“You’re over here yelling and waving your arms around, almost as though you’re the first-year student trying to show the third-year student how amazing you are. Looking for a fight in the arena? Challenge me to a duel. Or do you just kick people in pain jumping around and remembering... Who do you think of when you’re screaming in pain? Your darling daddy? Hoping he’ll come punish big, bad Tailyn? Take Valia and hand her to his little baby boy all wrapped up with a bow on top? Is that what you think about when you’re in your bed at night?”
“You’re dead, Tailyn Vlashich!” Ronan hissed, his face red with rage. “You’re going to regret the day you came crawling out of your village. I challenge you to a duel! Name the terms. What cards do you want? I’ll take you out with any of them.”
“Match cards with you? Yeah, right. Your daddy probably bought you a whole deck of legendaries just to make sure nobody touches you. Okay, you want terms? Be my guest. It’ll be a seventh-year dynamic labyrinth, and we can both bring just one card with us. It doesn’t matter which. We’ll come in from separate ends of the labyrinth and meet in the center, with anyone who doesn’t make it losing. If you want a fight, earn it. Waving your daddy’s cards around isn’t going to be enough this time. It’s a duel!”
Ronan was about to say something, but the god got its word in first:
The duel will take place in 15 hours.
The faculty have been informed.
The location has been reserved. A seventh-year dynamic labyrinth is being built.
Chapter 14
FORIAN WENT OVER everything he knew about the labyrinth, and the more the boy heard, the more nervous he got. Valanil, of course, helped by throwing oil on the fire.
“I knew who I was getting involved with, of course, but this... My boy, if there were a list of most idiotic moves across all times and peoples, you would have second place locked up.”
“Why not first?” Valia asked in surprise.
“Because first place is mine! There are so many students in the world, and I picked Tailyn. Nobody can beat that!”
“Get in line, Valanil...” Forian muttered. “There are lots of people vying for first. Have you seen the betting odds? Five to one that Ronan will last longer in the labyrinth. Nobody’s giving Tailyn the time of day.”
“Well, we’re going to have to bet on our boy,” Valanil said with a chuckle. “I haven’t been wasting my time on him, have I? There’s a spare thousand coins I have lying around. Forian, care to join me?”
“The entire faculty is waiting to see my bet, so I don’t have much of a choice.”
Forian closed his eyes before continuing in a clear voice.
“Ten thousand coins on Tailyn getting to the center of the labyrinth first.”
“Eight to one?” Valanil’s eyes went glassy for a few moments. “Decided to strike it rich?”
“Nobody would have understood me doing anything else. I need to keep up appearances.”
“Am I able to make a bet?” Tailyn asked. The idea seemed like an intriguing one, and he wanted to give it a try.
“Only on your own complete and total victory,” Valanil replied. “No conditions, restrictions, or anything else like that.”
“Ten thousand coins on me winning the duel,” Tailyn said, and a message popped up:
Bet accepted for 10000 coins.
Odds: 1:15.
The message disappeared, replaced by an enormous table. Just about the entire academy, from professors to first-year students, were involved. It took a while, but Tailyn eventually figured out how the convoluted system worked. Sadly, only two people had bet on the boy winning: him and Valia. But they were quickly joined by Valanil and Forian.
“It would be silly not to believe in my own student,” the mage said philosophically. “Time to go all in. Have you decided which card you’re going to take?”
“Valia’s force shield,” Tailyn replied. “I have plenty of attack, so I need defense.”
“What attack are you talking about?” Forian asked, though Valanil suddenly jumped in.
“You sly dog! Let me see the terms again... Tailyn, that’s amazing. And whoever trained you is a genius!”
“Care to explain?” Forian asked as he began losing patience.
“Alchemy. There’s nothing about it in the terms. Of course, Ronan has all his upgrades maxed out, but what’s he going to do with acid or alchemical fire? My boy, I knew you didn’t just jump into this thing on a lark. Have you already figured out how you’re going to get to the center?”
Tailyn just shrugged, not wanting to answer. Sure, he had an answer. The only thing was that he needed to see the labyrinth in person to make sure it would work.
“Okay, so you have it figured out, only you don’t want to say anything. That’s smart,” Valanil said approvingly. “Get some sleep — you need to rest up before the battle. All classes have been cancelled for tomorrow.”
“Why is that?” Valia asked, her face showing her surprise. “There’s nothing unusual about duels. They happen every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Why’s everybody so focused on Tailyn’s?”
“Because tomorrow isn’t just a battle between two students. First of all, it’s the top and bottom of the ranking.” Valanil was used to Forian refusing to explain the obvious, so she took it on herself to answer the girl’s question. “Ronan’s father has given him all kinds of support this year, so he went from being somewhere in the middle to the shining star of his department. Everything’s going well for him; he’s at the top of every chart. So, lots of people want to see him, the school’s champion. As for you, I checked the statistics, and it’s been a long time since the academy had a student with such a low rating after the first three months of studies. Everyone usually does their best at the beginning, only falling off toward the end of the first school year. That’s the first thing. Second, this is a battle of mentors. There are those who teach here at the academy, and those who travel the world. Those are two different castes, and the mages in each don’t really like their counterparts. And while Forian comes in somewhere in the middle, without really ending up in one camp or the other, that doesn’t matter. He travels, which means he isn’t a teacher. So, this isn’t just a battle between students. It’s a fight between two schools of thought at the academy. The mages sitting here are taking on the mages who see the world.”
“But — ” Tailyn started, though he stopped when Valanil placed a finger against her lips.
“Arena competitions start in a week. Your team is already registered. You’ll be representing healers — some guys from your department already put the main team together, and they’ve been practicing. Madam Aigan, the head healer, liked my suggestion, so she personally filed the paperwork. But this battle will be yours. A personal fight, so to speak.”
“Healers don’t always have their own team?”
“Why would they? There are students who know how to heal scattered around the other department teams — that gives them a better chance at surviving. Okay, enough talk. Forian, care to walk me home? Oh, come on, you can relax. The boy will be fine!”
The remainder of that day was split into a number of different activities for Tailyn. Shower. Dinner. Sleep. Exercise. Breakfast. Registration at the arena. Waiting for the duel to begin. As his consciousness refused to take on everything all at once, the boy was able to focus on the upcoming event. Everything was ready. He just had to make it happen.
One minute before the scheduled time, the provost’s voice boomed out across the academy. Even he was there for the occasion.
“Professors and students of the academy! I’m proud to welcome you here to a most unusual duel. We’ve never had first- and third-year students select a level seven dynamic labyrinth as their place of choice, and we’ve never had the top-ranked student challenge the bottom-ranked student. Never before has a legendary card thought lost forever been unveiled for a duel. With such an unusual event taking place, the attention of the entire academy is here. And so,
meet the first participant: Ronan Diteon, third-year student in the battle magic department! In keeping with the terms of the duel, Ronan selected the Lernean hydra legendary card!”
The crowd cheered wildly. Someone began shouting Ronan’s name, and nearly everyone else took up the chant. Ronan! Ronan! From what Tailyn could tell, most of those chanting made up the academy’s female contingent. And even Tailyn had to admit that Ronan stood out both for his high birth and for his masculine good looks. But that didn’t really matter. The boy was much more interested in Ronan’s card. He’d been sure his opponent would come out with something legendary, the only question being what it would be. So, it absorbed magic and presumably did something else. And that was good to know. As Valanil always said, knowing your enemy is half the battle.
“And now, meet the second participant of the duel: Tailyn Vlashich, first-year student at the magic card department. Tailyn selected force shield, an epic card created by first-year student Valia Levor.”
There was no joyful reception similar to what Ronan had received. Really, it was the opposite — some in the crowd buzzed in disgust. Stepping through the teleport arch, Tailyn found himself in the arena, and a shiver ran down his spine. It was his first time there. From the outside, it looked like an enormous stone pit, with the entire academy sitting on the sloped tiers, students higher than their professors. Living images of Tailyn and Ronan were somehow projected onto two enormous rectangles hanging above the arena. The viceroy’s son played to the crowd, bowing and blowing kisses to the girls. Completely assured of his impending victory, he was enjoying the attention. The labyrinth itself was made up of three-dimensional stone walls that changed every minute. And as Tailyn had already found out, the traps changed along with the walls.
I’m here, came Valia’s thought. Sitting all the way at the top — I can see everything.
Where’s Ronan?
The arena is a huge oval. You’re at one end; he’s at the other.
“Let the duel begin!” the provost shouted, and he was followed by a roar from the crowd. A snow-white haze fell over the boy, something like a fog, to hide the stands and keep their cheering from reaching him. The duelists were in complete silence. And while that worried Tailyn, Valia’s voice quickly calmed him down.
I can see you — it’s okay. Ronan activated his hydra and sent it into the labyrinth. Wait a second — they’re updating it for the crowd... Got it! When you go in, head left. In two steps, there’s a trap with crossbow bolts shooting out of the opposite wall. You need to go three meters and turn left. Go!
Without even knowing it, Forian had given Tailyn a great idea for how to beat the labyrinth. It was much better than what the boy had come up with on his own. To make things easier for the students sitting up at the higher levels, the traps in the dynamic labyrinth were highlighted — that way, everyone would get excited about the participants tripping them. Nobody could tell the pair how the traps worked, whether they’d be attacked by animals or something else, after all.
Nobody.
Except Valia.
Perfect! Would you prefer ice, a bear, or a test to see how far you can jump?
Let’s go with the bear. Animals don’t really like fire.
Okay, then turn left on my command. Stay to the right — there’s a gap with sharp spikes in the middle. Wait! Stop! It’s updating. Give me a second to see what you’re up against next.
Got it.
The labyrinth shuddered, and Tailyn had to crouch. After a terrifying crash, everything stopped.
Okay... Got it! No more bear — there’s a bath of fire ahead. Drink a potion, because you’ll be a quarter of the way through if you beat it.
The noisy crowd fell silent as they watched what was happening in the labyrinth. While the legendary hydra was methodically destroying every obstacle in its path, growing larger and fatter with each passing moment, nobody could explain what Tailyn was pulling off. Even the provost was stumped. Leaning forward, the head of the academy watched the boy closely, his eyes narrowing as the boy dodged each new obstacle with startling ease. It was almost as if Tailyn could see them. But the provost was sure the isolation field blocked out all communication — over the past three thousand years, students had tried anything and everything to get through the labyrinth first. None of them had been successful, however. But in that moment, it looked like Tailyn was getting tips ahead of time. He couldn’t have guessed about the hidden snakes. There was no way. Still, the boy held his arms out to the sides, activated his remarkable card, and squashed the poor creatures with his force shield. That advanced strategy for using a defensive card to do damage spoke to an incredibly high level of mastery, a level a seventh-year battle magic student might have shown. But Tailyn was a first-year student who’d missed three months after a terrorist attack.
Great! We’re almost there. To your right, there’s a barrel of acid. Better stay away from it.
Your shield won’t let it through. Where is it?
On top of the wall. As soon as you get there, it’ll drop on top of you.
Got it.
The crowd gasped when an enormous container filled with green liquid emptied onto Tailyn. Valanil squeezed Forian’s hand, afraid for the boy, only to let out a sigh of relief a moment later when the barrel rolled away to reveal Tailyn whole and intact. Standing in the middle of a rectangular island in the midst of a sea of boiling acid, his hand was held aloft. One astonishing leap later, he’d put the remains of the acid behind him and stepped out into the level field.
The first duelist was ready for battle.
The crowd roared their approval. Everyone cheered for the first-year student, having completely forgotten the derisive boos they’d so recently showered down on him. Nearly lost among the noise, the provost’s voice blared out triumphantly.
“Tailyn Vlashich has arrived on the dueling grounds.”
Tailyn, the hydra is huge.
Yeah, it’s already taller than the walls. Ronan still has a ways to go.
His companion is getting really slow.
It took Ronan another half hour to get to the center. Every time there was an update, he ran over to his companion so they could go through the corrections together, after which they kept up their forward march. Unable to break down the walls, the Lernean hydra was forced to squeeze its bulk down the narrow passageways. From what Valia was saying, neither magic nor steel did anything to it. Valanil and Forian didn’t have any idea how to take it out — the girl had already asked them. Like the Nemean lion, the Lernean hydra was one of very few cards that were immune to all types of damage. Nobody was sure how to handle them.
“Ronan Diteon has arrived on the dueling grounds. Let the battle begin!”
The first few seconds even had Tailyn scared. And there was no shame in that — the beast that crawled out next to Ronan was terrifying. Three heads were fitted atop long necks. The body was already higher than the walls, and just about reached the protective fog. Even the monster’s tail was thicker than Tailyn was tall. Really, the only amusing part was the stumpy legs that slid across the sand, digging it out from under them, the hydra only moving forward when a mound had appeared. That was the only way it could move around.
“You’re dead, Vlashich!” Ronan yelled. “Everyone’s going to find out where you really belong today.”
One thing Tailyn couldn’t help but agree on was that the Lernean hydra was incredibly dangerous despite how sluggish it was. Its heads could easily reach the entire width of the battleground, and it only needed to crawl forward about five meters for them to reach Tailyn. And that was what it did. Digging the sand out from under it, the creature moved steadily forward. There was nowhere for Tailyn to run. If he headed back into the labyrinth, that would be considered a retreat, and he would lose the battle.
Only Tailyn wasn’t planning on going anywhere.
Three flasks of accelerated growth appeared in the boy’s hands. He’d been planning on beating the dynamic labyrinth with their he
lp, growing a tree and crawling along one of its branches to drop onto the battleground. After all, there hadn’t been anything in the terms about bypassing the walls from above. But in that moment, the elixirs turned out to be invaluable. Beating the hydra was impossible, especially with the weapon Tailyn had. But that wasn’t the only option he had for destroying it.
Tears of Alron (The Alchemist Book #3): LitRPG Series Page 20