the number “1.” The hologram screen showed Bridgette Vandel’s face alongside Carmen Belouis’ with a large “V.S” in the middle.
“Yikes, number one versus thirty? That’s unfortunate.”, “Yeah, that’s an easy win for Bridgette. So much for keeping things balanced.” Murmured a few students seated in the crowd, already putting their bets on this fight being an absolute wash.
Carmen calmly stepped back in line and watched as Elise was called up next. Elise reached into the box and pulled out the number “5.” Sebastian’s face appeared alongside Elise’s on the hologram screen. She looked over at him and he simply smiled while giving her a thumbs up.
Over the next few minutes, everyone else got their opponents and they all began to walk off the stage to take their seats. Once all of the first year students got their assignments, Instructor Bailey approached the podium and made a few more remarks before dismissing the students.
“These battles will begin tomorrow morning at the eastern arena. Once your match is over, you’re welcome to begin preparations to leave campus. Thank you again for attending LaVeda University and we look forward to seeing you all in the Fall! Dismissed!” He said with a smile, motioning for everyone to exit.
The students stood and walked out of the assembly hall, feeling excited for what was to come. Carmen’s group made their way through the door and saw Bridgette standing there with a cheeky smile.
“I can’t wait to pay you back for that little stint you pulled. You’re going to regret ever putting hands on me. I’ll really show you the gulf between us, Carmen.” She remarked with an irritated frown.
To her surprise, Carmen completely ignored her, having zero reaction as she continued walking by. Bridgette turned around with a highly irritated expression, watching Carmen laugh it up with Elise and Mariah.
“I’m going to tear her to shreds…” Bridgette muttered under her breath.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
image [https://i.imgur.com/d60vRFl.png]
The next morning came and all of the first year students gathered at the eastern arena. The open air design of the arena allowed ample amounts of sunlight to energize the eager students as they awaited their instructions. Group one took their seats at the bottom row while everyone else headed towards the stands above.
The matches were drawn randomly and after Mariah easily defeated the fifteenth ranked student, Elise and Sebastian were called up for their fight. They went onto the arena and took their positions on opposite ends of the field.
3… 2… 1… GO!
Just as the screen signaled the start of the fight, Elise summoned her Manifest and rushed towards Sebastian with her heightened speed. He quickly retaliated by summoning forth some playing cards, tossing them at her with incredible precision.
The cards barely missed her face, but as they hit the ground, the cards lit up and exploded. Even though the force of the explosion knocked Elise off of her feet, she had enough body control to spin and flip in the air, landing on the ground with impressive grace.
‘That was close.’
Once Elise landed, she proceeded to close the gap between them, swiping her twin daggers with electrified slashes. To her surprise, Sebastian was quite nimble and none of her attacks were able to land. She continued her assault, increasing her speed and getting more aggressive with each slash. Sebastian dodged the last hit and quickly grabbed her arm, flinging Elise into the air.
“Huh!?” She exclaimed as she suddenly stared up at the clear, blue skies.
Without wasting a single moment, Sebastian continued his attack by tossing multiple white, glowing playing cards that surrounded Elise. They shined with a blinding brilliance, causing Elise to cover her eyes before they aggressively exploded all around her. The crowd was in awe by the impressive explosion, thinking that this fight was over.
However, within a single blink, Elise was suddenly standing behind Sebastian. He looked back with a surprised expression until a massive bolt of green lightning zapped down from the sky, crashing into the ground where they stood.
‘Did I hit him?’
Elise's panted heavily and her legs trembled as she waited for the smoke to clear. Seconds later, she felt something sharp pressed against her neck. Elise glanced behind her to see Sebastian holding a playing card up to her jugular. Even though his uniform was damaged and half burnt from her attack, he still somehow recovered fast enough to retaliate.
His Manifest dug deeper and deeper, sending a small strand of blood trickling down her neck. The instructor raised their hand and stopped the match, declaring Sebastian the winner. Elise sighed and smiled, feeling happy for his victory. He then turned around and grabbed her hand, raising it up high as they faced the crowd. It almost seemed like he was showing them that she was normal and that there was nothing weird about her.
“What are you doing??” She asked with an embarrassed cadence.
“Just go along with it, they love it! Just wave and bow.” Sebastian replied with a smile as the crowd of students cheered for their performance.
The duo waved and bowed before heading off of the field. Even though she was incredibly embarrassed, Elise felt good that people showed some kind of positive interest in her for the first time ever. Once they found their seats, more matches got underway.
Cassidy and Caleb were eventually called to the arena and when they got to their respective sides, the mock battle swiftly began. Cassidy summoned her Manifest, Aquos Manacle, and immediately conjured up a small legion of water puppets. Their clear, liquid bodies sloshed and dripped across the floor as they raced towards Caleb.
"Glacial Rend, come forth!" Caleb yelled as he summoned his Manifest, gripping the handle of his icy blue rapier.
He reared the blade back and jabbed it into one of the puppets, causing it to explode into a watery mist. The other puppets quickly surrounded him before dashing forward, their limbs transforming into sharp water blades the closer they got.
Despite the overwhelming numbers disadvantage, Caleb skillfully parried and blocked every slash sent his way. After each attack that missed, he would pierce the puppets through their chests, making short work of his enemies. Once the final puppet was dispatched, Caleb glared at Cassidy with his dark blue eyes, forcefully flinging the water off of his blade.
"Hmph, you're gonna have to do better than that, Cassidy." Caleb said with a slight, confident smirk.
"Oh, trust me, I know. But don't let your guard down just yet!"
As soon as the words left Cassidy's mouth, the puddles of water that were left behind from her puppets started to ripple violently. Caleb looked down and swiftly aimed his palm at the water, exerting his Core Energy to the max. Ice began to form and the puddles solidified completely, making a popping sound as her attack froze in place.
"Sorry Cass, but water has no chance again frost."
"Really? Are you sure about that?" Cassidy replied with a smile, not worried in the slightest about Caleb's statement.
Caleb's brow furrowed with great confusion as he wondered why she looked so confident. Suddenly, the frozen puddles began to shake as water leaked and trickled out across the arena floor.
'What!? Why is my ice melting?'
He looked up to see Cassidy's Manifest glowing brightly, the silver and light blue rings rotating faster and faster with each passing second. Then, a massive burst of Core Energy exploded from Cassidy as massive amounts of water cascaded upwards in all directions. Caleb tried to dash backwards, but the speed and size of the torrent was too much. He was swallowed whole within seconds and the entire arena was flooded, water mere inches from the spectator stands.
"My goodness!! I believe this is the first time Cassidy has ever shown such an ability. Most impressive!" One of the instructors said with an excited cadence, jotting down notes on his clipboard.
"I'm honestly not surprised. She's not the Ocean Goddess's protege for nothing. Her potential is certainly among the highest in her class. I'd argue she could give Bridgette a run for her money if she stopped holding herself back so much." Another instructor replied, looking over Cassidy's file.
"Yeah, unfortunately, she's way too nice. Gives her opponents way too many chances."
"Indeed."
When the attack subsided, Caleb emerged from the receding waters with a loud gasp for air. Once he noticed that he was no longer on the arena's field, an instructor called the match and declared Cassidy the winner. Caleb got back to the edge of the arena and looked up to see Cassidy smiling as she held her hand out. He humbly took hold of it and when she helped him up, Cassidy began to speak.
"Sorry, forgot to mention that the water generated from my Manifest can't be compromised. No amount of ice, heat, electricity, or poison will change it's chemical make up." She said with a chuckle.
"I see. Well, that was smart of you to keep that under wraps. I'll definitely remember that for next time though, good fight!" Caleb replied, joining in on the laughter.
As their fight concluded and after they cleared the field, Carmen and Bridgette were called to the arena next. They stepped up onto opposite sides and prepared themselves for combat.
“You’ve no idea how long I’ve been waiting for us to fight with no restrictions. I hope you’re ready, Belouis.” Bridgette remarked with a deep smirk, chomping at the bit to get this fight underway.
Carmen remained silent as she glared, unfazed by her opponent's statement.