There was silence as I watched a mark launch from my opponent and explode in the air, signifying the end of the match. Agni’s flames died down and I could feel her peeking at my opponent, watching his twitching body on the floor.

“This match has been won by Crijik!”

The voice of the observer cascaded across the arena. His voice was marginally softer now, not wanting to rub in the second victory I’d achieved over the fire magician.

The magician in question couldn't even hear the announcement. Hassin was lying face-first in the dirt, his head squeezed tightly by a layer of earth that closed over every feature.

I scattered the dirt that was enveloping my opponent's head. There was no need to disrespect Hassin. In its place was an expression of surprise and dismay, the boy’s shoulders shivering involuntarily as he took in the fresh air and light around him.

Being entombed in a mask of dirt was a claustrophobic experience for most people.

"Well, that was one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen.” The observer’s voice floated out from beside me. "Do you usually use such ruthless methods in a sparring match?”

I jumped back in surprise as he appeared beside me. There hadn't been a whisper or shift in mana that declared his movements. He'd simply not been there one moment and was there in the next one.

The possibility that he was using a manaless regent, or another type of onze, crossed my mind.

His words caused guilt to bloom inside me. "I tend to treat it like a real fight.”

Amanda and William hadn’t left me any other option. Each of their attacks was designed to kill. One had a mecha robot and sword that flew at my neck without hesitation, and the other rained storms of flame from above hoping to burn me alive.

"I was taught the same way." He nodded. “After all, a spar is just practice for the real thing. Monsters won't hesitate to end your life before you even know you're in a fight. Neither will humans.”

He moved over to check on my opponent, gliding over the ground. His body shimmered as he moved and it became transparent for a moment, his speed greatly increasing as it did so. He checked everything was okay and helped Hassin up to his feet.

A moment later he was back in front of me.

“What kind of magic is that?” The words left my mouth before I could stop them. “Wait. You don't have to answer that.”

It was common sense and common courtesy to not ask about other people's skills unless they told you about them first.

"Sorry, I don't give away that kind of information to people I might end up fighting one day." The observer wink at me. "After all, it looks like you're going to be trying for a gauntlet run to the top.”

A cough interrupted us and saw my opponent walking toward us, his eyes watching me warily. His flames were gone, and I could see that the mana around him was calm. He wasn't angry, though there was a sheen of sweat around his neck.

“Good fight.” He said. His words were accompanied by a light bow.

“Good fight.” I bowed back.

"Alright, give me your IDs." The observer held out his hands.

I gazed curiously as he gripped both of our student cards in his hands and transferred Hassin’s points over to me. The front desk had given me a new card that had my persona name on it, as well as a picture of me in my mask. It had my normal hair, but I could get that changed.

Crijik: 14 points. Rank 165.

I’d started with one point, my rank having reset after shifting to a persona for the rankings. This was the benefit of having two fights in a row.

"This is what I get for being too cocky. I didn't even get a chance to use my skills.” Hassin groaned. “At least I'll be able get some fights now that my record makes me look weak.”

The fire magician was taking his loss gracefully, his simple red robes shimmering with light as he brushed dirt off of them using flames. I could see the difference in control between Hassin and Amanda now that I was close to him.

If Amanda had been my opponent, the dirt would never have reached her head. The flames would've protected her from it and from any sneak attacks I could throw. At the very least she'd have felt the intrusion in her domain through the fire mana spread out through the arena. The dirt would have scattered or been burnt to a crisp on contact with her natural defensive wall of flame magic, and then she would have torn me a new one for trying something that weak.

This time my opponent hadn't been in tune enough with his magic for it to protect him instinctively. Even when it warned him, he couldn't hear the voice of the mana around him. The flames had laid limp at his sides, and he was helpless to retaliate.

He stepped forward and clasped my hand between his own.

"You absolutely kicked my ass, but it won't always be like that." He said. "I'll come back for a rematch sooner than later. Once I've gotten a few more fights under my belt."

"Sounds like a plan.” I smiled at him. “Come challenge me any time.”

Hassin left with a final glance at me. I could see him trying to peek through the holes of the mask to determine my identity. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he would try to figure out who I was.

I felt Agni shift in response, the flames on my hair spreading out further to disguise my original appearance.

That made him frown. In his eyes I looked like a fire magician that had purposefully used another element.

His footsteps echoed out across the arena as he left.

Thankfully, there were a lot of earth magicians in the academy. Even if Hassin asked all of them if they were me, their denial would only serve to make him doubt them more. After all, what kind of person admitted that they were using a disguise while they were using it.

If he tried looking for magicians that could use fire as well, then he'd never find me.

"You played your cards right by not bragging or demeaning him. He won't tell a soul about today." The observer spoke from beside me. “Nor will I.”

There was a code of honour among academy students, and it would be seen as shameful for him to reveal my skills and abilities to any future opponents. It also wouldn't help him if he went around telling people that he'd been beaten so easily. But there was always the risk of that code being broken.

I held my ID card up to my gaze and stared at it thoroughly. I’d gained thirteen points from defeating Hassin.

With a few more fights I'd catch up to Shar and the other students I'd fought before.

“For winning the first match you gained ten points. Half of Hassin’s initial total. The second victory gave you three points, since you were technically at a higher ranking than your opponent.” The observer raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you really going to stick with the name, Crijik?”

"Will it make me a bigger target?” I replied.

"There's no doubt that it will. It's only slightly better than naming yourself Artus." He glanced at the door and shook his head. "I considered that myself when I first started out. A one way ticket to a mountain of points, if you can handle the swarm of challengers."

The observer stared at me calmly, his thoughts clouding his eyes as a smile tugged at his lips. Aqua blue hair bounced upward, and I saw a glint of blue mana shifting between the long strands, playfully poking out here and there to wave at me.

“If every fight is as interesting as this one, I don't think you'll have a problem finding opponents.” He smiled. “After being dismantled so casually I wouldn't be surprised if Hassin tried to challenge you again by the end of the day.” He shifted his attention to me, and I saw the mana around him light up with intent. “Do you have a dedicated observer in mind?”

Dedicated observer?

"I don't know what that is." I said. "But I'm not going to say no because of my own lack of knowledge.”

It wasn't hard to guess what a dedicated observer was from the context, but the idea itself had never occurred to me.

The observer gestured towards the door, and we made our way outside of the arena.

"My offer is simple. You allow me to observe all your arena matches. In return I can attempt to set up matches against different opponents. Usually, they'll be stronger than you and higher rank, but I can also guarantee that I will ask people that love fighting and don't care about their points. Not that they'd even think of losing.”

I didn't accept his offer straight away. Despite my persona disguising who I was, there was more than one way to find a match. My cousin, Berlia, had extended a similar offer to help me find opponents.

"Why would you want to watch my matches?” I asked.

The observer walked alongside me, his shoes gliding over the dirt. After a few moments I realised I couldn't hear his footsteps.

"Because it looks like it'll be fun.” We exited the arena and he closed the door behind him. “Usually people that are good at fighting enter the rankings in the first week of school. Utterly boring. I much prefer an underdog story.

"You don't have to accept my proposal straight away. Think about it, and if you decide to accept, ask for Kyle at the front desk. And yes, that's my name.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. That was an unusual name, especially in this world. There were names that overlapped on both worlds, but this was the kind of name I'd hear exclusively on Earth. More importantly, his offer was good. There was no reason for me to reject it.

"Assuming you’re telling the truth about setting up fights, how can I know you won't go and tell my opponents what abilities I can use.”

I had no reason to trust Kyle, but I also had no reason not to trust him. If he said that he wouldn't spread my information, then that would be good enough for me. To some people their word was more important than law.

At Koshima academy, reputation was king.

"I'll tell them that you're an earth magician, but that's the full extent. In return, I'll give you the same information about your opponent. Some might even consent to giving more if they want you to present more of a challenge to them.” Kyle hummed happily. “If you accept then I can even have an opponent ready for you by tomorrow lunch.”

"I just have one condition." I paused as we reached the front foyer of the Dome. "Don't try to figure out my identity.”

Eventually, someone would find out who I was. But the longer I kept it hidden, the better. After I reached Shar’s rank it wouldn't matter anymore. After all, I was only hiding my identity so that people wouldn't run from a fight. Kyle's offer could help me avoid that problem entirely.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Kyle put his hand to his chest in mock horror. “That would make things so awfully boring.”

He let out a laugh and I chuckled alongside him. The man was infectiously happy, and I could see the mana around him reacting the same way.

"Come to the Dome at lunchtime tomorrow, and I'll have an opponent waiting for you." Kyle said.

“That quickly?” I said. From his expression I could tell he wasn't joking. “Okay, I'll be there.”

The light of the sun washed over my skin and warmed me as I made my way out of the Dome, leaving Kyle to whatever task he was up to. Fighting refreshed me, and it also got my blood pumping.

I strode through the field of flowers, eyes watching the skies for Gold. A voice chirped from on top of my head, and I heard a chirp from the trees in response.

“One sec. Let me duck somewhere a little more private.” I whispered to the phoenix.

She chirped.

Okay. Fun. Do again.

“It was pretty fun, wasn't it?” I grinned.

I walked into my spot inside the forest, and Agni reformed into her physical body. As the flames died, she hopped onto my shoulder and chirped excitedly.

A moment later a shadow flew over me, and I looked up to see Gold flying overhead. He dived down and landed gracefully onto my free shoulder. Both the birds started chirping up a storm and I chuckled.

Amanda strode through the trees behind him.

"Hey there you two, enjoying your secret identity?” She said. “And more importantly, did you win?”

Agni chirped an affirmative and leapt into the air, landing on Amanda’s hair.

"Of course I won.” I gave her a confident smile. "If I Iost my first match then William would carve me up the next time I saw him.”

"Careful, overconfidence can be your undoing. I bet the other guy has a friend that's gonna do the same to him." Amanda wagged her finger at me.

"That's awfully wise." I eyed her suspiciously. “William isn't right behind you, is he?”

There was a rustle in the bushes behind her and I raised an eyebrow at it. William wasn't the kind of person to try and sneak up on me. He'd rather come in flashily and throw gold coins around.

“Not William.” Amanda took a step to the side.

A familiar head of blonde hair poked out, followed by a pair of bright blue eyes and a wide smile.

“Hey hey hey!” Roxxy’s voice beamed across the clearing. She pushed forward and quickly made her way in front of me. “Congrats on the win. I had my own battle to fight, trying to convince Amanda you'd win and she didn't have to worry.”

“I knew he'd win the whole time.” Amanda rolled her eyes.

To my amusement I saw her hair flicker as its strands shifted into red flames, her physical body transforming at her embarrassment. I still had [Mana Communication] activated, and I could hear that she'd believed in me. The red notes of magic around her sung out her confidence and she shooed them away as they did so.

A moment later Roxxy’s eyes filled my vision as she inspected my mask. Her fingers tapped against it, the sound echoing in my ears and skull.

"So, this is the hiding regent?” Roxxy blinked in surprise. “That's trippy.”

After giving it a thorough examination, she stepped back and I took the mask off, letting it melt back into my soul.

"I can tell why you guys are so serious about your symbol studies if it can make stuff like this.” Roxxy nodded her head. “I hope you still have time to try to attune to water.”

"Absolutely and always." I said without hesitation.

Roxxy was teaching me in her spare time about water magic. She was also allowing me access to her family’s water cultivation room. Out of all the elements, water was the one I was closest to unlocking. I felt like a single push in the right direction would allow me to attune to the element. Then again, I'd been on the cusp of attuning for a month now.

It was only a matter of time.

"Good, because I have some new ideas that I swear won't kill you." Roxxy grinned.

"I'll hold you to that promise." I said.

Amanda tapped her knuckle against my side. "That'll be pretty hard to do when you're dead."

"Spoilsport." Roxxy called out to her.

We made our way toward the main academy building, walking into the tail end of the student crowd. I kept my voice quiet, but nobody was paying any attention to us as we moved through the building.

I poked Amanda’s shoulder to grab her attention as Roxxy and Gold zoomed through the crowd.

"Honestly, I think fighting you all the time over prepared me.” I said. "I hit that guy with the first dirt brick. You and William don't let that kind of attack through.”

I’d started resorting to sending dozens of spears toward her as my opening attack. Using a single brick today was holding back as much as possible.

"Really?” Amanda’s face lit up. “That's because my family is tailored for battle. An average student can't compare to my claws.”

She motions with her hands and six claws made of flames appeared around her, small and transparent. It was a small taste of her battle skill, which would normally form giant claws of flame to gouge out parts of her enemy. It wasn't an attack I’d want to take on outside of the Dome. I'd seen them burn through a monster once.

“At least I’m not going to have a problem finding opponents.” Amanda’s eyes darkened.

I glanced at her and then to our side. Some of the students had started whispering, pointing without shame at Amanda’s display. There was no kindness in their eyes.

"Ignore them.” Roxxy’s voice interjected. “Those guys just need to have the lesson beaten into them that nobody messes with my friend.”

Roxxy had zoomed in beside Amanda, linking arms with her protectively, and I smiled.

Amanda's brother Alexis had once worked together with a monster and sent several noble family heirs to the hospital as a result. Ouros, my fellow metal magician, was one of many infected by the monster's powers through Alexis. Most nobles had thanked her for her contribution in defeating the monster after the news became more public.

Others blamed her family as a whole, guided more by emotion than logic.

"You’ll probably end up scarring them for life." I kept a smile on my face. "After all, you don't have to hold back.

“Dang straight.” Amanda waved at the students, and they quickly looked away. “I'll pound them straight into the ground and give them a taste of a frontier city magician.”

“Yeah!” Roxxy cheered.

"She said, having been raised in Koshima well after it was cleared of danger.” I said.

Amanda poked her tongue out at me and laughed. “I'll have you know my grandad is keeping me close to a frontier city at all times. He wants me to supply them with fire mana at the first clang of a sword.”

She clenched her hand into a fist and the flames of the claws were sucked into her palm. A moment later she released her grip and a small red orb hovered in the air around her.

“I have to make these things every day.” She complained.

“They're beautiful.” Roxxy said. "I wish I could make these for water mana.”

The orb moved in front of her and Roxxy snatched it out of the air. With a quick glance at me she held it out for both of us to examine.

"If you had a few of these to carry on you at all times, I'm sure your water attunement would go a lot quicker.” She tapped the bead carefully. “Pure mana is hard to come by.”

The bead was crystallised fire mana, compact and compressed into an easy to carry gem. Unlike my [Mana Sanctuary] skill, Amanda’s orb didn't leak mana. It was a precious commodity and the main source of income for her family.

Soldiers on the front lines had a much higher chance of survival if they had fire mana in their possession at all times. These orbs were portable fires, and last resort attacks.

Gold pecked at the orb curiously and Roxxy laughed. It wasn't his first time seeing one. Each time he got a chance to examine the orbs he tried to carve symbols into them.

They’d disintegrated every time. This one was no exception, the mana dissipating into thin air as he clawed at it.

“Gold!” Roxxy’s shout rose above the clammering of the students.

Any attempt to carve symbols into chunks of mana was doomed to failure. Roxxy was forced to accept that the mana had disappeared, and Gold’s expression told her that he didn't regret a thing.

"That reminds me, today’s gonna be an interesting class.” I said. "Not that symbols studies is ever boring.”

“Says you.” Roxxy held back a yawn.

“Oh?” Amanda spoke at the same time. “Why's that?”

We were reaching the front of the classroom as I spoke. Most of the students were already inside. On the blackboard a grouping of basic symbols had been carved in chalk and some were glowing.

Symbol’s class was always entertaining.

I pulled a solid block of stone out of my inventory and let it float in front of me. In the middle of the block was a series of complex lines. Some were as thick as my thumb, and others as intricate and tiny as a spider’s thread.

"Because I finally carved multi-layered symbols into one of my created blocks.” I grinned.