Jay woke up to see an unfamiliar room, the bed he slept in different from the one he ended up waking up in. A door led straight out into a grassy arena. He exited and stretched, taking a few seconds to get ready. The arena was a complete circle, and other people popped into existence out of nowhere. When Jay turned around, the door was nowhere in sight, a stone wall further back from him. The wall reached to the skies, but had a glass section about halfway up which revealed a crowd on the other side. They were cheering for whomever they supported, and clear factions were visible all around the wall. He snorted when he saw his mom, alone, holding up a flag that exclaimed ‘GO JAY’ in bright orange letters he could see from the other side of the arena, which was quite large. After a few more people popped into the arena, Diamond’s face appeared, floating in the center of the arena. It was massively enlarged, so Jay finally had a chance to truly examine it. He had glossy black hair, with the clear-cut diamond eyes he’d seen earlier…

“This is a free-for-all. I will judge your performances myself. If you team up, your points will be reduced. However, that being said, if you do well with a team, and work together well, I may give you extra points.” Diamond’s massive head sighed. “Simply put, you fight. I grade you on how well you do. Go for it.”

His head disappeared, some nobles staring at the newly emptied space in confusion. Others gravitated towards each other, immediately forming teams. The noble on his left and the group of nobles on his right immediately turned on him, seeing him as weaker prey with the inexpensive clothing he was wearing. The group on his right was made of seven people, and the noble on his left was alone. Just great.

He made himself quicksilver armor with a thought, his years of practice making it easy. The nobles started running towards him, shooting angry glances at each other. They all wanted the ‘easy’ points they got from fighting him, he supposed. Jay gave both sides baleful looks, which caused quite a few heads to turn red with anger, both in the stands and in the arena, before simply waiting for them. The noble on his left arrived first, earth coalescing on his hands before he tried to punch Jay in the face.

Incredibly slowly.

As his punch neared Jay, he let quicksilver ooze under his boots, before smoothing it and sliding out of the way of the punch. It breezed past his face and the metal on the ground immediately spiked up, driving liquid metal through the boy’s arm as it overextended. He screamed, staggering forward as the spike retracted, and drove at the boy again, this time straight through the chest. He disappeared before it could do so, but blood still lingered on the quicksilver.

The group of nobles started nearing him, and Jay turned. They were now close enough for him to hear their commentary. “That commoner dares to harm a noble?”

“Let us put him in his place. Below us, like the serfs of old,” another said, evidently having read too many books to speak normally.

A chorus of war cries sounded as Jay readied himself. As easy as the first noble had been to defeat, he was probably an outlier. A sword appeared in Jay’s hand as a noble at the front of the pack threw a fireball at him. A tendril batted it out of the air as Jay ran forward, his metal lagging slightly behind him.

He dodged a swing from the noble at the front, as she coated herself and her sword in fire. He ignored her overhead slash as a spear of quicksilver cut through her, a nearly silent pop signifying her defeat. A liquid shield formed to his left, deflecting a massive warhammer to the side. It crackled with electricity, but his quicksilver refused to conduct it, letting the warhammer fall ineffectively to the ground.

He scythed the noble down as another took his place, a spear jabbing at him. Jay turned his back as his armor took the attack, turning his attention to something far more concerning.

The leader of the pack, with a dagger coated in flowing darkness, stood ready to stab him, blinking surprisedly as he turned. He was perhaps one of the few who, Jay sensed, could break through his armor. Still, he stabbed at Jay, who slid away once again, taking him out with a quick swing.

The last two roared in anger, charging using none of their abilities, and were dispatched handily. He stood, scratching his head, after destroying the group without effort. Vaguely, the announcer shouted above him.

“Wow! The commoner defeats the rising noble lord Jiashe Hugieya and his group, as well as the lone noble Zakary Connor. Who will finally put this pest down?”

Jay sighed. Even the announcer was against him. He turned to the rest of the arena and watched as the nobles turned to him, one by one. This… wasn’t good.

Some, however, ignored him. Notably, a woman wielding water glanced at him and returned to annihilating her enemies. Some others did the same.

The bulk ran at him without fear for their lives.

Jay looked up at the sky, metal swirling around him. “Here we go.”

“AND THE COMMONER LOOKS UP AT THE SKY, UNAWARE OF THE GENTLEMEN AND GENTLEWOMEN RUNNING AT HIM! OUR HONOR IS ABOUT TO BE RESTORED!”

Jay flicked his head down at the charging nobles and grew a Cheshire grin. “They can’t touch me.”

The announcer didn’t have a retort ready, just going silent as some of his quicksilver rose into the air, shaping itself into knives. It was time to bombard them from range.

The knives flew at his opponents, some disappearing instantly. Others survived, taking hits in non-vital areas. Even rarer were the undamaged ones, who had, by luck, dodged the knives flying towards them.

As a response, abilities flew at him from the diminished force. The metal from his knives flowed across the ground, as he ran forward, the attacks landing behind him, as if they’d expected him to stay still. A noble in front of him screamed, speeding up because of some ability, before he ran directly onto Jay’s sword, which he’d simply held in front of him. He disappeared.

The rest descended on Jay, who dismissed his sword. “THEY HAVE YOU NOW, FILTH. WHERE IS YOUR BRAVADO NOW?”

Jay just looked up and laughed madly as metal spikes came out of the grass, teleporting the rest of the massive group out of the arena. Surprisingly, none had looked down to see the quicksilver moving through the grass. The metal on the ground returned to him, and it all faded into his body, only leaving behind his armor as Jay surveyed the arena.

Only a few nobles were left. The water woman had control of her corner of the arena. A man flipping knives controlled his own section. Another woman with her eyes closed, with purple streaks in her hair, was directly across from him. Others controlled smaller sections, some visibly angry at him, while others didn’t seem to care.

Jay stretched his back, cracking a few bones. “Now I’m warmed up.”

The crowd had gone silent at the massacre, and he felt hate-filled stares piercing him from all directions. They didn’t like that a commoner had won against nobles, cutting through their thousand-year-old families without a care in the world. Strangely, Jay wanted to provoke them further. His blood was rushing in his veins, and he was ready to fight. He hadn’t been pushed hard enough for his body to inject his veins with adrenaline, but he suspected his next opponent would land him there.

Some nobles teamed up against him, while others simply waited in their corners. The three he’d noted stayed in their own sections. A much stronger army formed against him, merging in the center of the arena. Then the water woman seemed to decide on something, and launched herself across the arena, with a burst of water, at him. Jay tensed, but she wasn’t here to fight him. Skidding to a stop, she stood shoulder to shoulder with him. “If they’re teaming up, I’ll do so as well.” She smiled at him. “I’d rather be on your side than that foolhardy gathering.”

The announcer immediately had a reply. “The Outcast, Catherine Silentis, joins the commoner. A fitting companion.”

Jay nearly raised his sword to strike her before glancing at the gathering. It was far too big to fight alone-and still, too big to fight with just one other person. He’d barely made a dent in the massive number of nobles filling the arena.

The knife-wielding man appeared next to him, and stepped back, slightly behind them. “I’m Drake Shadowsheen.”

He offered no further explanation as the announcer could be heard making unintelligible noises. The woman with purple streaks appeared next to him as well, opening her eyes. They had purple irises, and locked on to his before nodding. “I’ll join too. Crystal Evermonde.”

Jay nodded to them. Then he raised his sword and almost stumbled as he felt a mental connection appear. It felt inviting. He turned to Crystal. She nodded, so he tentatively accepted.

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Immediately, he felt other minds with his. Huh. This is interesting, Drake commented.

If you will all share your abilities?, Crystal asked. I am a psionist, with some other affinities as well. I’m a proficient ranged fighter. I can play the backline and do magic. School of Thought, obviously.

I’m an assassin, dude and dudettes. Ugh. Those words felt wrong. I control shadows and have an enhanced body and senses. Apparently I have other affinities, but dunno how to use them. School of Aura. Drake said.

Catherine started speaking. I use water. I can also call up monsters of the Deep and fight at both melee and range. School of Song.

Jay went last. I wield quicksilver. I have no affinities, but I have a connection with all the Schools and also this other one that Diamond didn’t know about called Change.

You met Diamond? Crystal commented. Jay shrugged at her.

Crystal immediately started coordinating all of them, dropping instructions into their minds. He would fight in melee, with Catherine supporting him and keeping them from getting to Crystal. Drake would do Drake things(Stabbing them in the back) and Crystal would be the backline mage, throwing out whatever she wanted to throw.

The horde approached, and the battle began.

Jay could immediately tell this group wasn’t the same as before. They attempted to sweep past him, but a wall of water stopped them. Jay slid around attacks, his sword finding openings, as he was sucked into the middle of the horde. Nobles disappeared left and right as spikes of metal appeared from the ground. A noble swung for his feet, and Jay was forced to launch himself straight up with his metal, before falling directly towards where a noble was standing, pointing up at him with a spear.

The perfect lightning rod for Crystal.

After the burnt spear turned to ashes, Jay fought back into the horde. Then there was an attack he could not avoid. A hammer came out of nowhere, smashing through other nobles to hit him.

Jay gritted his teeth, let his armor to flow to his left arm, and took the blow. The hammer smashed through his quicksilver and shattered his arm. Jay flew through the horde, his momentum launching him towards a wall. Jay caught himself with his quicksilver, bleeding his momentum into the wall, which cracked before repairing itself. He tried to move his left arm, before giving up on the attempt. A quicksilver cast formed around it, locking it to his body, before he started moving again. He threw himself back into the fight, his blood pumping as his body worked itself to a peak.

Jay felt the adrenaline hit him, as if it was a physical thing, his swords scything out patterns at supernatural speeds. His left arm blocked, and his right immediately took the next strike, a massive wave of quicksilver launching out from behind him, devastating the nobles. It shot itself back into him as he looked at his left arm. It was moving, pulled along by quicksilver-wait.

He wasn’t controlling the quicksilver. Even if someone else was controlling it, how would they do it so well that it felt like he was moving his own arm?

Jay panted with exertion as he finally cut through the rest of the crowd, coming face-to-face with Catherine, who he nearly stabbed before pulling himself back. Crystal held a massive fireball, the look on her face a bit too maniacal for Jay’s liking, and Drake was nowhere to be seen. Jay turned in a circle, noting another group of four people. No one else was in the arena-it was just their two groups.

Alright. That’s Pelitte, Seline, Gunther, and Therian. Gunther’s a brute who’ll die if you smack him enough. He will regenerate though, so smack him really hard. He’s in the School of Thought. Therian’s their backline mage-he’ll take too long to channel his power through the Spirits and hit you. So, really, he’s not much of a threat. Seline and Pelitte are twins. Seline’s a Render-someone of the School of Aura. No idea what her affinities are. Pelitte is of the School of Thought, just like Gunther, but she’s a lot better. Seline will support her and fight by her side. Capiche? Go for it.

As Crystal’s plan ended, Jay stepped forward, two hooks of quicksilver digging into the ground in front of him and tossing him ahead. They retracted, though Jay made one of them wrap around his now-nonresponsive left arm. Huh. Crystal was with him, sliding as he had earlier-but far faster-on a slipstream of water. More was coalescing above her head, and he could see telltale concentration on her face.

Move right, Jay. Cathy, go left.

Did you just call me Cathy?

Jay launched himself to the side, recognizing Crystal’s voice and hearing the smile hidden within it. A massive fireball launched past him, searing him with the heat of its passage, before slamming into their opponents with a force Jay felt from back here. Immediately, Jay heard a pop. As soon as the area caught fire, it fizzled out, the smoke clearing immediately as well. Three of the four remained. Seline and Pelitte were entirely undamaged, standing close together. Gunther was hurt, but as Jay watched, his flesh knitted itself together. Catherine skated on water next to him-water still coming together above her-and they charged at the group, not bothering to slow down.

Jay scythed out bladed tentacles, hoping to catch one off guard. None of them were, however, Seline and Pelitte easily hopping over them while Gunther simply hit the metal hard enough that it whipped back the way it came. Crystal was next, a warhammer landing directly in Gunther’s head. An audible crunch sounded before Gunther flew away. Surprisingly, there was no pop, Gunther getting up once more after landing on the floor. His face was nearly healed already. Taking the opportunity, Jay shot at Seline and Pelitte.

The first attack came from Pelitte. A bolt of some black substance rushed at Jay, but he easily whipped it off course. The bolt, newly redirected, shot at Gunther, hitting him directly in the chest. Skin melted off, the flesh and bone beneath not faring too well. Gunther finally screamed. The pain was finally getting to him, Jay supposed. Pelitte ignored his cries, focused solely on Jay. Seline acted next, an almost palpable Aura spreading around her. Pelitte backed into the Aura, suddenly launching faster bolts at both of them.

Jay grimaced, then stepped aside for another of Crystal’s massive fireballs. It hit the Aura and fell straight to the ground. Gravity. Great, Crystal sighed within Jay’s mind.

Jay stepped forward. Guess I’ve got to go in, then.

His mind, for a moment, went over all the people he’d just knocked out, but then moved on, surprising him with how much he simply didn’t care about them. None had stood out in any way.

Silver spears shot forth, easily dodged by Pelitte, but ceasing her barrage of projectiles for long enough that Jay could close the distance, the spears homing in onto Seline. Gravity tugged, and they fell to the ground, melting into dissolving quicksilver. Jay stepped into the gravity Aura, coming face-to-face with Pelitte. She flicked her hand, and a blade of black rot formed in her hand while a ball of acid appeared in the other. Decay and Acid. Great combination.

I agree, replied a voice from inside his head.

Jay dodged a quick slash from the blade, too busy to respond to whoever had replied. A silver gauntlet formed on his right arm, and he caught the next slash of the blade before stabbing forward with the knife that had appeared in his left. Rapidly, Pelitte disengaged, jumping back before pointing her sword at the sky, her feet one in front of the other in a prim dueling stance.

Then the surrounding ground rotted. The plants started to wither and die, the ground itself turning to sludge. She laughed maniacally all while her sister smiled at the back of her head. Seline’s Aura ballooned. Another presence erupted from her, combining with her other Aura. The light within the new Aura almost seemed too bright now. “Well, this is annoying,” Jay told Catherine, standing next to him. “We’re going to have to pull out all the stops.”

Catherine nodded. And with that, she screamed, the watery creation above her finally coming to fruition. A leviathan floated above her, seeming so out of place yet so strong. Then it morphed, flippers turning to wings and gills disappearing. “Did you know…” Catherine started, panting. Blood ran down her hands. “Leviathans were originally beasts of the sky. Then they moved to the deep ocean. You’re dead.”

The leviathan roared, and the battle spurred on. It charged, a beam of energy erupting from its mouth with seemingly no effort. The painful radiance of Seline’s Aura attempted to counter it. It made absolutely no difference, the blast flying straight through and just barely missing Pelitte.

Catherine was obviously struggling. She could barely move, her feet rooted to the ground. Well, my turn, Crystal spoke inside his head.

Thunder shrieked from the sky constantly as Crystal lifted into the air. A single spear conjured itself above her head. She patted it, whispering a few words before waving it offhandedly in Seline’s direction. It flew, and Jay finally realized what type of spear it was. It was dark almost to black, and carried… fear. Simple fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the beasts in the woods. For a moment, Jay felt he could look deeper. A fear revealed itself to him, a fear of one’s own family-

Jay backed off quickly. That was Crystal’s own fear. The spear impacted the Aura. It completely ignored the gravitational aspect and hit Seline with full force. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell to the ground, popping out of the arena.

Jay took a glance over at Gunther and blinked, surprised. Drake was fighting him, cuts simply appearing on Gunther’s body constantly. So that’s where he’d been all this time. Crystal, you went. Catherine, you went. It’s my turn now.

Jay ran at Pelitte, who licked her lips, the sword coming straight down. Jay stopped right outside its range, metal exploding out of him in a massive wave. Pelitte jumped straight up, her reaction time getting her over the wave. A tendril reached up into the sky and lazily batted her back to the ground, which was now coated in Jay’s metal. She sunk into it, the tendrils wrapping around her like a cage. Only her head was above the metal. A single hateful glare was sent Jay’s way before she popped out of the arena as well.

The entire team turned to Gunther, who was still fighting Drake. “Oh, well,” Gunther said, attempting to hit Drake again. “Goodbye, idiots. You’re why I can’t enter this school.”

Gunther laughed for a moment, and expanded. His chest was massive as he grew ever bigger. Multiple shadowy tentacles wrapped together into a massive spearhead, shooting straight at-and through-Gunther, who laughed as the giant hole healed, pushing the spear out. Tusks grew out of his mouth, his eyes turning orange as red fur sprouted all over him. His feet burst out of his custom-tailored shoes, revealing hooves the color of ash. “Idiots. You may die now.”

Why the hell hasn’t the match been ended yet? He’s sacrificing his life for a demonic transformation!, Crystal yelled in their head.

Then Gunther launched a fist at Drake, and they had no more time to talk.