A new Bimester routine starts with a snack from the mess hall, which consumes my walk to the workshop. Once there, a meditative position projects me into my mental experimental workshop. With the new information, headway is ahead—useful balls? I hadn't come up with a name for the device yet, but essentially, they are tiny runes that can trigger a timer to produce an effect. In fear of the inevitable, I opt for the safest formation first.
I assemble the necessary metals by breaking apart the bars Shannai provided. I toss them in my mouth on my way to the cleansing trough. Before I can stick my head in, a thought comes. I grab my pack, pull out a water jug, and pour some in with the materials to cleanse when the process gives another idea. A diagram materializes, floating in the air, shooting away as my attention returns to the assembly in my mouth.
It will be smoke, but experimentation is needed to produce an effect. My first idea is steam, but water takes up too much space. An elemental inductor rune could do it—but will it condense smoke? A product test allows the smoke to soak into the inductor rune, but the emission is too diluted to obscure vision.
Two inductor runes of varying rune affinity get the job done. I mimic lotus porous aluminum for both and wrap the corrupted rune in carbon fibers. The solution increases the dispersal rate, but I now have to find a mechanism for decondensing the smoke to create the desired smoke level. After some tinkering, I have several grated intakes in the barrier rune. The ducts are hollow transference runes that will push dense smoke out with the help of the air sifted from the smoke.
Now it's time for the real thing. I intend the first— Tactical bead? -To be less costly than the others. However, I’ll attribute some of that to the fact that I would, at worst, receive a mouth full of smoke if the test fails. My cut corners do not show on the impeccable bead; this one is dark, and the grates will make it distinguishable from the others. I stare at the dot. I have made things from my ideas. But I lose the affirmative trail, distracted by the call of inquiry.
It will be challenging to complete all three today, so diagrams take precedence. The intention is to create an effect similar to the smoke with a toxic substance. Nothing lethal, just enough to hamper any pursuers, with which we’ll have ample opportunity to escape. The problem here is the substance. If we were in the north, I could grab some bitter root or a chameleon seed from a rot berry bush. Shannai will know of a local substitute. For now, I assume the poison will be a powder needing the rune to store and disperse it.
The requirements allow me to proceed with a rune formation similar to the previous. I replace the corrupt inductor rune with a pocket for the powder. Next, I widen the inductor runes thickness to increase the load limit. Once complete, I charge the power rune and mold the barrier rune.
The easiest is deadly. An inductor rune will explode if it over-pressurizes with enough mana, which is a cautionary tale. But if I can use that effect to my benefit? Essentially, I can create a ‘controlled’ mana explosion. I will do this with two inductor runes, one open and one closed, with the open being the larger of the two. You will also need a power rune with more mana than the closed rune can handle; five seconds should be enough between triggering and the explosion. Coat in a spherical pre-stressed border rune, and the exposed inductors act as a triggering formation.
The triggering rune will start the transfer between the power rune and the open inductor rune. That inductor condenses the mana and pushes it into the other. Once the mana density grows unstable, the closed inductor rune fractures, releasing the mana. All of which was impossible before the power rune.
To call this idea dangerous aggrandizes the warning. Still, it's not the conception that falters. Or this is the new normal: assembling a bomb centimeters away from my brain with my mind, but it can't wait. I form a border rune in my mouth to ensure security. It should be enough to stop an explosion, so infusion starts.
The infusing process uses my ability to mold matter in conjunction with forming all the runes while infusing only the power rune. The effort cost the reserves of my catalysts. I chose to align the rune with fire to add a little kick. The acorn-sized sphere shines with the silver in the outermost layer of the border rune. It’s functional but expensive— No. I have to use it; gold isn't much good in the Waste. With the successful experiments, I reward myself with a wafery pastel delight that crunches and oozes when I bite it. The macaroon gives me enough energy for my first dueling class while keeping the tummy light.
“You will be fine,” Shannai reassures, entering the training grounds alongside me.
“I could die, but you’re right. I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t get too cocky now.”
The training grounds are patchy with trampled earth and splotches of dark soil in random places. The mix of these factors slips down my lips and taste of salt. The instructor stands in the middle of the enclosed field. They tower over the crowd at nearly two hundred and fifty centimeters. I imagine facing off against the figure robed in brawn. It isn’t a comforting thought.
“That everyone? Good. If you— shut up, I'm talking. -To pass my class, there are things I should get to immediately. Sorts out the riff-raff sooner.”
The silence that follows is confusing as nothing happens. I look around and see everyone in distress, if not collapsed. Shannai is gritting her teeth and standing hunched next to me. The people on the ground are unconscious but don't look injured. I look back to the instructor, who has their eyes trained on me.
“Step forward, initiate.”
“Yes, Sr,” I comply, still slightly confused but starting to catch on.
“Do you feel no effect of my presence?” they ask, dropping the hold that had enthralled the crowd.
“I do not.”
“Interesting, they told me you are interesting. Now, back with the rest. Those sacks on the ground will need some— extra help. Everyone else: pair off and ready to duel. We won’t be using weapons, only your magic. Conjured aspects are okay, but there are no anchors. Get on with it.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“You want to go against me?” Shannai asks as I look at her.
“At least I have some gauge of your strength. Plus, I would rather get punched from unexpected angles than whatever they have to throw.”
“You realize I am the strongest person here?”
“Oh, I do. But with my luck, I will pick the second, who will transform into fire or something. You could kill me with no hands, but you’re less likely to do it accidentally..”
“fire?”
“Oh? Something I know about magical theory that you don't?”
“You’ll want to keep me polite with this fight coming up.”
“Good point. It is essentially a full conversion of your body into fire.”
“How is that possible? And can it only be done with elemental magic?”
“It's only mentioned in elemental basics and barely touched on, just referenced as some peak of power for an elemental mage. I hadn’t considered its replicability with other mana types. Probably because they don’t deal with directly converting aspects of body-”
“Vesh. We do have to fight.”
“Yes— Wait, should we be wary of stray magic?”
“You didn’t notice the border rune we walked over?”
“No?”
“How do you not feel that stuff?”
“Well, excuse me, let’s begin.”
The onslaught is quick and unpredictable. I receive three blows to my body before I block. I must be turning constantly to keep Shannai from appearing behind me. I choose my strikes carefully, looking for the exact moment. If I stop her initial volley well enough, I can get off a single rebuff. The first of these attempts meets a lack of resistance, overextending my momentum and allowing Shannai to place a kick into my ribs from beside me.
The fatigue of turning constantly and then receiving a heavy blow for my efforts gnaws on me. I focus on being offensive and utilizing my abilities. I can create an elemental effect of fire that will add a little extra danger to my punches. My time magic is currently draining to keep up. What else? Am I of any use without my amalgamations?
I push through all I know, trying to find some kind of attack. I remember my practical lessons in destruction magic and started spewing different variations of infused spit. My attempts halt as Shannai plants her fist squarely into my eye. The next thing I see is the sky through one and a half eyes. My ribs ache, and my eye visibly closes from swelling. Creation magic circulates at a higher rate, adding to the strain.
“You stayed up longer than I expected.” Shannai comments, holding out a hand to me.
“You’d have an even harder time if I could use my amalgamations.”
“Not likely to happen. That would be unfair.”
“Against you? I’ll be able to use my weapons at least?”
“No, I would crush all your tricks this time. Mages should not use weapons.”
We wait until the matches are complete before returning to the group. The magic within the battles is terrific. One person’s top half is entirely composed of fire. Other initiates hurl around chunks of earth ripped straight out of the ground. The most impressive display is an air mage facing off against a light mage. The air mage flies around, throwing invisible blows that burrow into the ground. The light mage is flashing like a blinking receiver gem while calling down bursts of lightning.
“Well done to all of you.” The trainer compliments us as we all come together.
“The point of this is to put some of you at a disadvantage but also expose a weakness in your fighting. Your opponent can disarm you, which often happens in the arena. You are disadvantaged if you have no core magical ability to fall back on. We will be holding two more matches. Once you have completed it, you can come to the admissions counter, where we will have a rulebook for everyone. Many of you know the rules, but I recommend you brush up.”
“Are we with the same people?” Someone calls from the crowd.
“If you wish. You may even perform in four matches if someone needs another challenger.”
“Are you willing to stick with this dead weight?” I beg, looking to Shan again.
“Sure.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you notice who is here?”
“Who?”
“Little Gallah.”
“No? Where?”
“Over there,” Shannai points.
“Get out of here. You think it is a coincidence?”
“It could be.”
“But?”
“But I doubt it.”
“Why, though?”
“More chances to beat on you?”
“Hmm… Like what?”
“Probably hoping to get a shot at you in the tournament at the end of the bimester.”
“Interesting. You ready?”
“Whenever you are.”
The next fight is as one-sided as the first. I lost in less time because of the reduced visibility and aching ribs, which is a success, as I hadn’t expected it to last even a minute. Another upside is that Shan takes pity on me, and instead of taking out my other eye, she sweeps my legs. I recovered for twenty minutes, hoping to improve her practice by fixing some of my impairments.
“I think you should limit me further or at least give you a boon.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Act like you have a canceling formation, and I can’t appear within a meter of you?”
“We can give that a try. I just don’t want you to coddle me through this.”
“As you said, once you have your weapons, you will have more tactics.”
“To fend off a fireball?”
“Those rapiers are strange. Have you seen anything like them? I’m sure the great Balduan gave them something extra.”
Our last fight starts with less ferocity. The limitation on Shannai’s ability levels our speed. However, in skill, she expertly deflects my attacks while her punches demonstrate precision. Before I consider her an equal match in hand-to-hand, she crushes that overconfidence with decisive reminders. I fall in five minutes, the longest yet, and she is showing a level of fatigue by the end.
As we exit, we grab our rulebooks from the guards at the entryway. The guide is similar to the rules I have memorized for dueling in the arena. They differ where magic is concerned. The magic rules all revolve around not using infused or other altered materials. Configurations are applicable if there isn’t an anchor in the process. The reasoning here is you can’t duel with more magic than you can naturally store. Meaning my catalysts fall under the rule prohibiting outside mana storage. Weapons are allowed but can not contain mana.
The prospects are daunting, as I assumed I would use my amalgamations in the dueling club. All my plans for increasing my effectiveness in the class need to be revised, shifting from entirely functional to somewhat tedious. I should have asked Shan more before deciding.