"That's your roommate? He's not bad. He got me to use [Pull of Gravity]." Nico heard Amelia's voice from the distance as he stopped to rest.
It was a minute after the fight had officially terminated, and neither Kadin or his teammate could get up to move. Nico was sitting on the ground now, heaving for air. He was beyond tired by the fights at this point, and it had drained a lot from him as it would any player. He made a mental note to learn to increase his stamina, as it wasn't optimal for a player to be so winded after only four brawls. If he was going to be using magic, which would be draining enough on his mind and body, he needed to be able to sustain much longer forms of aerobic and anaerobic movement and intense cardiovascular activity.
"Ah, so you have more than one spell after all." Nico managed to get out in a sarcastic manner, wondering why the girl hadn't gone all out yet, and wondering how much she was still hiding. Was she only planning to user her [Voice Shackles] spell this entire time?
Then again, Nico couldn't say anything. He hadn't used any of his spells either, but he was starting to think that he would have to the next round for sure, if they wanted to put up a fight. Judging by the rising difficulties, if Kadin were to land an arrow on Nico, he would probably have been the one to lose the bout; it was only for Amelia's impressive prowess that Nico was still capable of fighting–now that he was inspecting the girl, he could see that she had barely broken a sweat.
Nor was she breathing as heavily as he was, nor was she displaying any type of weariness or exhaustion, compared to him, who was in a state of near-panting as he tried to recover any semblance of stamina before their next round. At that moment, Nico had to wonder to himself who he got matched with; it seemed like she wasn't a regular player, if she was skilled enough to take on so many people.
Not only that, she was able to bark out commands that flowed perfectly in the heat of battle without skipping a beat, which made him guess that she had plenty of experience fighting other players at the very least. Even in the midst of battle, her yellow-brown eyes were blazing with ferocity and vivacity, and Nico could tell she would be a big name in Excelsior's player community when her skills became more prevalent to others.
He also suspected she would probably make it into EPS if this wasn't her full effort; though he didn't know how she would fare compared to the other top names that were already well-known.
"What about you? Usually, Knights have at least a strengthening active spell, right? Unless you just awakened or something–" Amelia paused to look at him, "You're not telling me you're a new player, right?" She then said with a bit of shock and disbelief.
Nico only stared back at her, a sheepish look forming on his face unknowingly, "I mean, I'm not that new. I awakened in June." He made sure to not say anything about what she mentioend earlier about active skills, since he was trying to lay low for now. However, if it came down to it, Nico decided he would unleash thm if the situation demanded.
"No way... you realize that's barely three months ago, right?" The mage whispered incredulously, "I thought I knew every high-tier player at this school. You've got some serious potential, dude."
"Uh, thanks?" Nico wasn't sure how to respond to the sudden applaud, even if it was out of sheer suspicion, "I can tell you're holding back a ton–you probably know you're going to get into EPS then?" The boy asked.
Amelia let out a slight chuckle, but before she could answer, their world faded to black once again, and a second later, a new arena was revealed. This time, the four people faced each other on a rocky, mountainoius terrain.
The scene that laid before them was an alpine tundra, a high-elevation biome with very little vegatation. All there was were small patches of grass laid out for miles upon miles, with looming mountains towering over them from afar–right in front of them stretched out hilly plains of hardened dirt and rock.
And in front of Nico and Amelia was yet another familiar face to Nico–this time, it was the girl with umber-brown hair that had stopped Francisco during the night of the party. Her face was memorable, even under the low lighting of the house that night. Nico didn't know her name, but she looked confident enough to have talked down Francisco, who he discovered was a strong player in his own right, so Nico knew that this fight was going to be difficult.
And next to her, a boy with similar stature to himself stood, though this time it was a stranger he didn't recognize.
"That's Rayana," Nico heard Amelia's voice to his right as she motioned to the girl whose face he was familiar with, "She's a mage-type. And that," She then moved onto the other player, "is Tyler, a Gladiator class. I'll take care of him."
"Thanks," Nico muttered back, getting ready for this bout. He didn't know if there were more after this, but he already made up his mind–he knew he didn't have as much energy anymore, and so if it came down to it, he would use another one of his active skills.
Though he wanted to have the element of surprise, he didn't want to lose either, especially to someone who was Francisco's friend.
"How's your mana?" Nico then questioned, knowing that a mage was limited by their mana pool. He didn't know what the average player's reserves, were but he had seen her cast numerous purple-energized chains, and he assumed that it must have drained her somewhat.
Surprisingly, the girl didn't look fazed by the question, merely replying with, "Don't worry about me–I'll be perfectly fine." Her tone didn't convey any fake confidence or overexaggeration, just knowledge of her limits and beliefs in her abilities.
Though he didn't know if she was friendly or not, he wasn't going to underestimate Rayana, and if Amelia thought that this was best how to split their focus, then he would go along with it. Her leadership worked well for them so far, and he could tell that she was an adept player in her own right with a lot of her prowess probably hidden still.
The two of them stood side by side, the harsh and unforgiving cold wind whipping through the fields of sparse grass. The rocky outcrops stretched for miles, and the thin air made it seem like the atmosphere was almost to the point of being mildly suffocating. Nico felt the fatigue of his muscles, and the tiredness of his mind plaguing him–it felt like a it had been an eternity since he got to rest, especially with the gauntlet style of this tryout event. Nonetheless, the boy steeled his nerves for the fight ahead.
Somehow, Tyler and Rayana across from them looked determined and without exhaustion. Nico didn't know what his enemies' classes really were or meant, but he understood the basic premise of a mage-and-close-combat duo, as he and Amelia were such an archetype as well. Though about the same stature as Nico, the Gladiator stared him down with an impressive vehemence, and Nico's [Danger Premonition] activated immediately, feeling the malicious intent directed towards him.
Then, Tyler's hands were gripping a Roman-looking shortsword and a shield strapped to his hand. The tension in the air was palpable, and both teams were careful about making the first move, as engaging at the wrong moment could lead to a disadvantage for them.
And suddenly, the battle began with an explosion of movement. Rayana's hands glowed with blooming light, her left being a yellow-white pale luminescence while her left radiating a malevolent, maroon-red gleam. As she was casting her spells, Tyler charged forward with his shield in front, and Nico thought about how he hadn't thought about how the best way to deal with a shieldbearer was.
After all, he had only fought those either wielding weapons similar to his own or far-range specialists, never a close-range defensive-focused player. But before the Gladiator could get close, Amelia's speedy spellcasting was on it–Tyler's swift movements were stopped abruptly as he was chained down by twin [Void Shackles]. They went rigid and stopped him in his place, not letting the boy move.
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From thin air emerged two familiars, materializing themselves next to their summoner, Rayana. On one hand, there was a towering angelic figure wielding a blade made of pure light, while on her right, there was a fierce, imposing demon, emerging from whatever realm it came from with a massive roar.
"What the–" Nico muttered as he tried to process what was going on. He immediately assumed that Rayana had to be some type of summoner, and a good one if she could call upon not one but two powerful-looking spirits. His eyes glanced towards above their heads, where the names of such creatures were displayed.
The angelic figure held
Nico's mind prickled with the now-familiar sensation that a threat was imminent, and as he predicted, the two summons charged at him; Castiel the Sentinel spread its angelic-white wings, swooping in from one side while Lucifer the Battledemon's bat-like hellion wings carried it forward, sharp claws extended and ready to fight.
At that moment, Nico knew that he couldn't merely fight with just [Eldritch Swordsmanship] anymore, so he threw aside all thoughts of hiding his skills. Faced with the incoming peril, a desire to win overtook his mind, and Nico's instincts kicked into effect. He wasn't sure if it was a combination of [Danger Premonition] and his human spirit's will to endure merging together, but Tear's grip had never felt more comfortable to him than in that moment.
As the power of magic scimitar seemed to hum in his hand, the two spirits began their assault. Seeing no benefit to continue turning off his passive skill, [Arcane Vision] was activated, and Nico was no longer squinting due to the harsh, whipping winds. He could see clearly now, and the skill protected his eyes from any environmental hazards. Castiel, the angelic figure, swung its luminscent blade, and Nico blocked the attack with Tear, his clutch on the sword firm.
In this moment, he was exerting all of the adrenaline and energy he had left for this final bout. On the other side of the field, the Gladiator was slowly wiggling out of [Void Shackles]'s grip, but Amelia didn't hold up. Little did anyone else know, she wasn't simply a competent player who had been fighting for years, she was quite well-known back in her hometown.
The caramel-haired girl fired off another spell, [Orb of Antimatter], conjuring a sphere of chaotic, magenta energy which exploded upon impact. The boom of the detonation as the ball of magic slammed into the Gladiator rang throughout the wide arena. While Nico was focused on parrying and trading blows with Rayana's summoned spirit, he saw the residual purple magical signatures floating in the air, and knew that Amelia was holding her own.
However, Rayana had diverted Lucifer the Battledemon's path from him to his teammate, realizing that her own teammate was being outclassed. Nico noticed the demon fly away toward Amelia from the corner of his eye, clicking his tongue. He internally thought about how he was dragging Amelia down right now, and that he couldn't stand by and not pull his own weight.
Therefore, after two more blocks of the angel's gleaming sword, Nico saw an opening–he slashed Tear across the abdomen of the glowing spirit, a slit wound ripping at the mana holding the spirit's connection to the physical realm. But Castiel wasn't so easily taken down–it was a spirit with the sole goal of doing its summoner's bidding, and its summoner had clearly commanded it to defeat the opponent.
Nico was caught off guard as the angel's leg whipped around, sending him flying back with a kick with much more force behind it than he had expected. On the other side of the field, Amelia was fending off two attackers at once, Tyler having broken free from the chains. Though, he was heavily damaged from the [Orb of Antimatter]; still, the Gladiator's resolve and battle-hardened fury allowed him to carry on fighting even though he was on the cusp of collapse.
Meanwhile, Lucifer's claws glowed with hellfire as they attempted to contact Amelia, who was continually backing up, using her shackles as whips to fend off her opponents. Tyler, suddenly brimming with a brute force that could only come from a final stand, leapt as Amelia, abandoning his shield for a final ferocious assault with just his gladiatoral shortsword, imbued with a powerful aura.
Castiel gave the exhausted Nico no time to recover, as it continued its assault–even though he felt it coming, the celestial creature's light sword was able to stab at Nico's side, and the Witchblade barely managed to get out of the way, feeling his ribs get cut, a ripple of blood splashing from his flank. Gritting his teeth to override the sudden pain, Nico's eyes analyzed the angel in an instant with the stark clarity that [Arcane Vision] granted him. He could see that despite its fluid and deliberate movements, the angel had a predictable pattern.
Every time it lunged forward, it was leaving more of its lower half exposed and undefended. And with [Danger Premonition], Nico could sense when the next attack was coming. Anticipating the angel's next strike, Nico threw the pain at his ribs to the back of his mind despite wincing due to the wound. Forcing himself, to focus, he held Tear out behind him in a ready position, ready to end this bout.
Activating every fiber in his legs with excitatory magic in a manner that he had practiced so many times, Nico's mind momentarily flashed back to the first time he ever used this spell against the Shadowmaw during the tutorial.
[Flash Step] was activated, and in an instant, his physical speed was sent into overdrive. In one polished rush, the angel's head suddenly became decapitated as Nico seemed to appear behind it, sword outstretched, the Sentinel's liquified, illuminating blood staining its edge. The spell took the remaining stamina out of him completely, and he was left on the ground as well, overcome by feebleness.
Even though he tried to, his body wouldn't move any longer, each and every tissue screaming at him to rest. Now, all he could do was watch Amelia perform, and perform she did.
Before the hellion could reach her, a mighty swing of her chains sent the creature stumbling backward, followed by another [Orb of Antimatter]. Nico was surprised that she could continually cast such a torrent of spells without quickly depleting her pool–he guessed that she either had a massive supply of mana, or she had mastered each spell to the extent that they did not expend as much mana as they normally would have, either of which would have made him even more impressed.
Throughout all of this, Tyler looked to be running out of steam. Even though he was a physical-type that could probably take on Nico, Amelia was treating him like he was a plain training dummy. Normally, a melee fighter would pose a significant threat to a mage once they got up close, but to be rendered useless due to Amelia's [Gravity Well], pulling him backward before he could make physical contact with her and therefore creating more distance between them permanently, had to have been frustrating.
She then finished off the Gladiator with another whip of her [Void Shackles], knocking the boy out with a quick thrash across the head, sending him to the ground, unconscious, immdiately. Next was the arguably more powerful Battledemon. The hellish monster's eyes glowed with a blazing glare as it gave a deafening roar.
It seemed as if Rayana was concentrating on maintaing her summon's existence, as she hadn't noticed that Nico was rendered mostly unable to keep on fighting. Lucifer's wings flapped harshly, sending a wave of hellfire at Amelia.
The battlemage responded properly without hesitating, activating yet another spell. [Twilight Lance] was used, materializing a physical spear of blackish-purple energy. She gripped the spike in her hand, cutting down into thin air. The weapon met the spew of fire that Rayana's spirit discharged, slicing the stream of flames cleanly in half. She then flung the spear like a harpoon, the lance striking the monster's right shoulder.
The fiend shrieked in agony, stumbling backward. Nico was amazed at how the fight was going, as he was sure Amelia would struggle against a two-on-one scenario. But sure enough, she was holding her own like nothing was on the line. Then finally, the Battledemon exerted one last effort as it swiped the air, sending another surge of hellfire at Amelia.
Calm as always, she cast yet another spell, [Temporal Shift], this time, distorting the space in front of her with the power of the void, nullifying the flash of fire entirely, the blazes being snuffed up by a mysterious purple particles in the air, almost as if it was being canceled on the spot.
And then, she finished it off with an [Orb of Antimatter], the creature's cries being silenced by its sudden defeat. With Lucifer's crushing collapse, Rayana sank to the ground, her internal energy most likely fully drained.
Without skipping a beat, a merciful constriction of [Void Shackles] put her to rest, and she too fell unconscious. At this point, Nico was staring at Amelia in pure awe–if it weren't for [Arcane Vision], his eyesight would be blurred and dotted, but he could clearly see the fight unfolding before him.
Before they could say anything else, the world around them faded to black. Nico was worried that another fight would come, as he was, at this point, unable to continue without a massive amount of rest. Luckily, as he came about, Nico saw that they were back in the warehouse. It seemed like it had been an eternity since he had been there, and the fatigue hit him even harder now that he was out of the dream-like state that they were most likely in. He didn't know how it worked, but one of the executives of EPS must have had an ability that could transport them into simulated fights like that.
Now that he looked around, Nico could see that his surroundings were a lot emptier than he had remembered it. Instead of there being the hundreds of freshman applicants, there were only a dozen or so applicants there. Furthermore, they were standing in pairs, and Nico saw that Amelia was standing next to him.