“Blood Soldier N zero six zero eight four nine nine, and Blood Soldier N zero four zero seven three five six, come up to the stage,” said the guard on one of the main platforms of the Blood Arena, causing the crowd, which had been satiated a little from the bloody fight just moments ago, to erupt in cheers and demands of blood once again. But that was to be expected.
The Blood Arena… there was something about it that made all those who were within its confines to cheer and seek for blood. To seek for victory. Especially those who were participating in the battles. The cheers were far more effective against them, silently infecting them with a thirst for violence. Even Alnea himself, guarding his Heart at every moment, could not completely escape from the magic of the Blood Arena. If he had been facing the cheers all by himself, then he might… Thankfully, he was not alone.
“…Why is it always your battle that comes up first?” Cecilia said, grumbling at the guards for not calling her out first.
“…It would not matter even if they called you out first. Forne would defeat all your opponents before you could make any moves,” Alnea said with a laugh, earning a glare from Cecilia and the dumb cat. Knowing his limits, he quickly coughed, and changed the topic. “Let’s talk after the battle.”
“…Be careful,” Yuri said, more out of habit than caution. After all, according to what the guards had said, unless he reached the top thousand ranks, he will only fight those closer to him in strength. Even if the Arena matched him with stronger opponents because of his better performance, it will only be against Advanced Stage False Wanderers. Having fought and defeated—killed— even Peak Stage False Wanderers, he did not have any pressure facing some False Wanderers who had barely had any life and death experiences. Still, just as Yuri acting out of habit, he too acted out of habit, nodding with a reassuring smile on his face.
“You too,” Alnea said, before urging his small platform to move towards the platform where the guard had called out his name. On the other side, another man urged his platform towards the main stage, seething with excitement, and the intent to fight. Especially when he saw his opponent. There was some doubt on his face, as to why his opponent was just a kid. But soon, those doubts were replaced by the thoughts of victory, and raising his rank.
“You should have waited until you grew a little before coming to the Lost City, kid,” the man said, laughing out in excitement. “No one here is going to go easy on you just because you are smaller than everyone else.”
“…I am not small,” Alnea said in irritation. Being called small and little at every other turn by other Wanderers was beginning to get tiresome. Should he focus on creating an Arcana that could increase his height? Creating Arcanas was not so easy though. Disregarding the dangers of testing different applications of Mysteries, just the first obstacle of comprehending some suitable Mysteries was enough to stump him for a while.
Maybe by the time he could create such an Arcana, his height would have already reached more than two metres. After all, he was growing taller with each passing day. Considering that average humans could see their heights increase up to the age of twenty, and he was just a little over fourteen years old… It was only normal for his height to reach more than two metres, right?
Two metres… These tiny Wanderers, who did not even reach six feet in height, they dared to laugh at him because of his size? Alnea was waiting for the day when he would shock the world with his size. Especially the girls who often snickered at his side. He had already almost caught up to them in height. In just a few months, he would be laughing at them…
These were all things that that would happen later though. Long after he had left the Lost City. Which meant, while he was within the city, he could not stop other Wanderers taking him lightly because of his height… Unless he earned a fearsome reputation for himself. But that was easier said than done. Even when he had earned some reputation from his battles, and the results of his Trials, not everyone in the city knew about him. If his plan went well though…
“This is a free battle,” the guard said, looking indifferently at him, and the other man on the stage. “The Arena will ensure your life, so you can fight to your heart’s content. But once the Arena decides that a battle has been settled, you cannot make any more moves, or you will be disqualified. Do you understand?”
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“I do.”
“I do.”
“Good,” the guard said, nodding in satisfaction, before urging his platform away from the main stage. “You can start.”
Urging his Aspects to gather around his feet, wrapping them in silverish blue and golden light, Alnea pushed himself towards the green robed man, just as the man rushed towards him, wrapping black and purple lights around his fists. A Warrior then, Alnea noted. He did not have any weapon though. Was the man going to his body itself as a weapon? Or was he hiding part of his strength?
Regardless, Alnea could see that that the man’s aim was draw him into close quarter combat. Logically, the best way of dealing with such an opponent was to refrain from giving him any chances. All he had to do was to maintain his distance, using his Arcanas to control the man. If the man could not even get close to him, all his plans were bound to fail. But then, he would end up wasting a lot of his time. Time, which he could use in other meaningful things. Like training. Or gathering more information.
Besides, he still had to guard against the Lotus clan, and other Wanderers in the city. Revealing all his means would be beyond stupidity. Of course, he could not appear to be too weak either. After all, this was the world of Wanderers. A world where only the strong had the right to speak. So, whether it was to warn other Wanderers, or to earn a place for himself in the city, Alnea decided to use a bit more of his strength than he had used the day before. In line with what he had already shown, of course.
Matching his breath with the rhythm of his steps, Alnea began ‘Flowing with the Wind’. It did not matter that the Arena had no winds. He became the wind himself, adopting the fickleness of Cretes’ thoughts. Moving from his left to his right, and from his right to his left, constantly changing his steps, he forcibly interrupted the rhythm of his enemy, before sweeping towards the man like a fierce gust of wind, as if intent on uprooting the man from the stage.
Unlike a tree though, the man could fight against the winds. So, just ‘Flowing with the Winds’ was not enough. To defeat the man in a swift and decisive manner, Alnea unsheathed his sword, swinging it towards the man in one clean motion, leaving behind a trail of golden and black lights on its path, along with the sound of the ‘Crying Wind’. After his sword met the man though, what was left behind on its path was not just the lights of his Aspects, but also a trail of the man’s blood, and his desperate cries of pain.
With blood splattering all over the ground, and his cries getting lost in the cheers of the Arena, the man stumbled, and fell to his knees, his face distorting in pain, and humiliation. Especially when he saw how the kid, whom he was looking down on just moments ago, was not even taking him seriously. After swinging his sword once, the boy turned around, and shook his sword to rid it of the blood sticking to its surface, before sliding it back into its sheath, and walking away.
Yet, the man did not dare to move. Nor did the man dared to have any thoughts about the boy. Instead, he looked at the remains of the blood red curtain of light around him dissipating back into the stage with trepidation. If not for its resistance, the boy’s sword might even have cut him in half…
“Your Blood Card,” the guard said, arriving next to Alnea just as he subdued his Aspects, and sent them back to their Aspect Wells. Even though the fight was short, its excitement was still coursing through his veins, making him a little agitated. He knew how to control himself though. Nodding at the guard, he took out his Blood Card, and handed it to the man for handling the finishing procedures of the battle, before turning towards the other stages in the Arena.
Not long after he had been called to the stage, he had heard the guards of the other stages call Cecilia’s and Yuri’s numbers. With their strength, unless they met Peak Stage Wanderers, they would not face any problems. And even against Peak Stage False Wanderers, they would not be entirely hopeless. Facing some Intermediate Stage False Wanderers would not even be a challenge for the girls.
And yet, Alnea could not stop the strange itch in his Heart. His irrational fear would not let him rest until he saw the girls win with his own eyes. Even if he knew that they were bound to win… As he expected, the girls easily subdued their opponents in just a couple of moves.
“You can vacate the stage now.”
Pocketing his Blood Card back into the folds of his robe, Alnea ignored the guard, and nodded at the girls, before turning towards the crowd in the Arena with a grin on his face. Since his irrational worries had been settled, then next, he had to finish what he had started. He had to… Just thinking about what he was about to do was making him feel a little embarrassed, but he could not back down. The girls… They surely were crazy enough to follow the plan to the end. And since he was the one who came up with plan in first place, how could he leave the stage when his plan had just begun?