Part 1

- RAPHAEL BLUESCALE’S POV -

Midday had already passed as it was marked by my rumbling stomach. I had been fighting the whole day, virtually without even a single break. I had crushed solo participants and Gallher’s groups alike while being followed by Amelie like a duckling. A tiny clearing with a single tree in the middle and a small river on the side seemed like a blessing for my sweating body. Though I was on edge since we were approaching dangerously close to the center of the forest, we still decided to take a break and eat what little remained of our food, in hopes to regain some energy.

Quickly we refilled the makeshift canteens made out of wood similar to bamboo and started a small fire with the two remaining fishes on top of it. Nuts and berries were considered as a snack so we ate them while we waited for the fish to cook.

While I was indeed able to slightly relax my body under the shade of the lonely tree, I couldn’t get rid of an ominous feeling permeating my mind. I already knew that, ever since the sun rose, seeing pillars of red smoke would have been as common as seeing trees. Yet there were too many of them. Even then, in the ten minutes it took us to set up the fire and all, five flares were set off. I thought I was the one controlling the situation but at that moment, the feeling of being hunted, of having someone drooling at the sight of my neck couldn’t leave my mind.

“What’s up Raphael?-” Asked Amelie as she poured water on the now useless fire after the fish was cooked “-You seem out of it. Should we stay here a bit after eating?”

“No, I’m fine, don’t worry-” I replied taking a bite out of the boring tasting fish in my hands “- Rather, I want to be quick and leave this place as fast as we can”

“Why? It seems soo peaceful here. I don’t think there are other places as peaceful as this seeing how many flares are being shot!” Replied Amelie in a very pissed-off manner, probably imagining herself keeping up with me again as she tried to do for the whole morning.

“I know, I know, but I feel like there’s so- DODGE!” I shouted as I jumped backward just in time to dodge a [Stone bullet] landing right on my spot.

[Where did that come from?! I can’t see anyone!-] I thought to myself as I backed away until I was completely hidden by the tree [- Fuck, something’s wrong! That wasn’t a normal stone bullet. Way too damn fast for a normal spell…is there someone else like me at the academy!?]

I was frantically looking at the border between the forest and the clearing as so did Amelie. In all likelihood, it was an ambush. A small pearl of cold sweat furrowed my forehead as the thought of an unknown person possessing the ability to manipulate spells. Then, another [Stone bullet] came flying dangerously close to my feet. This time though, my dodging reaction was faster. The sound that spell made was curious, different from the usual sound it makes. Thanks to noticing that, I preemptively moved out of the bullet’s way and was able to get a good look at it. A small chuckle escaped my lips.

“A [Stone bullet] being pushed from the back by a [Wind bullet]? It seems you guys got better at it. Ain’t that right, Sora, Youm?” I said as I pointed my index towards the direction the spells came from.

[You assholes! Almost gave me a heart attack!]

“WHAT!?-” Screamed after me Amelie “- Are you guys there? Why are you attacking us?”

From the border of the forest, around fifteen meters from us under the lonely tree, four figures appeared, all ready in a fighting stance. They were our friends, Sora, Youm, Danthe and Lucas. A little roughed up here and there, with some cuts and bruises, they all looked ready to pick a fight. Some more than others. Especially Lucas and Danthe. Both of them were carrying a wide and excited smile on their lips.

“Seems like someone’s looking for a rematch” I chuckled as I watched my opponents stop in a formation with Lucas and Danthe to the front while Sora and Youm stood at the border between forest and clearing.

“Is it that easy to understand?” Replied Danthe as he threw away the sack he was carrying on his shoulder.

“You should learn how to hide that excited smile of yours…Amelie, get further away from here. You can’t beat any of them”

“But it’s four against one! I want to help!” Whispered in response the girl behind me.

“I appreciate the thought but you said it yourself two days ago. You are not much of a fighter, sorry to be blunt, but you’d be just weighing me down in a fight against them”

I didn’t receive a response. The only things I heard were her steps as she slowly withrìdrew from the main stage and hid in the forest opposite to the enemy’s position. I, too, moved slightly backward in order to gain some distance from them and from the tree. It was a matter of seconds now before the fight could begin. I could feel my brother's eagerness from his expression, though I, too, was getting a bit excited.

“You know that Gallher and his fellows are still standing, right?”

“Yes, we do!-” Shouted Sora with a quivering voice “- That’s why we need you out of the event! We, ehm…asked questions to one of them. He said there’s a trap waiting for you! You have to get out of here Raph!”

“You think I don’t know that? I can hardly imagine him coming at me straight. I don’t even know how many guys he has inside the forest but I bet they’ll all come at me at some point and he’ll be there for the final cleaning.-” I smugly said between a scoff and a shoulder raise “- But if you are that worried about me, why don’t you go eliminate some of them for me?”

“No, you have to r-” Tried to shout Sora before being silenced by her brother.

“It’s useless, Sora-” Said Lucas with a sigh “-You know how my brother is. He wants to do everything his own way. As I said, the only way is to beat him soo bad that he’ll be forced to get out of the event!”

“Oh my, how caring of a brother I have!” I Ironically replied.

“Ok, enough of that! He’s not gonna listen anyway-” Said Danthe, cracking his fingers “- The real question is, how many badges do you have?”

His devious smile was telling me he was set on winning. The event was just an excuse to fight against me once more. Danthe had asked me quite frequently to fight against him at full power, but without his spear I always refused and since the use of personal weapons is prohibited on school grounds, he never had the chance of fighting me. It seemed like the event was the perfect excuse to see me at full power without his spear.

“19, how about you?”

“63!-” Proudly answered the redhead “- We came across Floyd’s group and another who carried quite the sum of badges. So, how is it? The prospect of winning the event I mean. The group that comes on top after this fight will possess almost half of the badges of the event. Feel like fighting us seriously?”

“You don’t need to tell me that twice!” I replied as I lowered my hips and cast a [Minor speed boost], a [Minor strength boost] and a [Minor defense boost].

“Don’t you think you should at least include Amelie in this fight?” Cockyly suggests Danthe.

“Naahh, I’m more the enough for the four of you!” I replied in the same tone.

“Hahaha, I see. Let’s get him, guys!” Shouted my opponent now running at full speed towards me. The other three followed even though Sora and Youm kept their distance from the attacking duo, as casters should.

Part 2

- AMELIE REVILLE’S POV -

I had done what I had to do. All I could do now was wait. Wait and hope that everything went well. Wait and hide behind the tree I chose as a hiding spot. Wait and see the victor of the fight. A tingling sensation ran through my spine as I watched Danthe and the others running towards Raphael. Excitement? Perhaps fear? Anger even? I couldn’t tell. The one thing I knew was that I mustn't, for no reason, have taken my eyes off the fight.

“Flame slash!... Sword conjure!...Fireball!...Fireball!” Shouted Raphael’s opponents.

A barrage of fire-type spells began falling over him. The most dangerous of the bunch being Danthe’s [Flame slash]. A spell generating from the sword-like movement of the hand that created a mincing-knife-shaped fire wave. The terrifying thing about it was the timing. Danthe’s spell was faster than the two fireballs. Fast just enough for Raphael to dodge it but not enough to perform a second dodge in order not to be hit by a [Fireball]. Those two [Fireballs] were shot slightly to Raphael’s side so that, if he was able to dodge the first spell, he was sure to be hit by one of those.

“Firewall” Shouted Raphael in response.

A stupid strategy if it was any normal magician. A [Firewall] being a tier lower than [Fire slash] couldn’t possibly stop it, at the very best it would simply slow it down. That is, if the caster was a normal magician. The ability to manipulate spells as one sees fit could not be outmatched simply by difference in tiers. Even I who disliked fights, could do nothing but realize the hopelessness of relying on tiers against him.

His [Firewall] was wide enough to reach the areas where the two [Fireballs] were supposed to hit and thick enough to stop Danthe’s spell. Though it’s shape was strange. Usually a [Firewall] far surpasses it’s caster’s height, yet in Raphael’s case, the wall barely reached his neck. One might think it was a faulty spell but Raphael’s next move proved it wrong.

“Pressure” Said the black-haired boy after waiting for the enemy frontline to approach closer.

A practitioner-tier wind-type spell that generates a very fast gust of wind for a short amount of time. In what seemed like a split second, wind strong enough to push away Raphael’s own [Firewall] generated from his palm. Not only were all his opponents pushed backward but they were also struck by the fiery remnants of the previous spell. All of them had to dodge as not to get burned or suffer more injuries than necessary. The four of them were now separated.

“Thunder boost armor!” Shouted Raphael in rapid succession.

Again and again, throughout this day I saw that spell. Dangerous, yet weirdly attractive. A thin armor made of light-blue bolts of lighting, bouncing here and there, traversing Raphael’s body. The speed and strength he received after activating that spell were as astonishing as it’s looks. In merely two breaths, Raphael reached Youm, now looking to reunite with his sister.

“Wha-” Uttered Youm as he saw Raphael’s face beside his own.

“Sorry,-” Replied him as he accelerated and stopped in front of him “- you are the first”

It happened so fast that I had difficulty realizing what happened. Raphael’s knee was stuck midair as Youm flew backward various meters only to end up crashing into a thick tree. Raphael must’ve hit him as he couldn’t stop his sprint. There was no way for Youm to dodge. Raphael’s knee struck right under Youm’s sternum. I couldn’t see very clearly from that distance but it seemed like a streak of blood was falling from his mouth.

“HIT HIM WITH ALL YOU’VE GOT!” Shouted Danthe in response to one of his groupmates being taken out.

A chaotic barrage of spells befell upon the nimble Raphael. [Stone bullets], [Fireballs], [Gust], [Flame slash], [Wind schyte] and many more hungrily looked for a foe to crash on yet none of them succeeded on such task. The sheer speed of the [Thunder boost armor] supported by a [Lower speed boost] was too much for simple spells to catch up.

The clearing was turning into a dusty mess. Holes and furrows littered the previous green garden as fires slowly began spreading here and there, making the clearing finally look like a true battlefield. It was inside of this earthly dust that a scream full of pain could be heard. And that scream came to none other than the only student inside the cloud, Raphael. It was my first time hearing him like that. Expressing pain. As he heard that, Danthe, as a good leader should, took up the opportunity.

“NOW!-” Shouted the redheaded boy as he pointed towards the source of the scream “-HE’S WOUNDED, SHOOT HIM DOWN!”

Shouts filled the air. The could of dust began raising even higher as the spells fell on Rapahel’s position. Fire-type spells from Danthe, stone-type from Lucas and wind-type from Sora. The various spells were mixing midair creating colorful trails and dark smokes all while polluting the silence of the forest with the noises of such spells fending the air.

How many spells fell on him? Ten from each caster? Twenty? Soil, flames, rocks and chunks of dirt were flying around as if a small tornado was rampaging inside that cloud of dust. It was chaos. Violent, furious chaos. Yet it rapidly came to an alt as soon as the stream of spells stopped.

[It ended…Raphael really lost…]

The three assailants looked spent up from all their energy as they looked at the cloud of dust slowly setting down with a sense of expectancy on their expressions. Sweat covered the entirety of Sora’s body. Her female features were starting to get exposed through the soaked white shirt as she threw away the jacket. The only one looking mildly fine was Danthe whose only new feature was the sweat covering his forehead and neck. Lucas, on the other hand, was down on his knees. As the least proficient in terms of magic and spells, it was obvious that casting that many spells would take a heavier toll on him than the others.

“D-did we *huff* really beat him?” Asked Sora. Her voice expressed both happiness and a slight scent of regret.

“I don’t know-” Answered the leader of that group “- I don’t feel his mana so may-”

His words were cut short by the sudden sound of rocks falling onto each other. The cloud of dust that seemed to be settling down, began raising once again as soon as the sound reached the three’s ears. In the midst of that cloud, a shadowy figure slowly approached the group who instinctively backed away.

“I must’ve used it too much without breaks-” Said the shadowy figure with the voice of Raphael “- I almost forgot that it still is an imperfect spell”

The shadowy figure stepped out of the dust after pronouncing those words. His clothes were torn on his left leg and arm. His jacket was nothing more than shreds of cloth hanging from his body. The bun of hair he wore for the past days was gone and his hair were now chaotically falling down on his neck and shoulders. The usual deep black hair now sported shades of crimson on one side of his head as his expression looked more lively than I had ever seen before.

No. Lively would’ve just been an understatement. I always had the feeling that Raphael wasn’t showing his true self towards us friends. Always with a smile too perfect for a fourteen years old boy, always too composed…too mature.

[Now I get it-] I thought as I instinctively hid more accurately behind the tree [-this is what you really are!]

“Stone dome?” Asked Danthe as he pointed a position behind Raphael’s back where a pile of broken-down stones laid.

“Correct”

“We are fucked…are we?” Asked Danthe once again as he tried to hide weariness behind a fake cocky smile.

“...Correct” Coldly replied Raphael.

In the next moment, he was running. He wasn’t as fast as before, nor he was clad in thunder. For some reason he wasn’t activating the signature spell he used the whole morning, yet he still was faster than the common student.

His target this time was his brother. Upon seeing Raphael running at full speed towards him, Lucas mustered up all his energy and stood once again, holding the conjured sword firmly with both hands. Raphael, in response, raised his right hand high and said: “Conjure sword”.

As his words implied, a sword, more defined than the one in his brother’s hands, appeared in his grip. The other hand was kept firm by his side. The two swords clashed with the loud sound of hard stone against harder stone. Raphael had jumped before the swing in order to gain more momentum to break Lucas’ two-handed guard.

“Flame lan-” Tried to shout Danthe, seeing as how his groupmate was being challenged.

The redhead didn’t have enough time to finish his spell. He was only a couple of meters away from the two brothers when I found out what Raphael planned to do with his left hand.

“Gale palm!” Shouted Raphael with his left arm now crossing under his right one.

The sudden horizontal column of wind hit Danthe on his unguarded chest, throwing him off balance and failing his spell. Sora seemed to be unable to make heads or tail of the situation. She simply stood still as the two brothers exchanged a couple of blows with their swords.

Of course, one simple [Gale palm] couldn’t have been enough to take out Danthe and so, it didn’t take him much before chasing around the two brothers with a flaming spear-like weapon in his hands. The weapon he was carrying was a spell, and advanced tier at that, [Flame spear]. A spell able to shape one’s generated flames like a spear and either throw it like a javelin or wield it like a weapon.

Raphael was being pushed back as his two opponents relentlessly tried to slash and pierce him. A parry here, a dodge there, a counter and then retaliation. Raphael was doing his best using the weapon he had in his hands. A couple of times he tried to cast a spell but was rapidly interrupted by the combined effort of the two teammates. The more seconds passed, the closer the opponents’ weapons came closer to Raphael's skin until finally, Lucas’ sword reached his brother’s side.

“NOW SORA!” Shouted Danthe as he moved to the side, revealing a Sora ready to shoot what seemed like a dangerously powerful wind-type spell.

Danthe and Lucas switched from offensive to a more defensive type of approach. They were trying to keep Raphael in place for Sora’s spell. From the smug on Raphael’s face, it was clear he didn’t feel like letting them have it easy.

“I was never good with swords”

With a fast and swift movement, Raphael got rid of his own weapon by throwing it towards Sora. It must have been a gamble for Raphael since he didn’t know whether Sora could dodge while still casting or not. Turns out he won the bet.

The spell that was forming on Sora’s palm suddenly came undone when she had to switch her focus on the weapon approaching her. Danthe and Lucas took advantage of the now weaponless Raphael and simultaneously attacked him from the top and side.

“Savage howling” Was Raphael’s reply upon seeing the two weapons approaching him.

As if to cover the area around him, an uncountable number of small [Wind schyte] the size of a finger, began flying from his position outwards. The two opponents had no choice but to try and cover themselves as best as they could. The normal human instinct was to cover the face, unfortunately for them, leaving the chest and abdomen exposed. Raphael took advantage of that.

As their bodies were rapidly struck by the hundreds of small sharp licks of wind, Raphael decided to put an end to the fight. With a kick on the stomach, he pushed away Danthe and soon after, he reached for his own brother.

“Fuck you Raph!” Shouted Lucas as his clothes were being ripped apart and small red cuts began appearing all over his body.

“Double gale palm” Pronounced Raphael as he placed one hand over his spleen and the other over his stern.

Two point-blank [Gale palm] crashed on Lucas’ body. I could only begin to imagine the pain he was feeling. With no air inside his lungs and the feeling of his abdomen being pierced, Lucas was out of the fight.

[This match is already decided…I better get ready for my part] I thought as I reached for my bag yet, of the two items I was looking for, only one was contained in the bag. All the gathered badges were gone.

Part 3

- RAPHAEL BLUESCALE’S POV -

My brother was laying at my feet. His breath shakier than mine. He was wriggling in pain as he held his abdomen in his arms. I wanted to help him, to heal him. It was painful looking at him like that…but I couldn’t. Two more of my friends remained. I had to beath them all.

Danthe on my left still firmly holding onto his [Flame lance] and Sora on my right was getting ready to fire a spell. I could faintly feel mana gathering around her hands. She was my target.

I sprinted towards her. Her tired face turned into a pained grimace. She was putting her all behind that last spell.

“Pressure!” Shouted the girl as she pointed her palms in my direction.

It must’ve been because of the lack of energy or her inexperience in actual fights but her aim was off. The top part of my torso was her aim, I just needed to duck down to completely dodge her sweated spell.

Once I began sliding under it, her expression suddenly filled with the realization of her loss. I could faintly see a reassured smile. Even in situations like that, she was able to smile. I felt envy.

“Sorry…-” I said as soon as I stopped my slide and touched the dusty ground with both hands “- Stone pillar”

The usual cylindrical pillar rose from the ground in a slightly oblique position, ending up striking her directly in the stomach. Holding her abdomen, she fell on the side of the pillar.

“RAPHAEEEEL!” Shouted Danthe. His spear pointed towards me.

I was getting physically tired. My limbs felt heavy and my mana pool cried for it’s emptiness. I cut off the supply of mana for all my boosts and slowly picked up my sword laying beside Sora. Seven meters, give or take, was the distance between me and Danthe. I felt tired.

“Stray mist” I said in low tone.

A thick light grey mist formed around my body, covering my tracks, my position and Danthe’s. I wasn’t sure whether he already knew the trick to get rid of the mist, namely cladding one’s eyes with mana, but it was still enough to grant me an opportunity.

I rushed towards him, the stone sword in one hand and a clenched fist in the other. Before he could do anything, I was already in front of him. The first to hit was the fist. It ended on his jaw. I could feel his position shift and lower. He was falling. Then came the sword. From the top downwards, a slash by the book. Easy to predict yet strong if not parried.

Danthe's concentration was enough to parry my blow, but not enough to keep the [Flame spear] intact. When the two weapons collided, my blow was canceled but his weapon turned into thousands of small sparks that fell to the ground before disappearing. With no weapon and no strength whatsoever, a kick on the side of his thigh was enough to make him fall to the ground.

“This marks the end of the fight-” I said as I stopped the supply of mana to [Stray mist] and pointed my sword at Danthe’s neck “-...I guess it’s my win”

“I’m still not enough, huh? Hahaha…-” Laughed through his teeth Danthe as he raised his hands over his head “-Tell me, did we have any chance?”

“*huff* If this was a real fight and both you and Lucas had your weapons…I might have ended up being a cripple”

“Pffttt HAHAHA-” Began laughing Danthe as he covered his eyes with one arm “- I swear that *huff* one day I’ll surpass you!”

“Dream all you want. I’ll still be pointing my sword at your throat” I jokingly said as I tried not to laugh.

Suddenly, a flare was shot not far from us. The red smoke began towering over the clearing and the coward sun hid behind it. I took my sword away from Danthe’s throat and stole the small belt-bag of badges he was carrying, adding them to my own.

“So it really happened *sigh*” Said Danthe as he sat down to collect himself.

“Don’t talk about it as if it was something unexpected…we both knew this was gonna happen, Danthe” I coldly reply, anger filling my veins.

“Raph…will you be fine?”

“...Probably not. Not after this fight with you guys. My mana’s all spent up”

“Sorry…it seemed the only option”

“Don’t sweat it. I’ll come out on top one way or another. Do you see ME ever losing?-” I said as I displayed the cockiest smile I could fake “- Get the others out of here. If someone can’t fight then have them surrender. If they have a little fight in them, get ready for an ambush…I leave the judgment to you”

“...Try not to die, Raph!” Said Danthe as he stood up and pointed his fist towards me.

“Say that to the enemy, Danthe!” I replied as I bumped his fist.

I watched as he rapidly helped the others stand up and carried them out of the clearing and deep inside the forest. Just to make sure, I looked around for Amelie without moving from my position. Alas, as expected, there was no trace of her. I sighed and walked towards the tree where my bag was. I sat down, pierced the ground with my sword and took a sip of water.

“*sigh* I hate this suspense…I just hope they’ll come fast. It’s annoying if they make me wait here alone!”