That day had come and gone within a moment. The students did what training they could in order to prep themselves for the tournament. That is, mostly their standard routines. But, Bif and Avures had worked together seeing as how they had the same, yet opposite, problem. Though, it's hard to break habits. As much as the two of them tried to step out of their comfort zones...not much progress was made in getting either to use their weaker side. Nonetheless, they were about as ready as they could be.
The prospect of fighting in this event was huge. It was the real turning point for them that really solidified their futures as a Lancer. Zen had mentioned during the training that this tournament was huge for a couple of reasons. It was the main event for the kicking off of the New Age Festival. With Lancers being much of the foundation and vanguards of the kingdom of Palmenae, they were usually heavily celebrated in each festival. The New Age Festival itself represents a coming of new days, and thus, new blood. It was a way to showcase the Lancers of tomorrow. Those who would be the protectors and servitors of the future. Those who would carry the torch of such a responsibility.
But besides the cultural impact and implications...there were lots of opportunities to be had. A facet that Zen mentioned off-hand was the possibility of joining other organizations. Often, Lancers from the Academy would be scouted and evaluated by those who sought prospects. Whether it be the kingdom, a merchant's guild, or even a mercenary group...everyone had a hand in the event going on. While Lancers were to answer to the government, and had choice on contracts they could do, many found that this self-governance and self-employment could be tiresome. Thus, it became easier for Lancers to associate themselves with certain organizations who would simply give them the work and payment in exchange for loyalty and using their name.
Of course, Lancers from the Academy were free to remain with them as well in a similar fashion. But, it was always much more profitable to take leave from them and go on their own to other organizations. This wasn't something the Academy looked down upon either. Rather, it showed just how prestigious they really were. Basically, a good showing in this tournament meant that future opportunities past the Academy would be more available to them. Even chances which went beyond or around Lancer duties themselves.
To the students who had met him, George Mottis was an example used by Zen. George was someone who graduated from the Academy a while ago. And while he did serviceable work in slaying monsters or bandits, most of his fame came from eradicating and doing counter-operations against cultists. So much so did other organizations and the kingdom itself value his work, he was given large sums of gold in order to make his own following. Thus, George had created his own guild regarded as Cult Slayers.
As the students rode the carriage into Tumae, not a single word was said. Many had just woken up like usual, so morning fatigue was a usual suspect, but this wasn't the cause. The truth was, they couldn't stop thinking of all the opportunities...but also their nerves were completely shot. Aside from doing scenarios against each other, this would be the first real fight for some of them.
"Jeez. Y'all got nothing to say? No good-mornings?" Lylas looked at everyone in the carriage. The other five students and two teachers looked at him. "Are ya shook? Nerves got ya?"
"I admit I'm a little nervous." Olicia shrugged and sighed.
"You're nervous?" Rael peaked her gaze up.
"Well, I'm sure you get it too, Rael. Aside from you guys, I've never really fought someone else." Olicia gestured to everyone in the carriage.
"Plus, there are stakes this time around." Avures chimed in, turning to look back out the window.
"True. A lot of cha-ching is on the line." Bif grinned and rubbed his fingers together. Grula sighed and rested her face in her hands.
"All I'm sayin is...lighten up. If ya got cold feet, shake it off. We ain't even to the hard stuff yet. This is just a tourney." Lylas said.
"Exactly. Truth is, this is nothing compared to what we'll be doing in a couple of weeks." Ventrix put his finger up. "Real contracts...real risks. Personally, I'm going to try and enjoy the prospect of a fight where death isn't a possibility."
"We're here." Zen stated as the carriage came to a stop.
The students all climbed out. Upon exiting, they were greeted with the sight of the massive stone and marble structure known as the coliseum. Though it's known as Koldo Coliseum, most refer to it as just the coliseum. Built a long time ago after the founding of the city, it was once the center for games, blood sport, and festival activities. However, it mostly remains for the latter of the three now. The carriage had stopped at a tunnel entrance.
Before they had even gotten in the carriage this morning, the students were handed a small map to look at. Detailed on it was the layout of the coliseum. Basically, there were four tunnel entrances into the place. If one walked straight ahead and through it, they would end up in the arena section. However, a small walk ahead of the entrance, there were tunnels on each side of the four main walks. These tunnels had staircases which brought visitors into the spectator sections. From there, it was a cascading and elevating set of stands with one particular outlook for any royalty or nobility.
The eight of them walked their way through. The tunnel itself was scarcely lit, only illuminated by the weak reflections of light upon the ground at the stairs going up, and both the entrance and exits. As they all walked through, they were greeted to the wide open, circular area that was the center of attention. Lots of familiar faces could be seen around the place. George, Meius, Xilvas, etc...
"Stand clear!" A voice shouted. Everyone instinctively backed to the circular walls of the arena. As soon as it was all clear, the origin of the voice, an older looking man with long white hair standing in the center, began doing motions with his hands. He did it so fast, anyone looking on couldn't really tell what he was exactly doing. But, as he finished, he drove his right fist into the ground. The earth below their feet started to tremble as a large section of the ground below them rose up. A square shaped platform was now in the center of the rounded arena. Roughly ninety feet in each direction, and about three feet higher in elevation, the ground that they would be fighting on was made. Lastly, with a quick touching of his left hand, this solid ground arena would turn to a white color.
"Go ahead, students! Jump up there and get a feel for the ground you will battle on!" Xilvas shouted out.
"Well, you heard him. I think we start in...thirty minutes? Just be ready to go by then." Zen waved as he walked away with Grula. Both of them strode towards Xilvas and the rest of them. The students shrugged. With Lylas leading them, they all hopped up onto the arena.
They spent some time just observing everything. This square arena definitely took up more than half the space in the rounded center, but surprisingly, there was still a lot of room around the place. Even some people who looked to be workers had come and brought in some chairs below and to the side of the square stage. There also seemed to be a similar treatment for where Xilvas and Meius were. The ground was slightly raised, and they had a long rectangular table to sit at. The students all figured that they would be serving as some sort of judges. Some people started to trickle into the stands.
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"Whaddya mean I can't be a judge in this event?" George threw his hands up.
"Isn't the red-haired girl your daughter or something?" Meius shook his head.
"Look, she uses my last name for official documents. That's it, I swear it."
"George...you know better than to lie to me." Xilvas sorted through some papers on the table as he sat on a chair.
"Ah...sorry." George sighed and was about to turn away when Grula and Zen walked up.
"Howdy, Headmaster, Deputy-Headmaster, and George." Zen waved to the three of them.
"You seem quite chipper. Feeling confident?" Meius asked.
"Of course. I have a lot of confidence in our kids." Zen put his hands on his hips and looked towards them.
"I think Fraythorn's kids are gonna have a hard time with ours." Grula nodded with her arms crossed.
"We'll see about that, bitch." Fraythorn walked onto the scene with a piece of straw in his mouth.
"That bonus is as good as ours, asshole." Grula stared off against Fraythorn.
"Hey, you sent for me?" Dulis walked onto the scene, in his usual attire and shades.
"Yeah. We need someone unaffiliated with these kids to act as judge. Think you're up for it?" Meius gestured to Dulis.
"Oh sure sure. I love watching these goons pummel the shit out of each other anyways." Dulis hopped up to the table and took a seat.
"Psh, ironic. Fine. I guess I'll seat myself up in the stands...assholes." George rolled his eyes and walked away.
"He's in a fine mood." Fraythorn chuckled. "So, I got some plans after winning this. If you all are free, I'd love to have ya."
"After you win...ha! But sure, hit me with it." Grula rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Since just about everyone is gonna be out and celebrating...why don't we do a celebration of our own? I know a good bar we can all have a drink or two at..." Fraythorn shrugged as he grinned wildly.
"You idiots cannot handle your alcohol at all..." Xilvas shook his head as he stacked his papers together. But, he did smile slightly. "That's what makes it fun, though. I'll come, granted nothing else pops up."
"But Xilvas...what if-" Meius turned to face his superior with concern.
"Meius. The only person who can threaten me when I'm intoxicated is myself. Besides, it couldn't hurt to have a little bit of fun."
"You weaklings all know I'm good for a drink." Grula stated.
"It's been a while for me too, but I'm down." Zen raised his hand...
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"So, a lil' bit of context and info from what I gathered last night." Lylas addressed his fellow students. "One of the staff are going to act as a referee. At the beginning, they'll flip a coin. The winner of this flip gets to send out their fighter last for the first battle. However, the losing side of the battle then gets this advantage themselves. Meaning that there's an inherit need to size up our opponents as best as possible."
"I get it. We want a favorable matchup." Avures crossed his arms. "But, we don't really know a whole lot about our competition."
"Right. But, if we're observant enough...we might be able to catch some info. Besides that low chance, though. I think we wanna space out our strongest fighters." Lylas tapped his foot against the ground.
"If we consider Ventrix and Olicia as our best..." Avures squinted his eyes and observed his fellow classmates. "It would be in our favor to have one fight first, and the other fight as soon as needed. In between, we fighters like you or me."
"This just sounds like it comes down to a case of trial and error." Olicia shrugged. "I guess the timing is important and all, but it really sounds like there might not be much strategy involved at all."
"On the contrary, I know some information." Ventrix raised a finger. "They have one of my cousins in their class. From what I've heard, she's the top of their class...and a better fighter than I."
"So that means they'll know about ya as well..." Lylas snapped his fingers. "Say, do ya know anything about her?"
"Well, she's a Water element...and she uses Destruction and Enchantment quite well. That's all I can say for certain." Ventrix shrugged.
"Pf. Who cares? She's a fighter like us, we can beat her if we don't place her above us." Bif tapped his head. "Can't fight anyone if you're letting them beat you here first."
"Actually, muscle-brain, I think I want to throw ya against her." Lylas looked over to Bif.
"That would certainly work in our favor. Rael and Olicia would be bad match-ups for a someone like that. And I probably wouldn't fare well myself against anyone skilled like Ventrix." Avures scanned over his classmates. "Which means we should try to match someone against her who's element could give an advantage over her. Which would leave Bif or you, Lylas."
"Very true. Ice can negate Water with enough power, and Lightning can weaponize her own element against er." Lylas smirked as he patted Bif on the shoulder. "Whaddya say? We'll let ya smash up a blue-blood. It's something only someone like ya can do."
"Humph...I got this." Bif grinned ear to ear.
"Now this just leaves it as a matter of hopefully picking the right fights." Avures sighed.
"I wonder where the other class is anyway-" Rael was cut off by the sudden appearance of six more figures hopping onto the square stage.
Suddenly being a few feet away from the students, the six of them got a good look at the other six. All dressed up in the same looking training gear as the others, they meandered over to Lylas and his group of classmates.
Leading the pack appeared to be a boy with short, but spiked-up dirty blonde hair. His eyes were a dark blue, and his jaw and facial features seemed quite sharp. His stature was of average height, but he was quite sculpted from the looks of it. Oddly enough, on the left side of his neck, and partially visible to the six of them, a strange carving lay in his pale skin. A circle with the shape of a banner held within. On his back, sheathed was a lance with a long blade and reversed barbs. Oddly enough, this lance had strange and unworldly designs on it. A primary color of light blue on the blade, and the shaft being gold. There seemed to be straight lines which ran down from the point itself (in the same color of said point) and went down the shaft in it's entirety.
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"Here we have Calvas Zeritos." Xilvas held the report to his eyes as he read it.
"Relation to the general?" Meius tilted his head.
"Seems so, third son of his by the looks of it. His martial skills are impeccable from the sounds of it. And according to the reports, he wields a Progenitor Artifact in the shape of a lance."
"Wait. You mean Ancient Kingdom tech? Where did a kid get his hands on that?" Meius threw his hands in the air.
"I suppose from his father. Surprisingly, it's compatible with him. Which also means he doesn't wield standard magic, but instead uses Flux. That'll be a headache for whoever fights him. While he doesn't have an innate ability, he does bear a sigil on his neck. That is, a sigil of command. Naturally, he also has great leadership skills."
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Next in the pack was a girl with light-gray hair tied in a pony-tail with a few strands of hair drooping overtop her forehead. Her eyes were a bright yellow, and it was obvious to everyone that she bore a striking resemblance to Xilvas. Though, unlike the old man, she had a soft smile and small stature. She also appeared to have no apparent weapon on her.
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"Here we have my granddaughter, Malia Numidis."
"Uh oh, Xilvas...are you going to be able to stay unbiased?"
"Of course. I have to be specifically harsh on her. According to reports, her wind magic is just as outstanding as my own when I was her age. She's an ace in Destruction and Manipulation. And she likes to use those little throwing stars. Along with this...her ace is quite unique. Whether because of just her lineage being tied to my own and her father's, or her own wind magic expertise, she can use the winds to completely mask her presence and turn invisible. It wouldn't surprise me if it was lineage based. Her father, who married my daughter, was a light magic wielder."
"Ah I see...a combination of the two elements within her inherit ability..."
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Then there was a taller looking boy with long, straight black hair. His eyes bore a hazel color, and his face seemed somewhat sharp. His skin was a sickly pale color. His expression seemed quite full of himself and confident. Sheathed on both sides of his hips were a strange looking set of blades with hooks at the end.
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"Then there's this Keleman Veledis."
"Strange name. What's his deal?"
"As far as we know, he hails from a barracks family. Medium to lower class. This kid happens to be an exceptional fighter on the levels of some big name families. He wields hook-blades with a preference of disarming opponents and wounding them deep. He's also an Earth element who specializes in Enchantment and Utility."
"Sometimes we get those rare out-of-nowhere prodigies. Any sort of ace?"
"While it could be a slight manipulation trick with his element...he seems to be able to use a strange form of magnetism..."
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Beyond him, another boy approached. With very dark green hair, and fiery orange eyes, he looked stern and emotionless...reminding much of them of Avures in the way he carried himself. His skin had a very tanned complex and color to it. Attached and sheathed at his hips were two wrist blade weapons...katars.
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"Strange one here. Feren Kov..."
"A literal no-name I'm guessing?"
"Yep. He just sort of appeared on the radar when Fraythorn himself was looking for someone to recruit. His martial skills were impressive, but, even more-so apparently, was his demonstration of instinct and speed. Along with this...he's the first Anti-Magic wielder we've had in several years."
"Don't we normally bar those types from entry?"
"Normally, yes. However, Fraythorn insisted. Apparently, he's quite the master of Anti-Magic. And...we don't know if he has some sort of inherit ability or ace otherwise."
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After that one, another girl stepped out from behind the group. She had short, messy, and curly black hair. Her skin was a dark, brown color. Her eyes bore a very light green, and her face sported a large scar coming down from her forehead and crossing over her left eye. She was average height, but looked to be quite muscular. Apparent from the front, she had a singular shield sheathed on her back.
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"Ah, here we go. A real interesting character. Vrela Lakentos."
"Oh damn! Relation to Grula? Seems everybody has some family in the Academy."
"That's the nature of this place. You should know this, Meius. Anyways, she is the younger sister of Grula. So, she was a near instant-lock for the Academy. And the reports indicate she's every bit as talented as her older sister. She can innately use three elements?! Ice, Light, and Earth. And the types she can also use are Time, Utility, and Protection. She also apparently only wields a shield."
"Three elements?! Sheesh...though, I think I get her role. A support type. Very solid and reliable."
"We have no clue as to any ace or ability. it all checks out, but there is a peculiar detail on here..."
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And lastly, another girl walked among the group. Fair and pale, she seemed to have deep blue colored hair which flowed past her shoulders. Her eyes bore the same color as her hair. Her stature was that of slightly above average height, and thin. To her side was a sheathed sword, much like Ventrix's own.
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"And for even more familiar names...Iola Felsta. Comes from a different Felsta family than the one in the other class."
"They're kinda like rats when you think about it. Infesting most aspects of this place in one way or another..."
"Very funny, Meius...She's a Water element user whose types are Destruction and Enchantment...huh, I did these out of order...reports say that she is easily the most skilled and well-rounded fighter of all in Fraythorn's class. Though, she hasn't seemed to show any special ability or anything like the sort. But, knowing that she's a Felsta...we can assume she has one."
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Lylas and his classmates stood as the other class approached them. They all matched up, one standing across from another. There was an odd sensation of aggression and uneasiness that stained the air around them. It seemed like any single jump or sudden movement would spark an explosion of some sort.
"Oy, this fucking sucks. What's the purpose of mean-mugging these guys?" Keleman grinned and pointed at Avures, who was standing across from him, while turning to face his comrades.
"Ah...you really just have to ruin any serious moment...don't you?" Malia shook her head and rubbed her temples. Rael shrugged while standing across from her. Malia then looked up and extended her hand out to Rael. "Malia Numidis. Pleased to meet you."
"Oh...Rael..." Rael very awkwardly shook the girl's hand.
"Oy-oy...look at the cutie though..." Keleman took a step towards Rael. "Whaddya say after I win my match we hang out tonight?"
"Ha-ha..." Rael looked to Avures, who was now staring daggers at the boy, and then looked back to Keleman. "Eh...I-"
"Hey. Moron. That's not what we're here for." Calvas put his hand on Keleman's shoulder and gripped with great power.
"Ow-ow-ow! God! Fuck-off, I know!" Keleman swiped Calvas's hand off of his shoulder and rolled his eyes.
"What about me?" Olicia crossed her arms and looked towards Keleman.
"Are you serious?" Ventrix walked to the side of Olicia and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Maybe. Is there a problem with that?" Olicia grinned as she looked towards Ventrix. He simply rolled his eyes and turned away.
"Mm...no. You've got that r-b-f. I don't fuck with that." Keleman shook his head. Olicia chuckled and turned away as well.
"Why are we fraternizing with the enemy?" Iola shook her head.
"Why shouldn't we? Look at them. They hardly even look confident in their ability to speak. Weak-willed to the core. All of them." Feren shrugged as he examined his opponents.
"Wanna put that to the test?" Bif stepped towards Feren with a wild grin on his face.
"You inbred cretin...we're going to be putting that to the test soon enough." Iola stepped in between the two of them.
"Oh oh? Name-calling are we?" Bif chuckled before continuing. "You're a little feisty. I like my blue-bloods like that."
"Are you saying that because of the color of my hair and eyes? What an inspired nick-name..." Iola rolled her eyes.
"No. I'm calling you that because you're obviously related to this bum." Bif lazily pointed back to Ventrix with his thumb. "Shame. You have a pretty face too...but I don't discriminate. I disfigure everyone equally."
"Hey. Get a hold of your dog." Calvas pointed to Ventrix.
"Who are you calling a dog?" Bif pointed to Calvas.
"The guy who smells like one. What horrid leadership skills you must have to let your undomesticated animal throw threats around like that." Calvas shook his head in disgust.
"Pointing to the wrong man..." Lylas pointed his thumb at himself. "It's my team."
"Oh wow. A noble who submits to a team leader who can't even control his wild dog." Feren rolled his eyes.
"I'd watch your tongue." Ventrix crossed his arms.
"Oh boy. This is really turning into something worse than I thought it'd be." Malia lowered her gaze and sighed.
"Agreed. How about we all be civil, eh?" Lylas grinned. "Here. My buddy Avures here will shake someone's hand. Y'all can have whoever ya want shake his hand. But...it will be civil."
"Fine." Calvas crossed his arms. "Feren."
"Sure." Feren stepped forward.
Avures thought for a moment that Lylas had something planned. From the looks of it, it didn't seem like it. That made it honest luck with how Avures was planning to use this. Normally, he wouldn't have much of a competitive experience. But between him trying to change himself for the better, and his newfound disdain for this other class, Avures was going to create an edge using knowledge. Avures reached his left hand out. Feren did the same, and the hands of both of them met...
"Hey-hey!" Feren immediately yanked his hand away and reached for his weapon. Avures took a simple step back as Lylas, Bif, and Ventrix jumped in between them. Calvas threw his arms under Feren's arms and put him in a lock. The commotion stirred up one of the staff to quickly hop over.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Dulis stood in between the two parties as the sudden chaos came to a quick close.
"He tried something!" Feren fought against his leader's lock, but was completely stuck. He simply could only point to Avures.
"Huh? Did you?" Dulis looked to Avures.
"No." Avures shook his head and shrugged, looking as confused as possible.
"Hmm..." Dulis rubbed his chin. "Well...I don't sense any residue of magic...so, I'll just let this go."
"Are you kidding me?" Feren struggled mightily.
"Calm down or you're disqualified." Dulis pointed towards him. The boy took a deep breath and stopped all movement. Calvas let go of him. "Now would also be a good time to mention...I'll be acting as the referee and as a judge for this. Your Headmaster and Deputy-Headmaster will be acting as judges as well. Now, can I get both leaders to come forth."
Both Lylas and Calvas stepped forward to the sides of Dulis.
"You're heads." Dulis pointed to Lylas, and then pointed to Calvas. "You're tails."
Dulis then flipped a gold coin into the air. All the students watched on as the coin slowly cascaded to the ground. It bounced a few times, a metallic ringing erupting from it, before it finally settled. Tails.
"Looks like you'll have to pick your fighter first-...eh, I don't know your names...Grula's team...there we go. Alright...go to your sides and bullshit or whatever. We start soon." Dulis waved all the students off as he picked up the coin and pocketed it.
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Lylas and his teammates hopped off the stage and went over to their seats. They didn't sit yet. Grula and Zen approached the group as well. During all of the commotion and talk, the students had hardly noticed that the entire coliseum had been filling up. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over Tumae had sat themselves in the stands. It was a strange feeling. A different sort of pressure from the usual expectations of their teachers. Looking around, they could even spot some familiar faces.
Particularly, the familiar faces were spotted on the overlook. A large, throne-like seat existed at the center. Sitting in it was an unfamiliar face, but whose garb and crown made it all apparent as to who it was. Behind him, there were several, less impressive, seats. Ventrix could recognize his father sitting up there along with his uncle, the father of Iola. Everyone else could recognize George sitting up there among them as well.
It really clicked together for all of them. There was no mistaking it. This event really would kick off the festival. And though it was hard to make out any other faces in the crowd, or what those faces were doing, they all most certainly felt the weight of expectations draped over them.
"Okay, pansies. Here's the plan. Y-" Grula was about to start but was quickly shushed.
"What are ya talking about?" Lylas interrupted his teacher. "Team captains choose the fights. Ya said so yourself."
"That's true. But you're gonna listen to me-"
"Nah." Lylas shook his head in disapproval. "Your bonus is riding on us."
"I don't know what's gotten into you..." Grula clenched her fist. "But you better get in line..."
"Or what? Ya gonna throw us all into meaningless duels with each other?" Lylas shrugged and shook his head. Grula looked like she was practically about to explode, but Zen grabbed her shoulder.
"It would be cheating anyways if we told them what to do." Zen let go of Grula's shoulder. He walked over to a chair and sat down. Grula sighed and did the same, sitting down with him.
"Talking back to me like that..." Grula muttered under her breath.
"Look. He has a point. That fight the other day was...unnecessary..." Zen whispered to Grula. While Grula may not have noticed it, Zen certainly did. No one liked the fight. And the justification and motive for it were...flimsy at best.
"Before we pick someone..." Avures grabbed the attention of his classmates. "I have some information."
"Go ahead, lieutenant." Lylas jokingly pointed to Avures.
"Firstly...their leader...I recognized the appearance of their weapon. I read somewhere about some sort of "ancient kingdoms" weapons. It's very clearly one of those. Which means...there's a good chance he doesn't use standard magic, but instead some other kind of magic called Flux." Avures explained.
"What the hell does that even mean?" Bif sighed.
"I wish I knew...all I know is that it can manifest in any form like a shade, but it's tied to the weapon. Secondly, that girl with the gray hair. She said her name was Numidis. Which means that she's most likely a Wind user." Avures explained further.
"That means...we most certainly shouldn't have Rael fight her either." Ventrix nodded his head.
"And lastly...I may have...actually done something dirty." Avures slightly raised his left hand. Whether by not noticing or just glancing over it, everyone except Rael was surprised by the blackness of his hand.
"Jeez. Another black hand? Maybe you are actually rotting..." Olicia cringed at the sight of it.
"Using this one...I can view the past of the things I touch with it. I...caught a glimpse of that guy's past to try and give us an edge..." Avures rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh wow. I must have awakened some sort of competitive spirit in you, bro." Bif grinned.
"I was able to see that the guy uses Anti-Magic. So whoever fights him...is going to be rendered unable to cast at all." Avures cast his gaze to the ground.
"How's that even gonna work when we gotta balance casting and fighting?" Lylas tilted his head.
"My guess is that they'll forego the rule for that fight." Ventrix shrugged.
"So we just pummel him anyways?...got it." Rael cracked her knuckles.
"So...who are we sending out first?" Olicia looked around at her classmates. Everyone looked around at each other as well, before Lylas pointed.
"You. Olicia, ya go first." Lylas smiled. "We've already figured out some fights we want and don't want to take, and the only ones without that are ya, Avures, and myself."
"That planning does go to waste though if we are too successful...but I suppose it doesn't matter if we win." Avures shrugged.
"Woo. I'm up." Olicia very lazily threw her hands in the air as she started to stretch.
"Good luck, Olicia!" Rael slapped Olicia on the back, nearly knocking her over.
"Ah!...thanks..." Olicia sighed. She figured that she was as ready as she could be. And just in time as well...
"Oy, get up here!" Dulis yelled down to Olicia. Olicia obliged. She gave a thumbs up to her classmates and hopped up onto the stage...
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As she walked across the stage, Olicia could feel the staring from many different sets of eyes. Fighting on a stage like this put the nerves in her. It was so different from just sparring in class. Not to mention, she'd be fighting someone who she's never fought before. They hopped onto the stage. It was the spiked-hair boy. The one with the firm voice and the lance Avures had mentioned. As Olicia stood to the side of Dulis, the boy also approached.
"You two kids will have to forgive me...I've never done this before." Dulis looked around aimlessly before turning to the table with Xilvas and Meius. "Hey! Do I like...announce this or something?"
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"Not you..." Xilvas sighed in response to Dulis. He stood up from his seat and cleared his throat. "Good morning to all and thank you for coming to the New Age Festival Tournament where Lancer Academy is proud to showcase the talent of the future!"
Xilvas's voice boomed throughout the coliseum. His wind magic elevating the volume of his voice. The crowd and all went silent as he continued to speak.
"I'd like to thank King Tumae for allowing us to once again kick off festivities with our showing! On this side!..." Xilvas pointed over to the side of Lylas and his team. "We have the class belonging to Grula Lakentos and Zen! Their students are led by Lylas Tynto!"
The crowd erupted into rapturous applause. It wasn't so much the teacher's names...but Lylas's own last name that brought the cheers. Everyone in the crowd recognized the Tynto name and the hero they remember it belonging to.
"And on the other side!..." Xilvas pointed to the opposite end. "We have the class belonging to Kal Fraythorn! This class is led by Calvas Zeritos!
Once again, the crowd has paused, and erupted in cheer yet again. The Academy was known for pulling in the big names, and the crowd recognized them both. The excitement to watch these students fight was building higher and higher.
"Fighting first, we have Olicia Yulva versus Calvas Zeritos!" Xilvas sat back down and took a breath. Sure, his magic helped his voice boom, but it was still exhausting to shout like that.
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"Aight kids...put these on." Dulis pulled out the bracers in question from before. Both Olicia and Calvas obliged, strapping both to their arms. "Okay...so yada-yada get knocked off ya lose...balance out magic and martial. If you don't, disqualified. Land a normally killing blow and you win. Your teachers should have explained it before...ready?"
"Yup." Olicia nodded as she grabbed a hold of her chains
"Yes." Calvas unsheathed his lance from his back and gripped it with both hands.
"Alright then...the moment I step back, you two can start...get ready..." Dulis sighed as he readied to move out of the way. The two students stared at each other blankly, each with their own first moves in mind. Suddenly, Dulis jumped back to the edge of the arena floor, and the fight began.
Using the length of his lance, Calvas made quick stabs at Olicia, not committing any movement or his stance to do so. Wielding her gold chain, Olicia hopped back as she whipped it around to deflect the lance's stabs. The moment she was out of range, Olicia dropped her silver chain to the ground. Much to Calvas's surprise, the chain seemed to gain sentience and dug itself into the arena. Calvas stood at attention, ready to dodge out of the way as he could feel something was up. Olicia grinned as the silver chains suddenly erupted forth from the arena floor, stage, and walls. A web of silver lengths now encompassed a great portion of the fighting area. Though, Olicia was careful to make sure none came from or latched into the stands themselves.
Calvas was surprised by the lack of a direct attack, but recognized the situation all the same. Olicia pulled the other two chains out, holding the gold in her left, and the purple in her right. A stand-off ensued between the two. They both knew nothing about the other asides from surface-level information. Which meant that both had to stick to their usual win conditions for any fight.
Calvas decided to take initiative again, throwing a quick stab out. Olicia was confused. He was way too far away for that attack to even make contact with her, but she never saw the next part coming. In a moment so quick that Olicia had nearly missed it, the lance that Calvas wielded had extended out with blinding speed. The tip of the spear had suddenly jumped in front of her face. Olicia had managed to jump back once again out of harm's way, but lost her balance.
Another stab came in, the tip of the lance extending even further. But this time, Olicia was ready. Olicia's silver chains behind her had extended out to her, helping her keep balance. She then whipped the gold chain upwards, deflecting the attack. With this deflection, her counter-attack was nigh. The silver chains around Calvas shot out from their own length, effectively multiplying. The chains attempted to wrap themselves around his ankles and wrists. However, Calvas was able to nimbly evade them, but not without cost. Olicia's chains managed to nab the lance from his hands.
"Gotcha." Olicia stepped forward and smirked.
"Have you got me?" Calvas looked plainly towards Olicia. Olicia stared back in an odd fashion. Of course she got him...
Something strange started to happen. The lance got in her chain's grip had dissipated away. That strange pattern of blue and gold had faded out, but instead seemed to cover Olicia's chains. Like the spreading of a plague, it took mere moments for her entire silver chain to become practically overtaken by the color-pattern. She wasn't sure what to do. Olicia felt her control of the silver chain fade away. Or rather, it wouldn't budge at all. Try as she might to focus in on it, whatever that weapon was doing to her chains...it made it impossible to move them.
"Level two." Calvas reached his left hand out. His open hand then slowly curled into a fist. Olicia did the only thing she could think of at the moment. Anything to make sure this fight would keep going...
Sprawling out from the array of chains all around them, several poles and lance heads sprung out from the chains. All of them directed straight towards Olicia. What looked to be at least twenty different lances all pierced through her at once. Her body seemed to simply just stand there as the lances held. Blood cascaded all over the arena floor. The crowd had gasped or gone quiet. Olicia choked up as she tried to catch any sort of breath. The lances then all pulled away and seemingly retracted into the color patterns over the chains where they first resided. As they retracted, the barbs on the pole itself also pulled at Olicia, creating even more wounds all over her body. The crimson liquid slowly dripped out of her as her body still somehow remained on two feet.
"I win now...right?" Calvas looked over to Dulis. "Get someone to fix her. This must be embarrassing."
"Sorry, bud. Fight isn't over yet." Dulis shook his head.
"What do you mean?" Calvas reached his hand up, the lance slowly reappeared in his grip, but the patterns remained. "That was a killing blow, no?"
"In normal circumstances, sure. But all of us disagree..." Dulis pointed to Olicia. "Take a look."
Calvas looked over like the teacher had told him to. His eyes went wide. Olicia's hair lightly rose as if caught by a small breeze. That sigil on the back of her neck glowed with such an intensity that everyone could spot it. That deep purple glow...the demon sigil. Olicia's eyes became bloodshot. Her skin became more veiny and slightly muscular.
"Bah-ha-ha-ha!" Olicia lowered her head and gaze to the ground as the pain all started to fade away. The blood had stopped trickling out of her, and the wounds from which it originated slowly closed up and regenerated. She tilted her head back up and met Calvas's gaze with a wide, toothy grin.
"Disgusting." Calvas took his free hand and swiped it down towards Olicia. Three more lances shot out from the chains in front of her, easily piercing through her torso.
"Disgusting?...perhaps." Olicia giggled as she swiped the purple chain in her right hand around the lances sticking in her. As they wrapped around them, the lances completely disappeared, and her wounds quickly regenerated. In fact, much to Calvas's surprise, the pattern overtop of her chains seemed to retract at the origin point of those lunging lances in particular. Something else worrying that Calvas had noticed...the bracers on his arms started to emit a blue light.
"Shit..." Was all that went through his head as the purple-haired girl started to run towards him. Olicia dropped the gold chain to the ground, and suddenly the arena became even more infested with metallic thread. Though, even though her mind appeared to empty, the positioning of all the chains were carefully placed away from the silver one. Olicia's bracer started to glow blue as well, but she cared not. Everything was in place, and now the two of them were stuck in a brawl for some time.
Olicia gripped her purple chain in both hands. Calvas stood his ground, and thrust his lance at her direct approach. But, the attack was blocked by a sudden crossing of two gold chains which erupted from the ground. Olicia jumped overtop of the gold chain's block, and swung directly down towards Calvas with the purple chain. He readjusted quickly, changing his grip and blocking with the length of his weapon. The purple chain wrapped around his weapon...and suddenly...all the colored patterns sitting overtop of her silver chain shattered off of the metal. Calvas recognized instantly...it was...dispelled?...
Olicia tugged her arm, trying to see if Calvas would let go of his weapon once again...but it didn't budge. She smiled, sharp teeth showing as she laughed again.
"Not so willing to let go again, huh?" Olicia kept the pressure on, not allowing Calvas to reel his weapon back for another strike, but not pulling it away either. "Could it be...you were caught using too much magic? And now the advantage you did have on me is gone?"
"It doesn't make any sense." Calvas struggled, trying to re-stance himself.
"Flux is magic too, you know. Our little brainiac over there had your secret dead-pinned the moment he saw it. It's over..." Olicia still grinned.
"Like hell it is." Calvas instead re-gripped. He took one hand off of his lance, and quickly grabbed the purple chain. He yanked the chain with all his force, and lifted an unprepared Olicia from her footing. He threw his head forward, and a sickly smack could be heard as he made contact with her own head. Olicia let go of the chain and stumbled backwards. Calvas tossed the purple chain out of the arena, and lunged in with a stab towards Olicia. But, she reacted to quick. Olicia grabbed onto a gold chain nearby, and seemingly pulled it, and all of it's sprawled out lengths away, as she now wielded it in her hands. She blocked the direct stab with the chain, tightening the chains with a short grip in order to do so.
What ensued was a flurry mess of Calvas making stabs at Olicia, and Olicia blocking it with the gold chain. Several attempts were made, and slowly, the bracers returned to their normal purple light. A minute passed...and the two had jumped all over the arena, eventually making it back to center stage. Now that they were in the clear for magic again, Calvas sought to give it one last try. As Calvas hopped away from Olicia, he pointed his lance to the ground while holding it up in his right hand.
"Level three-" Calvas was interrupted. Olicia was thoroughly entertained, and so, decided to end it. Especially since it seemed he was about to up the ante anyways. So, before he could finish...Olicia whipped the gold chain at his side. All the stored force and power from those blocked attacks...hit him at once. Calvas lost his grip on his weapon as he went tumbling to the side. Olicia chuckled. Calvas stopped rolling on the ground as he reached the very edge of the arena. The rest of Olicia's classmates watched the boy's arm hang over the side as he lay there. Calvas coughed violently, his entire ribcage and torso having been almost completely shattered by the pure force of that blow. Blood was forced up from his throat, and his nose also dripped with the liquid. His breaths were pained and short.
"Well well. Looks like it's over, huh..." Olicia walked over and stopped at his side. "Well fought-"
Calvas gripped her ankle with his hand. Olicia raised an eyebrow with surprise. She was about to laugh, but then felt herself become entirely overwhelmed. No matter what she tried...her entire body became still. It was like she was trapped in an Enchantment trick, like the ones that envelop the target in mana so they can't move. But, it was somehow different. She felt the origin point. His hand on her ankle. She struggled, screamed in her own head, but her body wouldn't move until...
"Walk off..." Calvas faintly muttered out. And entirely as he had commanded, Olicia's body obeyed. Without any sort of ability to fight back, Olicia felt her entire being overtaken by a force that made her jump off the side of the stage, and land onto the ground of the arena below. Everyone looked on in shock, but...
"Olicia Yulva has walked off the stage?! Calvas Zeritos wins!" Dulis yelled out to the silent crowd. The crowd slowly roared into a cheer for the spiky-haired fighter. Though, it was mostly confused sounding cheers.
"H-huh?..." Olicia suddenly felt herself regain control of her movements as she looked back to the stage. Her sigil faded out and her body returned to it's normal state. She brought her hand up to her face.
"Why-Why did I do that? My body acted on it's own. Why?" Was all she could think as her classmates gathered around her...