Chapter 19: Showing off

Tepin

Together with Kaylin, I stood on the viewing platform looking down onto the dusty ground of the arena. Dain, yes, that Dain, the one who had led the archeological site back in Inas, stood on one side of the open space. Opposite him stood Isaac Maldun, currently busy with pushing up his glasses. He had been chosen to be the first one to undergo the test.

“You will have to survive one minute against alumni Illvalur.” Said Professor Illyhed. He was standing to the side of us on a raised podium.

My skin prickled as both Isaac and Dain gathered their mana. The air was charged with anticipation. The gray-haired elf raised his left arm. I held my breath. Curious who would strike first, my eyes darted between the two combatants.

“Start,” Illyhed’s powerful voice soared through the arena grounds.

Not seconds later, a boulder broke apart the ground where Isaac had just stood, and a massive cloud of dust shot into the air, blocking our view. The vibrations from the impact traveled all the way up to us. I grabbed the railing before me, pulling my upper body over it to get a better look. When the dust settled, Isaac was gone, only a crater left. Looking up, I saw Dain’s eyes darting around. His left hand raised, another boulder shaped like a cone floated above it. Little specks of dirt were falling off the spell, landing on his arm.

“Is Maldun using illusion magic?” Said Kaylin, holding her chin in her hand. “That’s rare; that alone might be enough for him to get the scholarship.”

Must be wild magic then, I doubt he could cast rota sequences to create illusions. Not that fast, at least. Not even I could do so.

“Come out, coward!” Yelled Dain, who was turning around on his heels.

Like broken glass, the air behind the elf splintered, revealing Isaac with a spell ready, pointing straight at him. The elf grinned. I almost hadn’t seen it, but a little green glint coming from Dain’s hand told me he had just cast something. The surrounding earth exploded in a circle, throwing Isaac off his feet. Specks of dirt went flying around them. A red outline appeared around Isaac as he hit the ground. Earlier, we had each gotten a little brooch. A magitek device that would protect us from getting hurt. I was hoping I could keep it after we are done here. Curious to check out how it works.

“That is enough. Mr. Maldun return to the stands,” the professor said, arm raised again. This had not even been a full minute; still, I hoped Isaac would pass. I really wanted to ask him about his illusion magic.

“Miss Tepes, please enter the arena,” Illvalur said. I nodded and turned to Kaylin, handing her my hat. It would only be in the way. Her hand went past my hat, landing on my shoulder, pulling me close.

“If you haven’t noticed yet, Dain has a certain disdain for me.” Said Kaylin. I let out a chuckle. “It pains me to say, but he is quite the good caster, so don’t take him lightly.” Her eyes were locked with mine, my cheeks turning hot. “He might not hold back with you, so be prepared. I know you can do this!” She pushed me away.

“Thanks,” I said, holding my chin high. Time to make a good first impression. Spinning around, I threw myself over the railing. Before I hit the ground, I activated a rota sequence, slowing my fall. Bolts of purple lightning curled around me down to my legs, jumping into the ground as I gently landed. I hoped that looked impressive, but the elf before me didn’t move a single muscle. He wasn’t the one I wanted to impress, though. I made a fist as I went into position, shutters running down my back. Tsk, why is this body even doing that? I took a deep, slow breath and let warm mana flow into my hands. Just enough to not give away that I started constructing my spells.

“This is not going to take long,” Dain said with a smirk. Oh! That settled it; I was going to wipe that stupid smirk off his face.

“You will have to survive one minute.” The professor said again. Oh, I intended to do more than just survive. Illyhed’s arm was once again raised high. My eyes focused on the one across from me. I could spot a single drop of sweat rolling down Dain’s forehead. So he wasn’t so sure of himself, huh? My fingers twitched, ready to cast.

“Start,” Illyhed’s voice washed over us. Raising my hands, I released the hidden spell and not too late. A massive boulder was charging towards me. But I was faster. Before me, hundreds of translucent pentagons formed a shield. Seconds later, my newly formed barrier bulged under the pressure of Dain’s attack. Bolts of lightning shot off it as it tried to stay together. A deafening sound rocked my ears as the boulder exploded, blinding me. But the shield held strong. As I blinked, my sight came back, just to be blocked by black smoke spreading around me. Kaylin’s warning had come true. He was treating me differently. A technique to suffocate your opponent—how quaint. A smile played across my lips. I didn’t need to breathe, and now he couldn’t see me. But I could still sense where he was.

Kaylin

Cold sweat rolled down my back as I watched. My thoughts were filled with worry. Was she truly ready for this? A cloud of black smoke spread around the area where Tepin had just stood. She hadn’t lost; Illvalur had not yet called the fight. I was sure I had seen her cast something just before the boulder had hit. Holding my breath, I tightened my grip around her hat.

A purple dot appeared on the surface of the dark cloud, quickly moving across it.

Reaching the end of the cloud, a bolt of lightning burst out, flying towards Dain.

“Yes,” I yelled. “Get him.” She wasn’t dealt with that easily. Still, that bolt wouldn’t be enough to silence that idiot. He simply sidestepped it, but by the tendril did I enjoy the look on his face.

The self-important grin was gone; instead, his eyes were darting across the surface of the smoke. Another cone made of stone was already floating above his left hand. Then another bolt of lightning shot out of the darkness. As he sidestepped it again, they were followed by two more. It was clear to me that Tepin couldn’t see his exact position either. Her attacks were too unfocused.

Dain seemed to have gotten sick of playing target and hurled his cone into the smoke. Tepin’s answer was three more bolts coming his way. They started blindly hurling spells at each other. I frowned; this was going nowhere. A pressure wrapped itself over my shoulders, distracting me.

The hair on my skin stood up as the ambient mana rose. What was Tepin doing? Whatever she was, casting it would make her an easy target. If I noticed it from up here, Dain wouldn’t even need to guess her position. And I was right, looking at him, I saw him activating a small device on his arm. So he used a spellslinger for rota magic, huh? A mana bubble materialized around him, while the surrounding ground started to break. The sound of cracking rocks echoed through the arena as they flew up. Gathering over his hand, they molded into a large spiked boulder.

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His grin returned as he raised his arm, pointing towards where Tepin was casting her stupidly large spell. I swallowed hard.

“It’s over for you! “ Dain yelled as he released his spell. I let go of Tepin’s hat, grabbing the railing before me. This spell would rip right through her. Neither her shield nor the brooch would withstand that. Why wasn’t the professor doing anything?

A sudden surge of purple light came from elsewhere in the cloud. I blinked as smoke burst apart. Revealing a sprinting Tepin, the ground unraveled with each of her mana empowered steps. At the same time, Dain’s spell hit whatever was still left in the cloud. An explosion shook my feet, splitting the cloud apart. I increased my grip on the railing to hold my balance. Dain’s eyes grew wide as he looked at the purple streak that was Tepin shooting towards him. He raised his hand, stones starting to lift from the ground. But Tepin was too fast. Lightning curled around her hand as she shot a bolt right at his shield. The lightning wrapped around the bubbly shield, and it popped into little strings of mana. Dancing around Dain, Tepin came to a sudden stop right behind him. I gasped when she grabbed the back of his head. He opened his mouth in surprise. Purple lightning curled around her hand, making its way into Dain’s body. The rota sequence she had used, fading as fast as it appeared above her outstretched arm. Dain’s body started shaking, losing control. His mouth opened to let out a silent cry before he fell to the ground face-first. Ouch. That must have hurt. His body flashed red as the brooch activated. That thing was clearly not doing its job well.

Tepin patted down her armor, specks of dirt and sand sprayed to the ground around her. I chuckled; she had used Dain’s spell to her advantage. That I had not seen coming. My legs were shaking as relief washed over me. She had made it; she was safe. The guide from before ran onto the field towards Dain, checking on him. I saw Tepin saying something to him, but I couldn’t make out any words. The guide gave a nod towards the professor.

“Miss Teppes, you may return to the stands. We will take a break as it seems our examiner is unfit to continue.” Illyhed said. I turned away from the battleground and walked over to Tepin’s hat, picking it back up.

Tepin

I really wanted to show off my shield to the professor. But no, Dain had to surprise me with a stupid smoke screen. I balled my fists, but that didn’t matter. This fight had rattled me, scared me. No, rather it scared me of myself. It had been exciting, fun even. I didn’t want it to be fun. But the pressure, the feeling of adrenaline running throughout my core. The rush. It had been intoxicating. That scared me. I didn’t want to enjoy fighting. I belonged behind a desk designing magitek. Not. This. I pushed those thoughts away as I rejoined the others.

Once I got back up on the stand, I was rushed by Leiter.

“How did you deal with the smoke?” he asked. I sighed. Let this day be over.

“Actually, I would like to hear your perspective on the fight, too,” Kaylin said as she stepped up to me. I nodded. Alright, it seems I did not have a choice.

“I wanted to show off my new shield spell, but I didn’t expect a smoke screen of all things.” I started, shrugging. “Dealing with it was easy, I just held my breath.” I wasn’t going to bother giving some long-winded explanation. “Then I tried to buy some time by firing some spells into the general direction of where I could sense Dain’s mana. I didn’t expect him to be that fast at casting.” Kaylin nodded at that. “Either way, I created an empty spell and pushed a lot of mana into it. So it would seem like I was casting something large and ran the opposite way. The rest you have seen.” I leaned back on the railing, looking down at the arena.

“Okay, so I have several questions.” Leiter started, but just then, the professor walked up to us.

“Mr. Hellbur, I regret to inform you that we will have to hold your test later in the evening. Your guide will bring you to the cafeteria.” Professor Illyhed said and turned to me. “Miss Teppes, we will evaluate your results now. Please come with me to my office. Mr. Maldun, you may also wait at the cafeteria.”

I gulped. Already? That was fast. I looked to Kaylin, who just nodded at me with a smile.

“Yes, Professor,” I said and followed him to his office.

Professor Illyhed’s office was packed. Towers of countless books littered his desk and any other free space. They swayed from the constant movement of the academy, threatening to collapse at any moment. I did not expect him to be so unorganized. Would this count as a dangerous work environment? The amount of books here could bury someone alive if they fell over.

“Please take a seat,” he said, pointing towards the only free seat. He walked around his desk, picked up some books from his chair, and sat down. Purple light flooded the room as he floated the books up and placed them atop many others.

“Before we begin, please hand me the brooch back.” Aww, I had hoped he forgot about that. I handed it to him. “Good, let’s begin.” He pulled out my test from his sleeve and placed it before us on the desk. Disturbed dust, fluttering into the air. “Your knowledge of rota surprised me, Miss Teppes.” He said, raising an eyebrow. “We always put a rota in the test, whose discovery has not yet been made public.” He tapped his fingers on the test. “We do this so we can root out those who would try to make up an answer. Now consider my surprise when you actually write down the correct answer.” I pushed my hands into my seat, trying to keep them from shaking. How am I supposed to explain this one? How should I have known one of the rota hadn’t been public knowledge yet? I stared down at my feet, biting my lip. “It isn’t unheard of that overzealous mages join windbreak-funded expeditions to gain access to new rota.” He raised one of his eyebrows. “You do realize that we know that you are a member of the adventurers’ guild? And that doing this is strictly forbidden?” My eyes darted around the floor, looking everywhere but up. “If I were to report this to Eventyr, your membership would be revoked.”

Now that they thought I had violated the law, it was over. I would lose my place at the guild and be kicked out of Windbreak. My mouth opened, failing to find words.

“But you are still young,” he continued. Was I? I wouldn’t call twenty-seven young. “The young make mistakes, and putting aside your transgressions, you do show potential,” Illyhed said. My eyes widened at that.

“T-thanks,” I whispered. My inner world was a storm of emotions. Even though my body wasn’t capable of it, I felt the sensation of sweat running down my back.

“You had piqued my interest after finishing the test so quickly. And having seen your ability to adjust to new situations in your fight with alumni, Illvalur. I have to say, I am impressed.” Crossing his arms, he continued. “I will award you a scholarship. I will not deny Windbreak a talented person such as yourself.” He held up a finger. “But be sure to know that we will keep an eye on you. Any further rule-breaking will not be tolerated. Are we clear?”

“Y-yes. Yes, we are!” I said, I couldn’t believe my luck. Relief finally won over the anxiousness that had spread throughout my core.

“Good, I expect great things from you, Miss Teppes. To get set up, visit the student office.” I nodded. “Please give me the card that you received this morning.” I did as I was told. My hands still shaking as I handed it to him. He stamped it with a symbol that resembled Windbreak's emblem and gave it back to me.

“You are dismissed.” I gave him a quick bow before hurrying out of the room. As the door squeaked shut behind me, my legs gave out under me, and I slid to the ground. Leaning against the cold wall. A high-pitched yelp reached my ears, and I peeked up. Kaylin jogged towards me, worry written across her face.

“Are you okay? Is everything okay? How did it go?” She shot question after question at me. I held up the stamped card.

“I passed, but I could really use a break right about now,” I said, looking up to her with a tired smile. “Also, you don’t happen to know where the student office is?”