Aster

I looked around the arena, a bit hesitant, glancing down at my bow.

There were a lot of different ways I could see using a bow going wrong when surrounded by people, but without a bow, I wouldn't stand a chance against Kat. Thankfully, my dilemma was solved by the second-year student who was acting as a referee. He had probably seen my uncertainty and put the pieces together rather quickly.

“First time in a school arena? There's a circle dome that reaches about fifteen feet high that stops all spells and projectiles from leaving. You could use any skill that’s at grade three and under just fine without worry.”

I nodded and smiled. Knowing everyone else would be safe, I pulled an arrow out. I could have pulled out the belt with all the arrows and loops, but without being in a dungeon, pulling them out of my storage was just as easy, even if it was a bit more costly on my mana. At the same time, I listened to the second year as he went over the rules for an arena duel, tracking him with my ears as I checked over my bow again, briefly looking up to see Kat doing the same with two daggers.

“The rules are simple and listed on the bottom of the stone board, but I'll go over them as both of you are first-years. For a duel to be held, there needs to be at least three onlookers present. They can be students or instructors. The duel officially starts when your shield flashes blue. You can fight to your heart's content using spells, skills, weapons, and anything else. Stepping off the stone is instant disqualification. If your shield flashes red, you lose, and both sides are to stop fighting. If there's any reason for the duel, such as honor or a challenge for an item, it must be stated beforehand to all onlookers. Simple right? Any questions?”

I shook my head, and Kat shook hers. The student gave a bright smile before he took three steps backing out of the arena, and gestured at the stone. His movement had three students standing by the board place their hands on prints laid into the stone. There was a slight shimmer around the arena as the breeze that had been flowing over the field stopped. A shiver ran up my spine, mixed with a weird feeling like gel. It was similar to the feeling I had in the castle. I looked over to Kat, my head tilted as I waited for the blue flash.

“She's going to be fast,” Umbra said.

I agreed with her. My arrow was already laid on the bow, ready to be drawn.

I hadn't fought Kat yet, but I had seen her fight the challenges for the adventuring course and what she had been able to do in the dungeon. She was fast, and the heat on her blade was hot enough to scorch wood in only a second. Being limited on space was going to pose a huge problem as well, but I had leveled a good amount in the dungeon, which would help in keeping distance. If I could stay out of the way of the blades, I could whittle her down eventually. Taking a deep breath, I focused and was nearly blinded in the next second. The flash of blue wasn't subtle. In fact, it was almost blinding. I raised the bow, pulling the string back and blinking to try to clear the spots. I let the arrow fly. Kat flicked her hand out almost at the same time as she sidestepped the arrow. The flash of steel from one of her daggers flew towards me.

I bent to the side twisting out of the way, watching as the dagger flew by my face, thudding off an invisible barrier behind me and clattering to the ground. Using Stalker's Movement, I bunched my legs up and leapt as high as I could, pulling another arrow out of my storage. Kat kept her eyes trained on me as I sailed above her. I drew back the arrow, imbuing it with mana. The frost built up on the metal tip for only a moment before I let it go, lifting my hand only enough to let another arrow appear before I drew back again, repeating the process. The upward momentum was replaced by gravity, and I started to fall. Kat was fast as she moved out of the way of the arrow, and it hit only stone covering the ground in a small film of ice. There was a faint trail of embers that followed Kat as she started moving toward where I would fall, letting me know she was using a skill, and by the increase in speed, it let me know she was using a movement skill. Releasing the next arrow with no mana to buy time for a proper landing, I ran ideas through my head. If I let Kat get close, it would only take one good hit for my shield to break. Looking in the corner of my vision, I checked my mana and stamina.

[Mana: 430/466]

[Stamina: 807/840]

Two quick uses of skills had already drained me to just shy of eight percent of my mana, meaning this fight would be a quick one. As I landed, I hopped back several steps, stopping on the edge of the stone. Kat was already moving again as I pulled back my fourth arrow. I aimed for center mass, spending the five mana to give it the full charge and let it loose. Kat, only ten feet away, raised her dagger sideways, meeting the arrow with the flat of her blade. Metal sparked off metal, and frost covered the blade before the arrow was sent off to the side. Kat was still moving forward. I was stunned into inaction at watching my arrow get deflected, but a pull on the bond from Umbra gave me the only warning I got as I used Stalker's Movement to push myself to the side. Kats' blade, glowing a dangerous orange, swung out only an inch away from my stomach. There was a faint blue glow as the shield around me reacted to the very tip of the dagger, but it didn't flash red.

I stumbled back, using Stalker's Movement again to give me more room as I took another arrow out, but I didn't aim it. If Kat could just knock my arrows to the side, doing so would be a waste.

“Look at the other arrows,” Umbra said

My eyes flicked to where the missed arrows were on the ground. At first, I didn't know what she meant, but as my eyes landed on the second one that was near the edge of the arena, I understood. The frost that had been imbued into the arrow was now covering a patch of the ground about a foot wide. I couldn't get Kat out in a fair way, but if she slipped out of the arena, it would be a win. Now, how could I make an area of frost without letting her notice?

Pulling back the arrow as I bunched my knees to jump, I aimed the arrow right in front of her towards her feet. I let the arrow loose at the same time I jumped. All that was needed was a quick sidestep from Kat for the arrow to miss. I watched her as I sailed above her again, and I couldn't help but smile as I saw the annoyance in her eyes as I pulled back another arrow above her.

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What I was doing had to be frustrating to Kat, but it was my only option in an arena this small. As she knocked my next arrow to the side, Kat took the chance to pick up the dagger that she had thrown. I took the time to land and back up and recheck my mana and stamina.

[Mana: 274/466]

[Stamina: 612/840]

Clicking my tongue, I did some quick math. The use of Stalker's Movement had an erratic use of mana and stamina depending on how long I used it; even the slightest overextension could cost an extra ten or even twenty points. It made judging how much longer I could stay in the fight hard, but the fight was already half over, even if I was the only one who knew it. Pulling back the arrow, I decided that my next jump would be my last. If I couldn't get her out by that point, then there wouldn't be a reason to continue other than to drag out the time. Aiming at Kat, I shot three arrows as she rushed towards me again. My aim wasn't to actually hit her but to make her dodge instead of knocking the arrow out of the way. Two of my arrows landed where I wanted them, but the third was deflected off to the side of the arena. Again, as Kat got close, I leaped into the air using Stalker's Movement again like a springboard of momentum aching over her head. Kat, though, had other plans, and as I was in the air, she tossed her second dagger.

The blade was aimed at my middle in a way that made it impossible to dodge, and with nothing to push off of for Stalker's Movement, I was like a sleeping squirrel with no nearby tree. I acted more out of reflex or panic in my next moments and did something that Kulni would have whacked me for. I tossed my bow at the dagger. The thud of the dagger sticking into the wood had me wincing as if the dagger had stuck into my arm.

Still, the dagger was stopped cold, and both weapons fell to the ground. I landed where I wanted but with only an arrow in my hand. My eyes stayed on Kat as she ignored her dagger, running towards me with a smile on her lips. She knew as well as I did that the fight was over. I didn't jump again, staying put at the edge of the arena. The look in her eyes, as she was only feet away, changed from victorious to confused as she picked forward one of her feet, sliding awkwardly to the side, and she stumbled forward half sliding. Kat lashed out with her dagger as she slid past. The hit connected with my shield, and the blue flash was slightly dimmer than the last hit, but it let me know I was still safe. On the other hand, Kat didn't have the same fortune as her feet connected with the lip of the arena and she fell out. The flash of red let me know the fight had ended. There was a bit of laughing from around us, and I couldn't help but grin myself. Stepping towards Kat and avoiding the frost on the ground, I held my hand out. She gave me a half-crooked smile, not in the least looking upset, as she took my hand, getting to her feet. I glanced at the patches of frost loosely arrayed in a line. It was already melting into small pools of water. I had been lucky that she had come at me at the perfect angle.

My eyes moved to the corner of my vision, where a little blue dot let me know I had a system notification and a mental command, and a screen appeared.

[Through luck and grace, you have gained the skill Acrobatics - Rank One]

[With jumping and landing your skill, Balance - Rank Three has Increased to Balance - Rank Four]

I closed the screen with a thought a grin plastered on my face, if fighting, even in non-dangerous situations like this, could raise my skill. I really had to start practicing more.

“Your teeth are showing,” Kat whispered as we started the process of retrieving our weapons.

My smile vanished as I rubbed one of my ears, the tips burning in slight embarrassment. My mood lowered more as my eyes fell onto my bow. The dagger had fallen out when it hit the ground, and a big notch of wood was missing right where it started to curve.

I didn't know what I'd been thinking when I threw the bow. I rubbed my finger over the slightly furrowed and splintered wood before I stored it and collected the rest of the arrows, checking them for chips or splinters.

Walking out with Kat, I stretched with a pleased smile. There were a few cheers, and the second year gave a thumbs up as we walked out, and the next people walked in.

“We’re going to have to do this more often. I got a few levels in some of my skills. Next time, you won't be able to jump around as much.” Kat said as we took our seats next to Fernand, who was flipping through pages in a book at a speed that looked almost ridiculous.

“Aster, Kat, we need to t-” Fernand paused as he drew his finger across a few different lines before he resumed flipping. I exchanged a curious look with Kat. Fernand always had his nose in a book or seemed to be focused on something, but never to the degree that he shushed himself. It would be funny if Fernand didn't look so concerned.

Kat didn't seem keen to wait for him to finish looking through the book, which was fair, seeing as the book was thick enough to be used as a weapon. She reached over, taping him on his head.

“Hello? Kat to Fernand, You there?”

Fernand paused as he marked the page with a thick piece of paper before he closed it. “We need to talk,” he whispered as he took a look around.

At that same moment, the school bell rang once before a voice sounded over the campus.

“The campus grounds are now reopened and free to be entered and left. Courses will remain canceled for the rest of the day but will resume tomorrow.” There was a cheer from students who had been watching the fight.

I focused on trying to place the familiar voice; the only other time a voice had sounded like that around campus was to notify us that one of the alchemy labs had exploded. Then it clicked. It was Director Emmith. Her voice sounded slightly strange, coming from every direction, but the strangeness of what had to be a skill or spell was replaced by an idea. Now would be a perfect time to go get the material for my bowstring. With courses ending early, I wouldn't have to worry about being late getting to the tower.

“Promise you'll be safe.” Umbra's voice took me slightly off guard, but I suppose she could almost read my mind at this point. I felt a tinge of guilt at the worry in her voice and the feeling of her mix of emotions. She was full of worry and anxiety.

I would get what I needed and be back at the tower early today to spend it with Umbra.

“I'll be safe, and I'll get some cake for when I get back,” I promised her as I looked over at Fernand, whom I had been half ignoring.

“We need to talk in private, or at least not here where gossip spreads quickly,” Fernand whispered.

“I need to get a few things for a project. Maybe we can talk and walk?”

Kat nodded her head. “I need to get a few things as well for some of my courses.”

Fernand made a frustrated noise but then nodded. “That will work, I guess, but let's get going now before the entrance gets too crowded.”