Standing across from the angry red head, Sierra’s mind was already racing.

‘I don’t think I intentionally pissed anyone off here yet, I’ve been here like one day and people already have a grudge against me. Is it my level? I didn’t see any other King’s but that seems like such a stupid reason to have this much hate for a person. Did she think I was trying to hit on her? Whatever, can’t win 'em all. I highly doubt they can obscure my vision, so I’m just gonna put her in a bubble, tighten it to her like shrink wrap and call it a day.’ Sierra mentally sighed, stretching her arms idly as she waited.

‘ Encase living material. Reject no light or sound. ‘

“BEGIN!” Evergreen once again commanded, yet this time Sierra was the first on the draw. A translucent teal dome appeared over the red haired firecracker. With a twist of her wrist, the dome shrunk and tightened itself around the would-be combatant, sealing her in place.

“Uhhh, I think tha-” Before she was able to finish her sentence, a fist, followed by an entire arm, appeared in motion and clocked Sierra across the jaw, sending her stumbling.

“What the fuck?!” She said, yet as her eyes shot to her opponent, her face dropped in horror.

Starting with her head, followed by her torso, arms and legs, the firecracker known only as Lancelot appeared a few feet in front of her teal prison.

“Nope, try again princess. I can’t even teleport my full body yet and it’s enough to beat your ass.” The red rush of limbs said, her voice dripping with venom as she took another swing, her arm disappearing, only to reappear underneath Sierra’s jaw.

After connecting and sending the blue haired barrier wielder stumbling once again, the arm snapped back into place below her shoulder.

‘ Of course she’s a fucking teleporter. No wonder she was so cocky about this fight. The issue is, how the hell do I even beat her? Let alone when I’m limited so heavily? ‘ Sierra’s mind began to turn at full speed, yet as the red witch’s arm disappeared in another swing, her train of thought was broken by a shot to the ribs.

‘ She’s only swinging one arm at a time, and she isn’t just pummeling me. There’s a cooldown, and I’m assuming a limb limit. Whether that’s due to her own abilities limit or the imposed one I have no idea. What I need to do is- ‘ Sierra’s thought process was once again rocked as she caught a kick directly to her side, collapsing to the floor from the pain.

‘ Don’t blame me when this hurts. ‘ Throwing her arm forward and summoning a rectangular barrier directly on the tips of her finger, in the face of an adversary like none before, adaptation took over Sierra’s mind.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

‘ Reject Sierra - Thirty Feet. ‘ As the condition floated into her mind and coursed through her ability, the shimmering barrier rocketed from her fingertips, flying at the same speed that brought her to the peak of a skyscraper in mere moments.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” The red haired demon had only a moment to react before the teal mass slammed into her body, only having time to reflexively teleport her head away from her body before it was sent flying backwards. With a cry of pain, the floating head winced and returned to its battered body, laying slumped against the translucent wall of the classroom arena.

Standing to her feet, Sierra raised her arms, palms towards the crimson warper. “Give. Up.” She panted out, blinking the tears from her eyes. Yet, before the firecracker was able to deliver a response, the barrier flickered and dissipated, allowing the Healer team a chance to grab her.

“That’s that! With an interesting application of a barrier technique, Miss Wraith has defended her title of tutor alongside Mister Harris. Everyone, round of applause for both Miss Lancelot, for her interesting display of a teleportation power as well as her bravery, and Miss Wraith for her creative problem solving.” The snake eyed charlatan motioned to the two women, giving the class only a moment to clap before attempting to turn the bloodsport into a teachable moment.

“That match was a display of exactly what we aim to teach during Practical Ability Application. Not only did both of these students hold back, choosing to use what we can presume are the less lethal aspects of their abilities, but even in the face of mounting pain and pressure, Miss Wraith still elected to attempt to knock out and restrain her opponent. On the flip side, Miss Lancelot only ever aimed to finish the fight by attempting to knock out her opponent in the quickest time possible, using a high level of precision. Try to imitate them in the future.” With the moment passed, Sierra was allowed to return to her seat after receiving some healing from the nurses on standby, removing every ache, pain, and trace of the fight.

After the heat of the first two matches, the rest of the class seemed excited to put themselves to the test.

This of course resulted in the following two duels all ending prematurely. Firstly, a pyromancer named Adrianna made a fireball the size of a door and sent it flying towards her opponent, leading her ring to paralyze her. Secondly, was when a man built like the perfect combination of human and gorilla leaped across the arena at his opponent, causing her to shock him with a lightning bolt charged with enough juice to power a house. Needless to say, the three of them were all given a verbal lashing by Mister Evergreen and were stripped of one Tier of Limitation each.

Sitting in her comfortable seat, Sierra’s mind continued to turn over the events of the last day.

‘ What the fuck is my problem? Do I have a serious resting bitch face? Was I rude to anyone in particular? Did I accidentally hit some friend group in the head with my debris when I sent it towards the dumpster? Is it a cultural thing? Does everyone here really love history and they found out I defaced a museum? Why would they care that I defaced a statue of some shitty war general? Oh fuck what if they’re like the grandchildren of that general, and they think I think that they’re-’ Sierra’s ADHD thought stream was once again broken, this time not by a punch in the face or kick in the ribs, but instead by a gentle tap on the shoulder.

“Hey roomie. I saw your match, that was really impressive. Sorry I didn’t sit here before, but my friends wanted me to sit with them. Wanna come over to us?” Anna said, her cerise hair gently brushing against Sierra’s cerulean locks.

Looking up and towards Anna, Sierra followed the path of her hands to see Claire giving her a gentle wave, and a familiar red-headed woman looking slightly annoyed.

Suddenly, the interaction from earlier clicked into her mind like a puzzle piece.

‘Lancelot is in Viper.’