This story follows Amnestria Vasatra’s perspective.

 

Watching students exert themselves to their limits and beyond has always been a delight. Despite the obvious dangers, the lives of elves have always been devoted to the progression of the totality of the world, and not to ourselves. Our regular life expectancy of 1200 years does not hinder us from fighting as early as a hundred years old.

Those who choose to fight and gamble their own lives will always live more fruitful than those who do not. The Cyranic was founded on the very principle of preservation and promotion of the natural world. Restoring the damages. Replenishing the land. Enforcing its strength for the millennia to come.

Only once the age of humans dawned has the pursuit of destruction and combat taken a front line. With their shorter lifespans, their greed for power and totality of control has led them to abuse and commit heinous crimes against the land.

As uncivilized as it may be, preservation, promotion, and restoration may only occur if there is peace. Unfortunately, the world cannot afford peace without first using conflict and war. You, my children, are the future spears of the world to fight against those that aim to abuse it. Fight. Fight until none of them are left. I’m looking at you attentively, Ayre. Once you exhibit a sign of following their ideals, I will personally become your executioner.

“Director, am I intruding?” Orbryn approached me from my left.

“Not at all, Leader of the Fervor of Invention. What is it that you need?” I asked smilingly, abandoning my musings in favor of watching the students within the arena.

“It seems as though the Preliminaries have taken quite the violent route,” Orbryn said, chuckling.

“Did it fall outside of your predictions?” I asked, turning to him.

Orbryn is sitting in a relaxed state, yet his fingers are rapidly tapping against his knees. Hmm.

“Of course, not. Based on my calculations, there was 35.7% of it turned into a combat challenge prior to all of the gemstones being discovered. I simply did not account for one of the students stepping into the circles instigating an uproar that would turn the tide of the Preliminaries so early.” Orbryn commented, scratching his chin.

“Do you know the identity of that girl fighting against the instigator?” I asked, noticing the girl employing a similar chameleon technique to hide one’s presence, even to those gifted with mana perception.

“Let’s see…” Orbryn brought up an iron orb that beamed out a rectangular plate made of mana, containing details about the participants.

“Belonging to Block A, candidate A043, Ayen Norleth. Daughter of Hagwin Norleth II, an emissary from the Caeda Kingdom.” Orbryn read out the texts.

“I see…” I responded.

I don’t remember being present when she was being examined for acceptance for the Cyranic. If I was there, I would surely not forget. Up to this point, she has been intelligently evading direct hits and calculating correct steps to position herself in advantageous spots against a rampaging enemy. Even I cannot determine what affinity she possesses at this point. Interesting…

“How about over there? That dark elf, the one that’s just sitting on top of his competitor.” I pointed to the other side of the arena.

“Hold on…” Orbryn said, tracing away. “Ah!” He exclaimed.

“Belonging to Block B, candidate B099, Geta Teriza, a wanderer from the Great Sands of Perthosh. Oh? He was unanimously accepted by the judges of his entrance examination.” Orbryn said with a hint of shock.

“Hmm,” I said with a smile.

As I almost lost myself looking for interesting bouts, I almost forgot to keep track of my adoptive son. I wonder what — 

“Orbryn…” I said nervously.

“Y-Yes, madame. I have members from Mending on standby.” Orbryin said in a panic.

I stood up. I looked near the bottom-right side of the arena, within the third circle. A group of fire mages encircles Ayre with what looks to be a 3rd-Tier Flame Spell. How did students just in the first tier acquire the skills and knowledge of a flame spell of that magnitude!?

“Orbryn! Analyze!” I ordered in a shouting voice.

“On it!” He responded, raising his arms and pointing his open palm toward the spell being cast.

“It’s definitely 3rd-Tier. It belongs to the special sub-class of fire magic that focuses on the worship of the sun, Flaming Sun Magic. This does not fall within the expected skill range at all!!” The irritation in Orbryn’s voice is apparent.

For the leader of the Fervor of Invention to fail in anticipating outcomes, he considers it a personal failure.

“Members of Invention are in position outside of the arena, make the call and — “ Orbryn couldn’t finish his sentence.

As both of us watched the rapidly compressing spiraling sphere of flame, the unexpected happened. The Tier-3 spell got completely dispelled by an overwhelming force of mana that shot out from within the sphere. An absolute force is an understatement. The dense concentration of mana that exploded outward after being shot into the ground created a shockwave that knocked out all nine mages surrounding him.

Aside from the flame sphere compressing him, a wall of earth and supercharged spheres of ice got completely obliterated by the shockwave. Ayre came out standing. To the rest of the audience, it got hidden from all of the flashy and colorful expressions of magic. To the experienced and sensitive, this is something to be wary of. I can see the leader of each Fervor looking only at Ayre. Nothing else caught their attention. 

I looked to my left to see Orbryn completely slackjawed. He called off the Invention members that were supposed to dispel the fire magic. Even if they had intruded, they wouldn’t have been able to dispel that magic that fasts. Just what are you, Ayre? You make my hands shiver. This pressure… This mana intensity… It reminds me of — 

I rapidly turn to the left, above the arena, to find her. The Great Eastern Dragon of the Sky, Yamazumera. She’s smiling. Psychotically as she usually does. Her pressure is leaking out of her like a menacing threat. A great big part of me is thankful for her connections with the Queen.

 

Ayre’s force heavily reminds me of a Dragon’s Roar.

 

After more seconds of looking at the dragon, she takes notice of me and gives me a knowing look. She steps away, seemingly satisfied will all that she’s seen.

“Director?” Orbryn called out to my attention.

“He’s not moving,” Orbryn added.

My brows furrowed. I diverted my attention to Ayre and found Orbryn’s statement to be true. He is completely void of any mana cloaking. He’s frozen there, standing. What’s going on?

“Orbryn, can you perform Static Analysis?” I said, keeping my gaze on my adoptive son.

Orbryn wordlessly followed my command. Static Analysis is a 2nd-Tier earth spell that uses minor tremors beneath a subject to produce vibrations that could be used to interpret and diagnose conditions. It’s easy to execute, but only skilled earth mages can accurately analyze a subject.

I saw Orbryn flinch and grit his teeth. I braced myself for the worst. He looked at me with worried eyes. He took a deep breath and firmly grabbed onto his knees.

“Director… Over 60% of his bones are fractured. The damage is concentrated on his left arm, probably the origin of his attack. The muscle damage is nothing to scoff at either. The damage is hidden by his skin, but if he as much as takes a step, his body would crumble. He’s hanging on only by sheer will.” Orbryn said ominously.

My fingers shivered. Yamazumera, if my son does not make it out of this alive, I will personally come for your head. Dragon or not, your irresponsibility will be your downfall. I grit my teeth. My fists are trembling. I excused myself out of the arena seats and entered my chambers within the arena interior.

I walked into the center of the room and just stood there. Cinders of flame kept coming out of my tightly gripped fist. Flames of deep red, green, and purple danced around my fist.

“That Dragonfire is suiting you well.” A voice came from deeper within the room.

Yamazumera walked out of the inner room, eating an unpeeled orange. She casually leaned on the doorframe that led outward to where I stood. Smiling, and playfully raising her eyebrows at me.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Yamazumera.” I said, slowly generating my mana to prepare to defend against an attack.

“Who? Me? You must be joking. I wonder who it was that initially described the boy’s mana pressure as akin to those of dragons.” Yamazumera responded, almost in a chiding tone.

“You took that one comment and this is what you make of it?!” I angrily shouted.

“Careful. You’re stepping way too close to being hypocritical. Don’t forget that you owe your own strength to that arrogant dragon from the west.” Yamazumera’s tone started to shift to anger.

“I was already a proficient fire mage when I first came into contact with Baronzeir! This… Whatever it is you have planned for Ayre… It’s madness! It’s one thing to pass on the teachings of a dragon to a mature and learned elf, and it’s another to pass it to a human boy that’s barely started his training in the art of magic!” I argued, almost pleading against the dragon.

“If you’d taken the time to get to know your own adoptive son, you’d see that his attitude and heart are strikingly similar to that of the Great King. This opportunity to forge a new king comes only once in millennia! Not to mention his allegiance to the elves despite being a human. That alone can bridge the gap between the two races. The other ones will quickly follow under his banner!” Yamazumera started to smile with intensity, her pressure leaking out.

“He is just a boy!? Look at the damage he endured! Is that not enough proof that you’re taking this too far!? Your greed as a dragon is certainly making itself known,” I stepped closer to the dragon.

“Every damage his body incurs will double up stronger than before! I’ll go to him after this preliminary stage is over. He’ll be healed before the next phase begins.” Yamazumera brushed me off.

“Don’t you dare… Don’t you dare heal him with your own flesh!” I shouted.

“Oh? I didn’t realize Baronzeir was so loose-lipped. Don’t you want your son to become stronger and stronger? Far beyond his limits as a feeble human? Oh, don’t look at me like that. You wouldn’t be half as strong as you are if you hadn’t consumed dragon flesh, yourself.” Yamazumera said in surprise, ending with a menacing smile.

I gripped my fists tighter than before. My own nails dug into my palms, rupturing my skin and causing a stream of blood to drip down to the floor.

“If you ever… If you ever drive him past the point of no return, I swear. I swear, Yamazumera. There is no sky you can fly away to.” I said, glaring at the dragon.

She smiled. Replying to me with eyes of equal intensity. She made her way toward the front door, walking past me. She knocked on the earth door, alerting the mage outside to open it for her.

“Calm your worries, Amnestria. Despite your apprehension, I do care about the boy. I just don’t treat him as a fragile and feeble mortal like you do. You’d understand what I mean if you just watch him as he’s pushed to his limits. Even you would feel inspired.” Yamazumera said softly.

She exited the room, leaving me to my own musing and worried thoughts. I rested myself inside the room, lying down on the couch made of earth and resting my mind. After a few minutes, an Invention member called to my attention that the time limit has expired. The participants of the next stage have been decided.

I walked out of the room, composing myself to face the audience. Expecting an uproar of cheers and applause, I was met with a deafening silence. I looked around to see murmurs and scattered complaints. As I arrived at the center aisle where Orbryn was sitting, I saw him sitting with a cloud of worry floating above him.

“Orbryn, is something the matter?” I asked, lightly grabbing his shoulder as I sat beside him.

“Oh, Director. Welcome back. Well, it’s not really something that I didn’t expect, it’s just…” Orbryn stopped himself.

“Just what?” I asked.

“Just overwhelming…” Orbryn said, pointing at the arena below.

Instead of the 21 participants that I expected, only 7 students stood in the arena. Everyone… 117 students were taken out in the first phase. Orbryn handed me an inscribed plate of earth containing the list of students that passed. As I made my way down to the center of the arena, some members of the audience started complaining, feeling cheated perhaps. Maybe the one they came to support did not make it through.

“May I have your attention, please! I will now announce the ones who successfully obtained a gemstone that guarantees their passage into the next round! Upon the mention of your name, please remove your wooden faceplate and reveal yourself to the audience.” I said as I started to read the names of the qualifying students.

Geta Teriza!
Shadow mage responsible for a total of 11 takedowns utilizing illusion-based magic.

Toross Beala!
Lightning mage responsible for the immobilization of 19 participants using suppressive lightning magic.

Idril Foz!
Fire mage responsible for 26 takedowns using overwhelming flame attacks.

Ayen Norleth!
Ice mage responsible for 12 takedowns using decisive hits and a unique type of ice magic.

Gallas Hafthyr!
Earth mage responsible for 22 knockouts using earth magic to contain competitors.

Ayre Vasatra!
Null mage responsible for 12 takedowns using an overwhelming force of mana-reinforced attacks.

and, Saida Narira!
Aberrant mage, specializing in Polar Magic, responsible for 15 takedowns by using repulsive force to continuously throw competitors towards the highest pressure circle of the arena.

Cheers overwhelmed the arena! Even the audiences who were upset became fans after seeing the strongest members of this year’s new students.

“HE CHEATED!!!” One of the students lying on the arena floor shouted.

Everyone fell silent. The fallen student is shakingly pointing at the lightning mage, Toross Baela.

“Look at his pockets!! Look at them!” He shouted.

Smirking, Toross willingly put his hands inside of his pants pockets and emptied them. What? A total of 14 different gemstones fell from his pockets.

“He hoarded the gemstones! That’s not fair!” The fallen student cried out.

“Oy, there’s no rule prohibiting keeping more than one gemstone, is there?” Toross responded, looking at Orbryn, who shook his head in response.

“Besides, if you figured it out, there’s no one stopping you from taking one from me, or from any of these people standing with me, isn’t there?” Toross arrogantly opened his arms wide, almost mocking the fallen students.

The fallen student looked up, seeing all of the remaining students. He shook in fear as tears started to run down his face.

“All of you!! MONSTERS!! You’re all monsters! You defy all laws of magic! This isn’t how first-tier mages are supposed to be like!” He cried, before being escorted out by Invention members.

The cheers continued after he was taken out of the arena. He’s not wrong. Looking at these seven, an enormous pressure that even I cannot ignore is radiating menacingly.

 

Chuckles.

 

The humans better have something good against us. This truly is the era of monsters. Nothing short of monsters.