Mark and Sam left out the front doors with Bonnie and Terry in tow. They had seemed fine with the change in plans, saying they had planned to head there afterward anyway.
When they got outside, the heat of the day once more bore down on them. Crossing the grounds, they looped around toward the stadium, as they turned the corner Jonathan and Daphne joined up with. Daphne had been waiting on the ground level when Jonathan came to call them.
Taking it in stride, Sam introduced Bonnie and T as they made their way to the stadium. Jonathan looked at Terry with a grin.
“Just, T?”
The closer they got there, the louder the noise drowned out casual conversation, until they could barely hear themselves think.
Bonnie explained that today was an important event for them. The reason they were heading over in the first place was to watch the capture-the-flag rematch between NAS and the Scions.
It was only then, did Mark understand where the aggression toward the Scions came from.
Apparently, this match had only happened one other time, and even though NAS had been winning, it was the Scions that stole victory. In terms of raw strength, NAS was far superior but the Scions had ‘cheated’ in Terry’s eyes.
“The only reason they won was because of that damned item, otherwise we would have taken home the gold. This time we’re prepared for whatever tricks they have in store”
He was referring to the fact that no one had limited the number of system items one was allowed to bring into the fight, and the Scions had taken advantage of this rule.
This meant at the last second the Scions had taken out a powerful item that apparently created a special fog, and then stole the last flag in the resulting chaos.
As they got to the gates the roaring and chanting from the crowds became louder. There were soldiers stationed at the gates, checking everyone who entered.
Once they had gotten through the sheer size and number of people here was crazy. An energy of excitement and anticipation buzzed in the air.
Down below a group of fighters entertained the crowd with feats of athleticism and magic.
People were crowding into the place to watch this rematch. Mark noticed that everyone here was geared up.
As they moved along the aisles, Jonathan led them to a section where Ning Wei was waiting.
Just before they settled down, Bonnie spoke up.
“NAS has a private section for us to watch from, would you like to join us?”
Seeing no reason to say no, they all moved to follow, but the closer they got the more they saw this may have been a bad idea.
The section they were referring to was one of three major sections, set out evenly around the stadium. Each area was cordoned off by walls of glass and earth, taking up a decent amount the the available space. Mark glanced at the two other identical boxes, each having a symbol above it, which Mark could only assume were the Guild and Loyalist’s boxes respectively.
On top of that, each of the zones were guarded by their faction's own people. As a whole, the amount of public space was still in the majority, but the sections definitely took up a good portion of that. To top it off these boxes were definitely the most eye-catching parts of the stadium itself.
They got to a second checkpoint, this one required Bonnie to vouch for them, but they were quickly let through.
The seating was pretty much the same here but with significantly fewer people choking up the walkways. Another thing was the near-constant bursts of uncontrolled Aura or leaking Mana. Everyone here was either very powerful or well on their way to becoming it. The Aura’s leaking out were from people who had high stats and had not yet learned to control its manifestation. Jonathan himself had only recently learned this, so it stood to reason that others would also struggle with it until they could get it under control. The same could be said for Mana users to a much lesser extent. Mark had always known that Mana leaked from individuals, especially when they had just cast a spell in the area. But, other than the campus he had never seen so many powerful casters in one place.
Bonnie led them to a corner where they could get a good view of the fight to come, they were still a little early but they didn’t mind. Some entrepreneurial people had thought to provide food for the hungry spectators and it was no different here. Mark bought himself a huge plate of nachos, layered in cheeses, spices, and ample guacamole. It was a little pricey at 50Sp, but where else in the world was he going to get this type of dish again? He had to enjoy this while he could.
As the time drew near there was a commotion within the room.
The contestants had arrived.
Bonnie had said this time they were going all out, so even some of their ‘Pillars’ were coming down from the frontline to compete.
Mark was happily munching away, with a long string of gooey cheese trailing from his mouth to his next bite, when he heard an eerily familiar voice.
“Bonnie, T, glad you could make it.”
Mark turned to see Lisa standing next to their group, with a small entourage around her. Mark had been enjoying his food so much he hadn’t noticed their approach. He hadn’t thought he’d run into her so soon after their last meeting.
Her eyes lingered on Sam, Mark, and Jonathan. glancing away just long enough to take in Ming Wei’s presence.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Completely oblivious to the current situation Terry spoke
“Couldn’t miss you guys wiping the smirks off their faces.”
She seemed to agree by the way her confidence shone through.
“And all of you? How is the new faction going? I believe you had called yourselves The Order of the Sage, right? You’re moving impressively fast”
As far as Mark could tell, she meant that as a genuine compliment, but it didn’t escape his notice that she had been keeping an eye on them.
Sam’s business mask slipped into place.
“It has been going swimmingly, we are really grateful for your care on our first arrival”
Lisa’s attention moved to her.
“I’m glad you all recovered so quickly. Do let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you guys further”
Jonathan continued for her, turning on the charm.
“We’ll keep that in mind Mrs. Howl, and won’t hesitate if you’re willing”
This seemed to make her smile.
Lisa was flanked on either side, by a man and a woman. Mark recognized the quiet bespectacled man to her right from their discussion, he was watching Sam with keen interest.
To her left was a plain-looking woman dressed in what looked like clerical garb. The yellow of her simple dress did nothing to draw people's attention but something about her called to Mark.
He also didn’t expect her to move from Lisa’s side and make a beeline towards them.
“I greet you all, as does the Lord of Brilliance”
She moved straight up to Mark and took his one free hand, the one not currently occupied by the nachos.
Their whole group tensed.
The moment their skin made contact Mark felt a jolt of life surge into him. Similar to his [Invigourate]. The difference was, that when her Prana mixed with his, it caused a powerful resonance between them. Mark could feel she had a lot of Mana and Prana. Her Prana was Nowhere near his but her Mana eclipsed him, something about the way her energy moved felt awe-inspiring. As if something unknowable were staring back at him through her power.
For some reason, his Corruption suddenly began to squirm and fight, even though the staff remained securely on his back.
A construct began to form, almost by second nature, he had to consciously drop it.
Mark pulled his hand away gently, breaking the connection.
“Thank you… and you are?” he asked
Lisa spoke up as she watched Joanthan’s hand move away from his weapon. The area around them had grown hotter.
“Ah, Mark, this is Patrica Williams the head of the church of Brilliance. We asked for her aid in today's battle.”
Patrica looked very sad at their separated hands, but then she realized what had just happened around her.
Daphne’s hands were clenched into fists and Sam had telltale signs of a charged spell at her fingertips, which was rapidly fading now.
No one had made a move, but the air was rife with a different sort of excitement right now.
“It's lovely to meet you, Patrica. Apologies for our reaction, we are still very much new to the safety of the city you see”
Patrica looked at Mark owlishly and nodded at this.
“My deepest apologies. You carry a heavy burden of shadow and I could see it right away. I wasn’t thinking. If you ever need assistance, do not hesitate to come to our temple, we know a few ways of dealing with it”
If she was referring to Corruption, then Mark may have to take her up on that offer. He’d only put that post up a couple of days ago, so maybe they had figured out their own ways? The fact that she could see it was interesting. Mark could sense all Corruption when he had the spell active, but she could see it around herself, perhaps a synesthesia-like spell? If they had any information to offer then he’d like to try.
Mark nodded.
“Of course. I’ll keep that in mind, thank you for your worry Patrica, really”
The underlying current completely left the air and everyone relaxed.
Patrica looked like she wanted to ask something else but the sound of a blaring siren called the combatants to the stage and Lisa nodded at all of them.
“Well, Sam, Jonathan, Mark, it was lovely to see you all again. I would have enjoyed chatting a bit more, but I have a point to prove on the battlefield. The next time I come down from the wall we should chat, I may have a proposition for you all”
Lisa inclined her head toward Ning Mei and Daphne.
As they departed Mark said.
“Good luck out there you guys, looking forward to it.”
Lisa and her people then took a staircase directly in the middle of the room that led straight down towards the arena.
Terry had held himself back during their short exchange with Lisa’s group but it looked like he could do it no longer.
“Wait, are you guys the Tots? You’re all anyone can talk about these last couple of days”
Mark blinked.
“The what now?”
Bonnie spoke up.
“You know Tots, the acronym for your name? Word is, while you are small in numbers you made quite the entrance.”
Mark thought about it and she was right, he couldn’t help finding the acronym a little funny..
Terry continued off the back of her sentence.
“Is it true you guys made a journey across the city without an escort? They are saying you were five thousand strong before you set out. What happened along the way?”
Sam took over explaining what had happened in lesser detail.
Below, Mark could see Lisa and nine other people make their way into the arena.
A second group joined them but they didn’t look like the Scions, it turned out that this final battle was a three-way battle. Separating, the two groups gave each other some space.
The time ticked down but the Scions never arrived until the absolute last second.
They were similar to the other group, Mark and Sam had seen on campus. Languidly strutting onto the field, without a care in the world. There was a large monitor that showed close-ups of thirty contestants, separated by a large amount of open space.
When Jeffrey came out onto the field, Mark turned to see Jonathan with a sour look on his face.
It looked like he was part of the Scions, though it was not that big of a leap in logic.
Then Mark saw the craziest thing.
Small cages were being brought out onto the arena floor, with Ghasts pounding at the thick mesh. Mark saw that some crazy person had secured flags around the base of their tails. The cages were placed in between the three teams.
Bonnie explained that forty-five Ghasts would be released as the timer went down, each worth three points. Then it was up to the teams to collect as many flags as they could in that time. This left room for counter-play, like stealing or disrupting the enemy team while they all tried to get their hands on the Corrupted. Anything was allowed, but killing.
There was a loud beep, and a countdown started on a jumbo screen. As it dropped from ten, the audience seemed to surge in volume. The roars built and built until the final second ran out and sirens announced the start of the fight.