The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts. The Hall of Champions. Competitor’s Field. Local Time: 1100
Auris
Dread is the taint which masks the otherwise brilliant soul, a self-fulfilling prophecy which only fools fall prey to.
Hope is the fruit which nurtures the uncertain mind, a sweet and sumptuous escape, that serves only to weaken the spirit.
Confidence is the fuel with which the noble soul thrives, and it is only through confidence that the darkness of dread is vanquished, and the foolishness of hope is tempered.
Confidence, leads to faith, and faith in what was righteous, was the strongest faculty a sapient being could ever develop.
Confidence, along with faith, are thus the cornerstones of nobility.
And it was because of both of these tenets, that I had no doubt as to the results of this magical competition.
Magic was, after all, the unassailable instrument of the noble and righteous.
Everything that the newrealmer wasn’t, and everything that the newrealmer lacked.
The mana-deprived newrealmer was running purely off of the abilities granted by her muscle-bound survivalist society.
A society unfit, undeserving, and ultimately, ill-equipped to integrate with the demands of civilization.
The armor was an aesthetic diversion, a masterpiece of showmanship, meant to hide the savage beast lurking beneath it.
Savage, being the operative word in this instance.
Beastly, being the only descriptor capable of explaining away the impressive feats of strengths demonstrated by the newrealmer.
As without the ebb and flow of mana, owing to the offensive nature of her armor, only brute strength remained as an explanation for the newrealmer’s strange proclivities for athletics.
Which meant that her actions were no better than the defiant posturing of an unruly beast.
And as with any beast, there were limits to the power that brute strength could offer.
Limits that often began with the utilization of magic.
Limits that had already started showing even as early as in the unaugmented strength challenge, and was once again manifesting now at the wall.
Limits that had left the beast stranded at the foot of the wall, unable to climb, and thus unable to proceed.
I stood atop of the wall for just a moment, at peace, and with a resurgence of confidence that flooded my very soul with a surge of utter delight.
I felt, in that moment, like I was on top of the world.
I felt euphoria, in every sense of the word.
I gazed out towards the sea of shambling bodies, towards the rapidly ascending Thalmin, Qiv, and Gumigo with a light-hearted delight. As even they were a welcome sight that proved a point which I had been making throughout this competition — that magic overcomes all obstacles in its path.
Even if one of the aforementioned three won in my stead, my points would be vindicated.
Though I had little incentive to allow that to happen. Not whilst my corporeal being persisted, and my obligations remain unfulfilled.
And so, with a grin and a chuckle, I began making my way forwards.
My path, and the rest of my peers’ paths, immediately started becoming something of a challenge as the seemingly straightforward ‘rooftops’ we faced started shifting and contorting.
Some of the platforms rose, whilst others fell, whilst others even began changing size, shape, and dimensions with each passing second.
The mythic encabulator seemed to be reacting to us, in the same way that the raising of the gates had increased in weight the higher and higher we raised it.
I could feel its latent eyes, its constant poking and prodding at the edges of my manafield.
I could even feel it peering into my very soul at times.
“A worthy challenge, wouldn’t you say, my fellows?!” I turned back to the winded group, as I stood tall aloft one of the higher platforms in the rapidly growing sea of obstacles.
“A worthy challenge, indeed, Lord Ping!” Several voices responded, not from the aforementioned three of course, but from the rapidly growing crowd who seemed to relish in the newrealmer’s assured demise.
A crowd that now followed me forward into the thick of things, trailing just behind my only three worthy competitors.
My mind was now practically rid of the newrealmer, as my eyes were now poised towards the end of this vertical dungeon.
Yet a gnawing feeling had me looking back, if only to placate the fears from my earlier experiences.
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The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts. The Hall of Champions. Competitor’s Field. Local Time: 1105
Qiv
Dark was the newrealmer’s presence in the manafield.
And darker were her aims if her intent was to be trusted.
She was difficult to miss, yet easy to forget, so as we surged forward I found her presence muted and gone.
Yet I knew that the newrealmer was not a typical beast.
I knew that despite the odds, a complete non sequitur may yet derail Lord Ping’s preemptive victory lap.
So whilst my stakes in this race were nonexistent, as either outcome would lead only to a desirable conclusion in the near to mid term, I still couldn’t help but to ponder on the newrealmer’s capabilities.
What exactly lay beneath the armor that allowed her to perform such great feats?
Was it her kind’s sheer physicality?
Or was there something more?
I already had my ‘answer’, of course. As the trickle-down grapevines of public discourse had already well and truly established the unique, but otherwise unimpressive and pathetic nature of the newrealmer.
I had no reason to doubt the words of the upper yearsmen or faculty.
I had no reason to conceive of any other rationale but brute physical strength as an explanation to the newrealmer’s proclivities for athletics.
Yet I couldn’t help but to notice the disparity in the newrealmer’s recent feats of strength.
From her lifting of the gates, to the debacle with the family of bears, the weights she now effortlessly dealt with were all far, far heavier than the ones she withdrew from earlier in the unaugmented segment of the competition.
So with that discrepancy, amidst so many more discrepancies, I am left to wonder…
Exactly what lies beneath the armor?
Or perhaps, more pertinently, did I care to find out?
And was it worth the risk of sticking my nose where it clearly was not wanted?
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The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts. The Hall of Champions. Competitor’s Field. Local Time: 1120
Auris
“Victory was never in doubt, Lord Ping!” Came one of the many voices of support as I reached the end of the vertical dungeon.
I could feel my heart beating harder, my breath hitching up higher, and my whole body shaking as we crested the final obstacle.
But it wasn’t because of exhaustion.
It was because of sheer euphoria.
Peering over my shoulder for good measure, I saw naught but the tenacious three, with Prince Havenbrock leading the charge.
No signs of the newrealmer.
And thus, only relief to be had.
I looked down below to see a strikingly empty path ahead, which prompted me to take the journey down from the platform with a degree of caution.
The newrealmer was woefully behind now.
That fact continued to resonate in my mind as my feet finally touched solid ground, and amplified even moreso as I stared back up towards the ‘competition’, fists by my side in a pose typically reserved only in moments of assured victory.
Hoots and hollers were made from high above, as well as from far across the field from the stands.
This was the challenge I’d set out to conquer.
This was the untempered and unfettered high of victory.
“My dear fellows!” I proclaimed loudly. “His Eternal Majesty smiles on us, on all of us, today!” I made sure to include the rest of the rabble for good measure.
The social game wasn’t without a need to inflate your disciples’ egos.
My father was always right in that regard.
So, with my back now turned towards the wall and the rapidly descending tenacious three, I set my sights forward towards the penultimate challenge.
“Onto victory!” I shouted, but just as I was imbuing my body with yet another spell, so too did I feel a disturbance in the manastreams.
Or more accurately, a series of audible thumps that became increasingly more pronounced with each passing second.
Thump.
THUMP.
THUMP.
The noises increased in volume, and with each passing erroneous noise, came inexplicable vibrations from behind the walls.
Was the encabulator preparing some other challenge?
Was this an unexpected guardian sent by the encabulator to wrestle victory from my grasp?
I turned towards the professor, who responded only with a shrug.
This prompted me to start running, as I realized this wasn’t a part of the challenges, and thus not a worthy obstacle to take note of.
This didn’t stop the noises or vibrations however.
The thumps quickly morphed into outright crashes.
As I could now feel the ground quite literally shaking, the noises growing louder, and a low rumbling approaching closer and closer by the second.
Until suddenly…
CRASH!
The tell-tale sounds of brick and mortar crumbling suddenly filled the air.
A cloud of dust quickly enveloped the field, debris managing to land as far as a few steps ahead of me, my run being brought to a premature halt.
I paused, feeling a shiver run down my spine as I took a moment to catch my breath.
My whole body tensed, and my fur stood up on end, as I clenched my eyes tight before turning around.
Behind me was a cloud of dust, and a group of students coughing up a storm.
But in the middle of the crowd, right in the midst of the hole in the wall, were two glowing red eyes that pierced straight through the thick plume like a raging dragon shrouded in a mist of soot of its own making; its sights set on none other but me.
It was around that time that I felt my heart drop, and my whole body flinching in a way I hadn’t experienced before.
This was followed up by a sudden tensing, an inability to move, and a cold shiver that ran through my veins as I saw that armored form suddenly sprinting forwards at unprecedented speeds.
There was naught a hint of a mana surge, nor a breath to be had.
There was only that awful, ear-piercing sound, of high pitched whirs and thumping metal.
There was only the unnatural, unholy, presence that never ceased.
There was only the eternal hunter that gained rapidly behind me.
I could barely hold a shout as I turned around.
My mind was now occupied with only one thought.
RUN!
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The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts. The Hall of Champions. Competitor’s Field. Local Time: 1120
Emma
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“WHEW! OH YEAH! WE DID IT!” I uttered out with an ecstatic breath, resisting the urge to do a little victory dance as we emerged through the magical brick and mortar with the energy of a raging bull.
The walls were still no joke though.
But according to the EVI, the strength of the walls were averaged to around that of your typical brick and mortar house.
Though one that was held together with nothing but hopes and dreams, or in this case — mana.
The pure mana that’d acted as a magical mortar to the physical brick, had given way like water to my suit’s oil.
The suit handled it perfectly.
And better yet, it seemed as if we’d caught up to the bull just in the nick of time.
The man stared at me with a mortified expression that felt so visceral it honestly shook me a bit.
But then I realized…
> “The element of surprise, Emma. Don’t be surprised by your own surprise on the enemy. When you see them confused, just book it!”
That’s where the Book it Booker TSEC memes came from, after all.
And I wasn’t about to let those legends die in just a single generation.
So, without much prompting, I embraced my namesake, and booked it.
It felt freeing to not be slowed down by the speedbumps that were the walls.
A fact that was reflected in my larger strides and the slight bump in speed.
It wasn’t enough that the bull seemed to have a hard time matching, but that still didn’t stop him from huffing and puffing. Though it quickly became clear to me that his huffs weren’t from exhaustion this time around, but from panic; his wide eyed expression maintained for hundreds of meters as we made our way towards the next station.
This time, we were met with what looked to be another bear-guard sitting in a little guard house next to a drawbridge.
Though given how strewn about his equipment was, it was clear there was something about the narrative that had changed.
“Oh adventurer! You came in the nick of time!” Each of our bears spoke, more or less at the same time as we arrived at our respective stations simultaneously. “An evil beast has taken over the kingdom’s castle! You must stop him and save our kingdom! However, the hoards of evil now rapidly approach my bridge, and we must first weather the storm by leading them to their doom by having them fall into the infinite chasms below!” The bear gestured towards the large chasm the drawbridges crossed — what appeared to be an infinite void with sheer-faced cliffs on either side.
“This is where your help will be needed. I was assaulted and my injuries are far too grievous, so I am afraid I cannot help.” He paused, gesturing at his knee, which had a particularly large arrow sticking out of it. “Moreover, the beast has damaged the bridge’s artifices, so you must use your strength to slowly raise the bridge manually!” He made his way over towards what looked to be a simple crank connecting a rope to the front of the bridge… despite the obvious injury.
Narrative decisions and continuity notwithstanding, it was clear now what we had to do.
“Raise the drawbridge as fast as you can before the hoards of evil arrive! Following that, you may safely lower the drawbridges once more to continue on your adventure!”
I placed my hands on the crank with a certain level of wariness, planting my feet firmly on the ground, even going so far as to dig into it.
Auris did much of the same, and with one final mutual glare, we began turning the crank.
I was immediately met with resistance I wasn’t prepared for, the crank feeling stiff and unwieldy in my hands, as if the entire mechanism was locked up.
I knew, however, that this was simply a power calibration issue.
As I turned to the EVI and quickly began changing up the suit’s variable settings.
“Temporarily disable current profile, smart auto-adjust for me, EVI.” I barked out, as I felt the gummy resistance suddenly loosening up, and the crank in front of me turning from an impossible-to-turn steel rod, into an oversized fishing reel.
Each hard-fought rotation coincided with the raising of the bridge in front of us, as inch by inch, the bridge was raised up higher and higher, with the approaching ‘evil hoards’ pausing as if waiting for us to fully raise the bridge before marching forwards.
It was like they were waiting for a quicktime event or for us to fulfill this particular action before continuing.
Which made sense.
As if they’d kept approaching, they’d have effectively acted as a sort of a ‘timer’ for this whole station.
It was another layer of added difficulty that simply wasn’t applied for our run, which I was thankful for, because this thing took a considerable amount of effort to get rolling.
Auris was really giving it his all now, managing to just about match my pace, as it took us about a full minute to raise the bridge up about half way.
The whole thing was more mind numbing and torturous than anything, and that pattern would’ve continued, if it wasn’t for the arrival of Auris’ favorite variable.
The crowds had arrived just in time to witness our silent efforts, but they remained quiet this time around, as nothing else was heard outside of the rattling of chains and the CLACK CLACK CLACK of the primitive mechanisms.
So enrapturing was the fierce but otherwise silent competition, that none took their places at their own respective drawbridges.
Instead, everyone simply elected to watch, even Thalmin, as his eyes grew wide at my efforts.
Things were progressing smoothly enough. However, the moment Auris noticed the arrival of the crowds, so too did he start to truly rev things up, to the tune of about ten mana radiation warnings, a clear indicator that he was really pushing above and beyond now.
“Go on, Lord Ping! Show the newrealmer what a real mage can do!”
The CLACK CLACK CLACKs of his chains increased in frequency, prompting me to match it tit for tat.
“Do not hold back now! Remember your promises!”
So heightened was his pace now that the rest of the drawbridge’s distance was closed in barely half a minute, as the bear returned, alongside the snarky remarks of the crowd.
“I am sure he was holding back!”
“True, true! No doubt toying with the newrealmer!”
“Excellent work, adventurers!” The bears spoke, breaking through the whispers of the crowd, as the ‘evil army’ consisting of nondescript clay mannequins started falling into the void as if on cue. “The evil forces have fallen to their doom! The path forward is now clear! Please, proceed!” He gestured towards the drawbridge which had now reset, lowering back to its open configuration.
“Right, EVI, set presets back to D-5e.”
“Affirmative.”
Several bursts of mana radiation indicated that Ping was probably supercharging his run, poised to book it as quickly as his spells were complete.
So as soon as the suit recalibrated, I quickly sped off, the bull getting a bit of a head start as we both approached the bridge and—
“Initiating emergency stop.”
I skidded to a halt, just as my feet reached the very edge of the bridge.
“What the heck, EVI, what gives—”
“Analysis of material composition complete. Summary: the bridge may be constructed utilizing the same anomalous mana-based adhesion methods as the wall, Cadet Booker. The suit’s weight and movement will compromise its structural integrity.”
“Right.” I responded bluntly, testing the waters by stomping hard on part of the bridge, confirming the EVI’s analysis as a good chunk of it collapsed, falling into the void in the process. “We don’t have much time, calculate launch trajectory and give me a pathmap to follow.”
“Unable to comply, Cadet Booker. The chasm is too wide.” The EVI responded quickly, displaying all the possible arcs and trajectories it calculated, as each arc landed just short of the other side.
All, except for one.
“That one.” I ‘pointed’ using my eyes, selecting what looked to be yet another failed calculation, with a jump that led straight down into the cliff-face on the other side of the chasm. “EVI, are the cliff-faces also composed of the same material as the wall?”
“Negative.”
“So, we’re dealing with just rock then?”
“Affirmative.”
“Good. Now, just follow my lead…”
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The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts. The Hall of Champions. Competitor’s Field. Local Time: 1130
Auris
Had I truly done it?
A quick glance back towards the bridge showed the newrealmer once more stuck without a way forward.
A narrowing of my eyes showed exactly why this was the case.
Her sheer weight simply made it untenable for her to continue.
The muscle-bound nature of the beast had brought it to an untimely halt.
The consequences of its brutality was now made manifest as it was unable to use the instruments of civilization.
A humble bridge acting as the cage to its ambitions.
A smile crept up across my face, as I continued forward at a comfortable pace.
The newrealmer had backed up away from the bridge at this point, presumably with the intent to drop out of the competition.
Relief finally came to wash over my haggard soul.
But that relief was short-lived.
As not a second after I restarted my run, did the audible KA-THUNK KA-THUNK KA-THUNKs start once again.
And as I craned my head backwards, I was met with the metal behemoth surging forward at ridiculous speeds.
This all culminated in a leap.
One that elicited several ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the crowd.
My mind anticipated the loud THUD of her landing on the other side of the chasm.
NYOOooooomm…
However, my eyes instead were faced with the hilarity of the beast landing just short of the track, falling comically into the endless void below.
“....hehehehehahHAHAHAHAAAAAHHH!!!” I broke out laughing, barely able to contain myself.
I took a good few seconds to allow unfettered joy to reverberate through the crowds to the horrified expressions of the scant few that supported the beast.
And after a good few more moments, relishing the situation, I left.
A comfortable jog was accompanied by the sounds of the other drawbridges being raised and lowered.
I was once more in my element, the castle coming up closer by the second.
Until suddenly, I heard it.
crunch.
Crunch.
CRUNCH.
I felt a tingling running up and down my spine.
My fur threatened to stand up on edge again beneath the academy-issued sports attire.
My neck felt stiff, yet my mind urged me to crane back towards the chasm.
And so I did.
As a single oddity caught my eye.
It was a single hand, then two, then a helmeted head; pulling itself up and out of the chasm against the sheer cliff face that bordered it.
Its glowing red eyes once more met my own.
I froze.
Then… I ran.
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The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts. The Hall of Champions. Competitor’s Field. Local Time: 1130
Emma
I pulled myself up with a bit of effort, arriving yet again right on time to witness Ping’s look of abject fear, and a sprint seemingly born out of sheer panic.
Satisfaction, cockiness, and a whole host of feelings started to emerge.
But I didn’t have time to dwell on that however, as the castle loomed just a few clicks in front of me.
So I ran, catching up to Ping in just under a minute, as we once more competed silently, interrupted occasionally by the cheers for his victory from the spectator stands.
Before we knew it, we’d arrived at the castle, at which point, we entered straight through a pair of large oak doors, leading straight into a throne room.
It… really was a miniature castle, but at least it got us straight to the point.
As we were met with a literal creature of shadow hidden beneath a cloak, sitting atop of the solid-gold throne.
“WELL WELL WELL, WHATEVER DO WE HAVE HERE?!” A strangely familiar voice boomed out from beneath the cloak of shadows. “Do I see TWO challengers now?” He continued, as the EVI brought up a nametag that I wasn’t surprised to see.
It would’ve been him of all people, to have volunteered to act, wouldn’t it?
“Yes, we’re here to free the kingdom, now please tell us the challenge so we can get this over with—”
“SILENCE! Ye who wishes to free this kingdom must beat me in a challenge!”
“That’s what I just said—”
“SILENCE!” He reiterated, causing the whole room to rumble. “Now, your challenge… is to beat me… in a competition of pure strength!” The ‘evil king’ stood up, walking towards a table with several chairs around it in the middle of the throne room. “You must beat me… in a feat of simple, yet focused strength.” He sat down, placing an arm atop of the table, in a display I didn’t want to recognize. “You must wrestle this kingdom from my hands by force.” He announced, as stormy winds coupled with echoey thunder began swirling around the room for dramatic effect.
“So, arm wrestling.” I managed out dryly.
The dramatics died down for a moment after I said that.
“That is the commoner term for it, yes.” He nodded.
This prompted me to turn towards something else in the corner of the room, seemingly forgotten.
It was the sword in the stone, relegated now to mere set dressing.
“I’d rather we have a rematch of the sword-in-the-stone challenge rather than just some arm wrestling—”
"That is my trophy for having defeated the hero of this land! It is a signifier of my almightiness! For if I am able to procure the sword, surely the strength of my arm must be superior to its challenge, no?”
It was at this point that Auris and I locked eyes in disbelief, before turning back towards the ‘king’ with a sigh.
This certainly wasn’t the average sport you’d find in the Olympics…
“I accept your challenge.” We spoke at the same time, sitting down across from the ‘king’.
“Since you arrived here at the same time, the one who defeats me quickest will be the one true victor. So, how about you start, my dear dashing Lord of righteousness?”
Ping nodded with a stoic look of confidence, as he gripped the apprentice’s hand tightly, poised to break it.
“On the count of three, then!” The apprentice spoke, prompting the bull to nod once in reply.
“One.”
Both arms clenched.
“Two.”
Ping breathed in deeply.
“Three!”
The EVI was inundated with a surge of mana radiation signatures, whilst the scene in front of me remained seemingly unchanged, save for the increased intensity and death-glares made by either party.
“Withdraw now, and I will grant you clemency—”
“Shut. Up!” Ping roared.
Soon enough, I could hear the stone beneath the table crunching, its foundations cracking, as the apprentice struggled to hold his ground, kicking his legs, before finally…
THWACK!
The apprentice’s hand was pushed aggressively down onto the table, generating a massive gust of wind, clearly done up for dramatic effect.
“Ouch.” The apprentice managed out, immediately using his good hand to heal what looked to be a pretty nasty bruise in a matter of seconds. “Congratulations, Lord Ping! You have completed this final challenge in forty three seconds!”
Ping stood up with a confident grin plastered across his face following that, as he made his way out of the castle, towards a crowd of cheering onlookers.
I moved to place my arm on the table without uttering a word, as my mechanical surrogate ‘hand’ clutched the apprentice’s hand tightly.
Haptic feedback was useful in these instances, but I’d purposefully dulled it a bit for what was to come.
“On the count of three, adventurer!” He began, getting back into character, prompting me to turn towards the EVI internally.
“EVI, guestimate the force of Ping’s match, and try to match it.”
“Insufficient data.”
“One.”
He breathed in deep.
“Just do your best, we’ll auto-adjust as we go along.”
“Acknowledged.”
“Two.”
I kept myself poised, gripping his hand tight, probably too tight given how he flinched right before—
“THREE!”
He pushed hard, harder than any human could, as the EVI’s force calculators quickly brought us back into equilibrium.
However, just as we did so, so too did the apprentice’s surges in mana increase the force applied, prompting the EVI to correct our course, pushing a bit harder this time, resulting in—
SLAM!
My heart dropped as I could just about feel the sheer force applied to that hand.
Thankfully, I did not hear nor feel anything snap or break.
It was just the suddenness of it all that got to me.
“Ow…” The man muttered out in a high pitched voice, immediately gesturing for me to get up as he tended to his bruised hand with several surges of mana radiation this time around.
“...I hereby declare Cadet… Emma Booker, at five seconds, to be the victor…” He squealed out, before putting up a sign saying ‘Please Wait For Your Turn’ for the upcoming contestants.
I walked out, unable to really comprehend what I just accomplished, until finally, I was met with Chiska at the front gates of the castle.
The look on her face was one of shock, which quickly turned to an excitable smile as she locked eyes with me. “Well, well, well, Cadet Booker. It looks like you just earned yourself a place in the history books.”
“Wait, really?”
“Well, my history books that is.” She grinned. “For whatever that’s worth.”
It was around that point that she gestured for Ping to join us, as we both walked out of the castle together, much to the expectant gazes of the crowds.
“First years! I am happy to announce the victor of this impromptu challenge!” She paused for dramatic effect, those in the stands watching on with even more intensity than the contestants on the track. “May I present to you, the victor, Cadet Emma Booker of Earthrealm!”
A collective silence followed suit, before being met with a sizable uproar.
Ladona was on hand to urge several boos from the track.
Meanwhile, Thacea, Ilunor, and Thalmin attempted to break through the overwhelming response with cheers of their own, though subtle.
However, just as quickly as the spirit of unsportsmanlike behavior arise, so too did I abide by my own code of conduct, as I reached out a hand to Ping in an unexpected display that prompted both cheers and boos to die down.
“Good game.”