“Good evening, Acolytes.” The black-robed elder atop the plateau looks down upon the various assembled children with a disdainful sneer. His mustache twitches and I begin to see where Romy picked up her training personality. “My name is Master Jarshan. I will be the overseer this year for the trials. For some of you, this will matter. For the worthless trash that can’t survive today…it won’t. I don’t see much potential, but I look forwards to being surprised!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Various hushed whispers pass through the thousands of children gathered under the cliffs. Dozens of small platforms made of earth have been carved onto the face of the rocks as a starting point. I’m also standing on one of them. Without exception, everyone here is under the age of ten. Considering I’m not even seven yet, I’m on the low side, however I’m not the only younger kid here. There are many children who have been sent by their parents or relatives to compete in the Rainstopper trials. Jarshan continues to explain up above.

“The first trial this year is relatively simple.” He sounds almost disappointed, “Be one of the first hundred to reach the top. All weapons and techniques are allowed except fatal methods. Intentional killing will result in disqualification. However, though we have placed nets beneath the cliffs to catch losers, if you lack the skill to land safely, then you have only yourself to blame. Look around you. Are you all feeling confident? This is your last chance to back out before we begin!” Immediately, his words cause the majority of the children to look around and take stock of our competition. I make a point to do the same, keeping an eye out for those who don’t seem particularly worried. Hehe…a lot more than a hundred people are feeling confident in themselves. Seriously, letting all these children brawl it out with real weapons, is a bit of a safety hazard. Hmm in Romy’s day though, I think killing might have been allowed though…

“No takers? Pity, I think some of the nets have holes in them, so try not to miss when you fall.” Jarshan laughs without much amusement. Despite his dry humor, he doesn’t really seem to care about the trials. However, I notice that his eyes are watching us closely. Flicking between various candidates without seeming to aim at any one in particular. I see him look at me. Even if you try to hide it, I’ve always been very sensitive to people who can pick me out. He claps his hands and everyone tenses. “Alrighty then. Get ready. Set. Mmm…GO!”

Cute.

Laughing because I’ve had my eye on the future since long before Jarshan gave his actual announcement, I release the silent spell I’ve been holding.

[Muddy Stone of My Endurance, Move Forth-Meld]

During the journey here, I perfected the silent casting of the last basic spell, Meld. However, its power is a bit weak, so I have to carefully target weak points in the earth and mud if I want to make the most use of it. Whoever made this platform was probably planning on detonating it once everyone had left. So it’s not very structurally sound. Exploiting the cracks, I shatter everyone’s footing right as the trial begins-

*Kacha*

Black lines suddenly fracture the platform into pieces, and I jump up right before the whole thing collapses. A couple hundred kids are dumped unceremoniously into the waiting nets below. However, several flickering shadows hop up like fleas and cling to the cliff beside me. We begin to ascend the craggy cliffs together. My competition. Those who managed to react to my little trick are the strong ones. The ones I’ll be competing with for a spot at the top. I have my eyes watching them in the future, contemplating what will happen if I head in a particular direction. But I stay lowkey, hoping to keep my identity as a mage secret until the last second. Sweeping my head around, I realize that I’m not the only one engaging in sabotage. Kids are falling from the sky in a rain of flailing limbs and screeching cries. Constantly, at the bottom of the cliffs, various black-robed Rainstopper Assassins flicker into the nets to pick up the losers before they’re crushed by the next wave of bodies.

Ignoring the wild amounts of violence going on around me, I focus on ascending. My body is strong. Even if I’m not physically talented in the usage of Qi, training with Perideen and Romy has given me some of the characteristics of a budding Acolyte. However, there are other kids who are ascending faster than me. It seems that as someone who has trained both body and mind, I can’t keep up with people that only focus on their specialty. It’s just as Glacia warned me. Doing the mental calculations, I try to see if I’m going to make it as one of the first hundred to the top at the rate I’m going. Should make it. However, as I hop to the next handhold in the cliffs, a dagger whistles by my body in the future. Appropriately forewarned, I twist and dodge, but it costs me a second.

*Shing*

A smiling girl laughs as she jumps over me to my left and rapidly scuttles up. For a moment, I consider using Meld to crumble the rock underneath her hands, but decide it’s not worth it. I’ll remember your face for the next trial. While I was dodging her throwing knife, at least ten of the faster children have broken past my position at various points on the cliff. It’s devolving into chaos. In the corner of my eye, I notice that one of the sections in the distance is going wild. There’s someone there, maybe a boy, maybe a girl, hard to say. Whoever it is, they’re insanely fast, and vicious. I broke the platform and got rid of many of the weaker contestants. However, this person is simple buzzing about the cliff as if gravity doesn’t matter. I see spurts of blood coming as a short sword flashes over the children. The smart ones drop before they lose a limb. The slow ones are not so lucky. Soon, the entire section is cleared of competitors, and whoever it is ascends to the top. The first winner.

My section is not so contested. As a matter of fact, the girl who attacked me is in the lead on this side. Several other sections have also separated into two groups. Strong leaders break free from the masses and make way for the top. Those without the strength to separate themselves are dragged into a vicious melee as kids leap onto each other, swing blades, and grab their fellow children on the way down.

*Tap*

Someone grabs my leg in the future. While I’ve been scouting out the field, the ones who survived my sabotage of the platform have caught up. There are now three faces staring back down at us from the top of the cliffs. Additional contestants who had the power to clear the field before anyone else. I realize that I don’t have the luxury of hiding my skills anymore. At this rate, I’ll be late! Without looking, I kick downwards, popping the boy sneaking up on me in the head. He grunts and I can only imagine his face as his hands slacken and he’s sent plummeting many meters below to the nets. I start climbing as fast as I physically can. With no one else around me, I should make it in the top hundred, but it will be close with just my physical prowess, especially because I’ve been doing more watching than climbing. The girl who attacked me is already about seventy-five percent of the way up. Before I know it, the top ten children have been decided. Though I memorize their impatient faces, it is not they who I worry about. Anyone who chose to ascend to the top immediately lacks the cunning to hide their abilities. It’s the ones who are biding their time like me which I want to find.

“Seventy spots left.” The impassive voice of Jarshan booms out as the top of the clifftop begins to fill. Though he sounds disinterested, I sense the eyes of the Rainstopper Assassins on us. They watch us from the peak atop the cliffs, and from the sides, and bottom. The whole thing is like a big pageant. We’re all just fish in a bowl, our strengths being displayed for their viewing pleasure. It seems the fastest and most physically capable who are willing to reveal their power have already ascended. As Jarshan calls out another warning, it becomes clear that the last of us still struggling to climb the cliffs either lack the ability to quickly ascend the structure…or are faking it. “Fifty spots.”

Enough hiding.

I’ve seen what I need to see.

You…you…and you…

My eyes narrow as I commit the last stragglers who have just a bit too much confidence to memory. A girl whose arms seem extremely steady for someone gasping for breath. A boy whose swords are not stained with blood yet all his competition lies groaning below in the nets. Several others whose eyes seem to be looking around rather than up or down. If these children manage to reach the top then I’ll know that my suspicions are correct and they’re my competition. Alright, let’s not leave anything to chance. Time to go up!

I silently chant the second spell I ever learned in my head

[Stormy Breeze of My Loneliness, Gather Forth-Gust]