This story follows Ayre Vasatra’s perspective.
Five minutes. It’s been five minutes since Orbryn announced the presence of only 21 gems within the hundred rocks. Ayen is caught up in her own battle with a brute lightning mage. So is Geta, against an ice mage with a war hammer. Despite the challenges and obvious unpredictable circumstances, neither of them looks fazed. Rather, they look motivated. They look hungry.
Here I am, just standing. Just my luck that the ones that have come for me aren’t that powerful. Or maybe they just saw that I wasn’t putting up much of a struggle and left to target bigger threats. Bigger fish to fry. Besides, they just want to eliminate everyone that’s trying to steal from them. I probably just don’t look like a threat.
Shit… This isn’t right! This isn’t what I trained for all this time! You have to take charge, you have to forge your own path instead of just following in the footsteps of others! I won’t make it to the top if I wait for someone else to show me the way. I am, Ayre Vasatra!
I let out a shout. An unbridled scream that caught the attention of everyone in my vicinity. All of them looked at me with disdain. I can see their erratic flows of mana as anger slowly boils within them. For me, it’s not just the fact that I stayed outside of the circles. That’s just an additional clause. Many of them already hate me for being human. Surely they wouldn’t miss a chance to lay one on me, especially in an event sanctioned by the school.
“Break into pieces, scum!” An elf without sleeves ran toward me.
His hands and arms are fully coated in a sleeve of raging flames. Quick! You have to avoid it! Huh? I sense mana pressure coming from all other directions. There isn’t a way for me to dodge this attack without openly receiving another! What options do I have? Mana space? I have to do it!
Right as I was about to enter mana space, a focused shot of mana pressure coming from a small direction alerted me. I looked upward. Just a little more than a few degrees to the left. At the top of the arena, a familiar silhouette of a tall, muscular, woman with smooth flowing black hair caught my attention.
It’s Yamazumera!
She’s looking at me with eyes of disapproval. Almost as if to say that it isn’t the right time to utilize such a technique. Shit! I don’t have any other options, Yamazumera! What else can I do!?
Think… Think! Your mind is quick, but a few more wasted moments and you won’t have enough time for your body to react accordingly. Okay, calm down. Analyze the situation. Be precise. Calculate. Mathematize.
Okay. Ahead of you is a 160-ish cm tall elf. His frame is small, probably no more than 68 kilograms. Muscular? Not so much. Lean, for sure. If my eyes aren’t failing me, he’s running at about 6 or so meters per second. I’d say he started running just 1 and a half seconds ago? That gives me 4 acceleration. If my physics isn’t failing me, that’s 272 Newtons of force. I’d have to generate the exact amount of force if I want to put him at a standstill! Shit! I forgot to factor in the mana he’s using! I don’t even know how physics would apply to that. Okay, new strategy. Forget physics!
Okay, behind me is another fire mage. Instead of a charge, she looks to be preparing to throw a fireball, judging by the way she’s reeling back and concentrating her mana on her fist.
To my right is another fire mage. Did I get the aggression of every single fire mage!? Anyway, she’s firmly planted on the ground with her palms gripping the floor. Looking at how the mana is forming and reacting to the natural mana of the world, I think I can safely assume that fire will erupt from the ground in my direction.
Lastly, my left is being charged by another fire mage. Of course. This time, it looks like he conjured a semi-solid weapon made of fire in the shape of a spiked club. Okay. You can do this. You have all the data. Analyze it and react accordingly!
“Human, thou are underutilizing an important weapon in your arsenal!” The voice of the Elkwolf resounded inside of my head.
“Now is not the time, great one!” I reacted.
“Listen to me, do not rely only on observable factors! Your heart will tell you of things that your eyes and ears never will!” The Elkwolf said.
What is it? What am I missing then? Listen to my heart? How can I not listen to my eyes and ears!? Wait… Should I close my eyes and mute everything around me?
If I do that now, I won’t have any time left to pick up further clues! Should I risk it? Fuck! I don’t have time to hesitate. I’ll listen to you this time, Elkwolf. If this fails, I’m burning your cloak!
I closed my eyes and stopped listening to everything around me. I found myself in a deep space where nothing is perceived. It feels eerily close to the sensation of entering mana space, but I shouldn’t!
A moment later, my mana perception took over. White blobs of light in the shape of my immediate competitors started to form around me. The exact four of them! My eyes are closed and yet I can see them perfectly. Everything. Down to the point of perfect simulation of their attacks! I can see the exact shapes of their mana and how it’s coming toward me. What is this elevated form that I unlocked!?
It’s so precise. My perception is doing the math and calculation for me. I can see it. I don’t need to avoid each of them, I can avoid them all at the same time! I owe you one, Great Elkwolf!
I turned off my mana cloaking completely, leaving me 100% vulnerable to all of their attacks plus the draining effect that the chaos wilds has. Not to mention that standing inside of the third circle is increasing the pressure by about three times its normal amount.
“Oy!! Are you crazy!?” The flame-armed mage said as he charged.
“Please!! Put up your guard!” The fire eruption mage shouted.
“Shut up! This is our chance!” The fire fist mage said, almost releasing her fireball.
My eyes are still closed, yet I can see it perfectly. As the attacks start to release, I smile.
Dragon Tempo: Continuous Step!!!
I fall backward, almost falling parallel to the ground. The fireball from behind me misses, disrupting the charge of the one in front of me. His momentum is lost. I focused my mana cloak on my back which sends me flying above all of them. Another cloak push concentrated on my heels rapidly flips me backward, placing me right behind the fire-fist mage.
“Shit! He’s behind me — Oy! Stop charging, you idiot!” The fire-fist mage shouted.
As the flame-armed mage started to decelerate, I position my fists on top of one another, fingers facing. My right hand is just below her nape and the other on her middle back. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to knock you out.
I release a cloak push from both of my fists, immediately knocking her out, and pushing her body rapidly toward the flame-sleeved mage. They collide against each other, as the fire eruption from below hits them both perfectly, eliminating two out of four enemies. I look to my right as the fire eruption mage shakes from the unintentional damage she caused her temporary allies.
“Don’t lose sight of your enemies!” The mage with the fire club shouted as he dashed from behind me, swinging his weapon horizontally.
“I never did,” I responded.
I looked at him with eyes filled with determination. I don’t know why I was even afraid, as he is right now, he’s no better than an ogre that somehow managed to light his club on fire. Compared to my months of hell in the inner wilds, this is nothing!
I furrowed my brows and concentrated a full-body outward force of mana in his direction. The momentum of his swing slowed down as it came directly against the violent rush of mana that my body exerted. It kept slowing down until the club itself vanished.
“Huh!? Where did it go!?” He wondered.
“Didn’t you just tell me to not lose sight of my enemies?” I said to him.
When he raised his gaze after looking at his empty hands, my face is less than two inches in front of him. Even beyond the wooden masks, I know there is fear in his eyes. His mana cloak kept flickering erratically, unable to do anything against me. At that moment, I made him feel fear, and it felt good.
I swung a punch empowered by concentrated mana that landed straight across his jaw. His mana cloak did nothing to hinder my force. Compared to mine, the density of his cloak was like a biscuit, while mine is a cement brick. It was no competition.
I feel light. My body is listening to every command perfectly.
From afar, some others are looking at me with fear as they witness the complete destruction of my immediate competition. I look at the fire eruption mage as my final target for this group and find her shaking on the floor.
“I — I yield! Please! I don’t know why I even entered this competition!! Fuck! What the hell are you!? Your mana looks so ominous!!!” She commented.
I paused, just watching her shiver. I flicked my head up toward the exit of the arena, to which she quickly ran to. Not even saying another word. My mana looks ominous? I wonder what she means… Still, I definitely do feel different.
“Human, be wary of thyself.” The Elkwolf said.
“Oh? It’s you. I owe you one.” I responded.
“Hmmm. It seems thou are not acting as one previously does. My suspicions are correct.” The Elkwolf commented.
“Is that so?”
“Continuously switching between releasing and inhibiting thy mana, not to mention to concentrated areas, is negatively affecting thy constitution. The girl speaks the truth." The Elkwolf gave me an analysis.
Thy gold-colored mana is leaking from different areas of thy body, giving you a horrific image to those possessing the gift of perception. It seems it is infecting your mentality as well. I worry about its lasting effects.” The Elkwolf added.
“As long as it gets me what I need, I’ll use it well!” I responded angrily.
The Elkwolf stopped speaking after that. How annoying. How could you give me the answer to my problem earlier and then retract it immediately after I just beat four enemies in the span of a few seconds!? Come on, that’s just preposterous! I’ll use this until I destroy every single one of them!
Oh? More of you are coming, eh? It seems like these are the ones that already came from within the circles. Hmm? The rocks are gone. Did all of you numbskulls take them for yourselves? How selfish of you! Might as well hand all of them over.
“I’ll make you a deal! How many of there are you? One… Four… Nine! If any of you are willing to hand over your rocks and iron orbs, I’ll leave you alone! You seem smart enough.” I arrogantly said, stepping on the piled-up bodies of the fire-first and flame-sleeved mages.
They grit their teeth, obviously wanting to charge, but unable to decide if that’s the best course of action. Come on!! COME AT ME! They positioned themselves around me, nine mages, with the majority possessing the fire affinity.
“That’s more like it! Entertain me, boys and girls! Show me that you’re better than the beasts that I eat for breakfast!!” I shouted loudly, with a wide grin plastered on my face.
It doesn’t matter if I can’t see them with my eyes. I can feel every step they’re about to make; every expansion of their lungs; every ripple of their mana cloaks; and every concentration of mana as spells are about to form! I can perceive it all! This elevated form of mana perception… I will not question how I unlocked it, but I don’t doubt it comes from Yamazumera’s training!
“Fire mages! Hear me! Those of you capable of casting chanted spells, we’ll contain him in a collapsing dome and rob him of all oxygen!” One of them shouted.
“Oy! Do you think it is wise to blatantly shout your plans right in front of your enemy?” I smilingly shouted.
“Worry not, human, in the face of overwhelming force, there is nothing that you can do! Now!”
Five of the nine mages surrounding me descended to the floor in a kneeling position with their palms planted on the floor. The remaining four used their own affinities to put up defenses around the fire mages. A pair of ice mages created dozens of moving icicles that spin rapidly around me. An earth mage erected a wall of spiked earth in front of the fire mages. A lightning mage sent out lightning toward the rotating icicles. Oh? They increased in size. Hmm… Interesting, different affinities have interactions.
“With me!
O’ great sun, the father of all flames
Heed the call of your children
In your name, we seek to enlighten the blind
To bring your light into the depths of darkness
Praise the might of daylight!
Rob the night of its deception
Cast a flame too bright for shadows to appear!
Flaming Sun Magic: Spiralling Sphere!!”
The fire mages shouted in unison as they mimicked the words of the one who is leading them. From their eyes emerged bright red smokes of mana. Cracks in their fingers started to form from the use of magic their bodies are not accustomed to. Long cracks of earth emerged on the floor, all coming toward me. Five tall pillars of flame shot up from the ground. They quickly merged into a spinning column of flame that kept rotating faster and faster as time went on.
The column slowly changed into a spinning sphere with me inside of it. The amount of heat expelled by the sphere is indescribable. My uniform is definitely protecting me. Oh?
“Allow me to show you the benefits of my armor!” The Elkwolf spoke to me.
Just then, the cloak that was just resting on my shoulders changed its form. It expanded into a fur sleeve that covered both of my arms, leaving only my fingers unprotected. It also formed a hood that covered my head in the form of a wolf head. Hehe. Amazing. You’re finally making yourself useful, Elkwolf.
The heat immediately didn’t feel as intrusive as it did before. The armor is definitely reducing the amount of damage I’m consistently receiving while inside of this sphere. Still, I have to get out of here or my dependence on oxygen will be the end of me.
I have one thing on my mind. Why exactly have I not thought of this before? Hehehehe… If this works, I will be unstoppable.
I lowered myself to the crouching dragon stance. Instead of bringing both hands to the side, I placed one downward with an open palm and clawed fingers. The other is above me, balled up in a fist. If I’m right, the technique that Yamazumera taught me to propel upward into the sky is a form of Dragon Tempo. She just didn’t tell me. If I use the same concept of shooting a concentrated channel of mana, then there’s no reason for this not to work! If anything, I’ll be inventing a dragon tempo technique!
I clenched my fist, gathering all of the mana that I can muster.
“Human, my defense can only do so much! Thou must cloak thyself!” The Elkwolf warned with a distressed tone.
The Elkwolf cloak reverted to its regular appearance, increasing the damage that I received. It matters not. All I need is a few more seconds.
Once my fist started to shake from all of the mana that was gathered to a singular point, I looked up at my hand to see that there was still mana flowing into it! HAHAHAH! Eiphraan, you mad genius!
Mixing in with my own gold-colored mana, the clear-colored mana of the natural world is flowing into me. That’s right! I am a Dreamwalker! Obey me!
The skin of my hand started to peel off and disintegrate. The blood that spilled out evaporated almost instantly. Just a little more! As the sphere closes to just about my own body’s size, I brought down my fist to the ground.
Dragon Tempo: Gale Force Fist!!!
The immediate impact blinded me with a flash of bright white light. After my vision returned, I found myself surrounded by nine bodies. Blood is coming out of their eyes and noses. All nine of them are completely knocked out.
I smiled. Laughing uncontrollably as my enemies have fallen after just one attack. I can’t move my left hand. Most of the muscles surrounding it has been forcefully torn off. I’ll need to get this fixed before the next phase.
Scouting their bodies, the rocks they took have been destroyed. Their iron orbs seem to still be intact, though. Interesting… I found a scolecite in one of the fire mage’s pockets. This earns me the right to progress to the next stage.
ZING!!!
After relaxing for just a moment, my body went into complete shutdown. A continuously ringing sound completely enveloped my hearing. My vision has blurred into clouded shapes. SHIT! I can feel every muscle in my body tearing itself apart!! I can’t move! I’m still standing, but I can’t move a single part of my body. Shit! If an enemy figures it out, my scolecite will be taken away from me.
My mind feels like it’s splitting into a thousand pieces. Headache on top of headache. I can’t do anything about it!
“I warned thou of the costs of overdoing a technique that thy body is ill-prepared for. Despite mana’s increasing obedience towards thy will, thy mortal body cannot handle its costs. Thou must face the consequences of assuming power beyond your control.” The Elkwolf said.
Damn… I didn’t expect anything like this. Was I overdoing it? Did I overestimate my own capability? What do I do? Calm down… As long as no one notices. I can’t believe I knocked all of them out so brutally. This isn’t me! I can’t believe I acted like that! Something’s wrong. I have to keep this power under control. Otherwise, I’ll be in more trouble with myself than my enemies.
