by Tj Dixon
“That’s enough formation practice! Everyone down!” Professor Schwarz booms with the help of some wind magic. So we lower ourselves to the ground. “Now for the real practice. You will use coloured water sprays to attack your opponent. They will be harmless, but once you are hit I will port you to the ground. No shields are allowed, so you must dodge the attacks. The team to lose three members first will lose. You will each fight all the other teams, and your final score will be based on the number of members that were lost over the course of all the battles. This morning is just practice, but the test will work the same way this afternoon.”
“How do we do coloured water sprays?” I ask and Professor Schwarz just looks at me as if I am mad. Then she sighs and shakes her head.
“Like this.” Professor Schwarz tells me and demonstrates a spray of red water. It is admittedly very basic water magic, but I hadn’t even considered using it quite like this. It isn’t just coloured but will stain anything it hits. It is strong enough that the rain isn’t an issue, but at the same time not so strong as to hurt anyone who is hit.
“Ok.” I say and try it myself. It works first time, just as expected.
“Your group can go first then.” Professor Schwarz tells me.
“So who are we up against?” I ask.
“You can face Pippa’s group first.” Professor Schwarz tells me. Pippa looks unhappy and so do her group, but we shouldn’t underestimate them. One on one I am completely confident, but as a group I need to hold back my flight skills to a level that everyone can cope with. “I’ll port both groups into place and once I have done so you can consider the battle to have begun. Now drop your shields.”
Sure enough as soon as we drop our shields Professor Schwarz ports us all. She doesn’t even wait long enough for the pouring rain to soak us, but it isn’t long before it does. I’m impressed she can port ten people to different locations all at once.
We are a fair distance away from each other now. Our group is at one corner of the academy and theirs is at another. They are at the opposite end of the wall with the main entrance and Professor Schwarz between us.
It would be best to get above them, or at least not let them get above us so I lead my group straight up. The other team are going up too, but not as quickly. I can tell my team are struggling to keep up so I veer towards the opponents, since we already have the advantage of being slightly higher than them. Once we are close enough I continue straight up and attack downwards with coloured water. Since we are higher our range is greater than theirs and they are unable to attack us.
Asuna scores the first hit and the second a moment later, against their lead and first right. Their formation is broken and they manage to dodge the next attacks but they have to reform their formation. As they do so Asuna scores two more hits at the same time, winning us the match. We are ported to the ground the moment she hits them.
“Well done, but I would like to point out that I didn’t ban porting.” Professor Schwarz tells us.
“We could have ported?! Why didn’t you tell us before we started?” Pippa asks furiously.
“Don’t blame me for your lack of imagination.” Professor Schwarz tells her coldly. “You must maintain formation whilst porting though, if you choose to do so. Now Peter’s team will fight Sor’s team.”
No sooner have we been ported than I feel the spray of coloured water hit the back of my head and I am ported back. It looks like our whole team was hit at once. I quickly clean my head with water magic.
“That was very well done, Sor. Not that I’d expect anything less from you when it comes to dimensional magic.” Professor Schwarz nods. “Next, Peter’s team will fight Jade’s team.”
We’re ported again and I put up a port block before we can get taken out straight away. I doubt they would try porting, because getting the timing and location exactly right would be quite hard. Sor managed to port the whole team without contact, but I doubt many of our classmates could achieve that. A port block should prevent anyone else porting even if they are able to.
Like in our first battle I lead everyone straight up. Our opponents port straight up, so gain the height advantage, before diving down towards us. Despite their superior altitude however, Asuna strikes Jade at the same time they attack us. We each dodge without losing formation too badly, and after their initial misses we are all in range, so return fire.
Asuna hits their first left, but the rest of us miss. I sense Asuna get hit and ported away. Then we are about to pass and with a quick swerve I get directly behind their first right and hit her with my own attack. Just as I pass their second right we are all ported back.
“Sorry Peter.” Asuna apologises, clearly embarrassed. She has already washed away the red water stain from her leg.
“Don’t be. You did well.” I tell her honestly.
“Peter’s team will now fight the last team.” Professor Schwarz says and then ports us again.
Again I put up a port block, but this time our opponents don’t port, so it turns into a race to gain altitude. Alone I would win it easily, but as it is, the opponents are gaining altitude a little quicker than us. Before they can gain too much of an advantage I lead our team towards them. Asuna attacks first and hits three of the opponents before they can react.
“Very well done.” Professor Schwarz nods to Asuna. “Now Sor’s team will go up against Jade’s team.”
I’m not surprised to see Sor port her team above each of the opposing teams. I am glad she is on Rin’s team, because it means they should have nothing to worry about in the test this afternoon. Once Sor’s team has beaten all the opposing teams we see the other teams fight. They are much more evenly fought battles, and some last a while.
“The real test is this afternoon. Practice however you wish until lunch time.” Professor Schwarz tells us.
“So what do we practice? Formation flight?” Zariel asks nervously.
“Dodging?” Asuna suggests.
“How about porting in formation?” I suggest.
“That’s going to be tricky.” Asuna warns me.
“I wish Lucy was here. She would help us.”
“Can’t the faery help us?” Asuna asks.
“Faery?” Zariel asks confused.
“Sakura isn’t going to help us.” I answer, shaking my head.
“Damn right, I’m not.” Sakura says, still invisible, from a foot in front of Zariel’s face. Zariel jumps back in shock.
“Don’t worry. Sakura is our friend. She isn’t going to help, but she isn’t going to hurt us either.” I tell Zariel.
“Not unless Dairon tells me to.” Sakura says and I can hear her shrug as she says it.
“Who is Dairon?” Zariel asks.
“Don’t worry Zariel. And Sakura, don’t answer.” I respond quickly. We probably shouldn’t have revealed Sakura’s presence, but we definitely can’t reveal Dairon to anyone outside the club.
We end up practising porting in formation, but we don’t succeed. We can all port to more or less the same place, but the formation is badly disrupted every time. Perhaps we should have tried practising dodging like Asuna suggested.
We have lunch in the lunch room today with Emma and Charlotte. As we eat I manage to convince them to join us in my room from next week. When we finish Zariel suggests a bit more practice for the test, but I’m concerned about using too much power. Zariel walks off a bit annoyed when I refuse.
We all gather outside the main entrance for the afternoon lesson. It is still raining, and if anything the rain is worse than this morning. We have our shields up, but we’ll have to drop them soon.
“Shields down now everyone. The test battles will be in the same order as this morning. The first battle begins in five seconds.” Professor Schwarz tells us and sure enough five seconds later my team is ported.
I put up a port block straightaway and then lead my team straight up again. Our opponents close the distance between us quickly so we are unable to gain much of an advantage by do
ing so though. Just like before Asuna is the first to strike and as expected she hits her target. No, not just one target but three in one salvo.
“Good work.” Professor Schwarz tells us, but mostly Asuna. “Next battle is in five seconds, get ready.”
This time we are up against Sor’s team. I put up a port block as soon as we are ported, but Sor is too quick or perhaps just ports through the block. The result is the same as before. I sigh and clean myself. It proves to be the only battle we lose though, and in fact the only time any of us are hit in the test.
“Sor’s team are of course in first place. Peter’s team come second. Then Pippa’s team, followed by Jade’s team with Helen’s team in last position. You all made a good effort, but there is a lot that can be improved. Lesson is over, but don’t waste your free time. You may not get much more of it.” Professor Schwarz tells us all. It is a little early to finish the afternoon lesson, but I am grateful, because I need to recover my power for tomorrow’s match against Pippa.
“Are you still recruiting?” Zariel asks and I blink. “For your club.”
“Yes, are you interested in joining?” I ask surprised by the sudden interest. Her aura doesn’t show any deception though.
“Yes, if you’ll take me.” Zariel answers nervously.
“Of course. You’ll need a contract, but I have a few spare contracts back in my room. Why don’t you come back with us?”
“Ok.” Zariel answers a bit shyly. She seemed pretty confident earlier, although I suppose there were times she seemed a bit nervous too. I hold out my hand and Zariel holds on as I port. Hermes, Asuna and Angelika port a moment later. Rin, Yu Kii and Emma port in a few moments after that. I grab a spare contract from the table beside Asuna’s bed and sign it.
“Read it and sign it.” I tell Zariel, who quickly reads it before signing without the need of a pen.
“So Zariel’s joining the club?” Rin asks.
“Yes. I’m not going to be at today’s training and neither will Asuna, Hermes or Angelika. Could you introduce Zariel to everyone?”
“Of course.” Rin nods. “Welcome to Future’s Forge, Zariel.”
“Thank you. I look forward to working with you. Why did you call it Future’s Forge though? You don’t have that many fire users.”
“It was my mother’s suggestion. We’re meant to be ‘forging’ a better future. It’s just a name though, and probably better than what Peter might have chosen. I bet he’d have called us something stupid like star chasers or angel hunters.”
“I think one of my suggestions was to do with the stars, but my other one was something like dragon slayers.” I tell Rin who laughs. Zariel looks at me as if wondering what she’s gotten herself into. “Don’t worry, I’ve no immediate plans to go dragon hunting.”
“No immediate plans?” Zariel asks sounding even more shocked now.
“No plans at all.” Rin tells her with a sharp look at me.
“Well, we are getting more and more people. The Fallen Angels are more urgent though.” I say and Zariel goes pale. “Just kidding. The queen can deal with them.”
“You’re putting our new recruit off before she’s even met the rest of the club…” Rin warns me with an icy glare.
Chapter 26 (Peter)
I stand in the arena with Pippa staring calmly at me. Although her appearance is that of a typical Contractian it suits her current expression. Even though I am about to fight her I find myself thinking she looks kind of cute. Her aura reflects the same calm as her expression so she is not just faking confidence. Even so I am not going to be put off by her confidence. I have every reason to be confident too, and everything to fight for. I will win this fight.
We are ported and so the battle begins. We are in a forest and some distance apart. I put up a port block instantly. The leafless trees appear ominous. Not just their appearance but even their aura is threatening. They remind me of the Tree Ents I’ve fought, but without the strong magical power. They also don’t move to attack me.
It will take a minute or two to close the distance even at my fastest, but I don’t want to risk letting Pippa port. A surprise attack might not be enough to beat me, but it has a better chance than a fair fight. Pippa is primarily an earth user, but she is also pretty good at fire magic. Both will give her an advantage on this battle field, but that just means I need to work harder to win.
I jump into the air and head towards Pippa. Not at my fastest, because I see no reason to rush and I may as well save the power. If I rush I am also more likely to fall for any traps that Pippa may have prepared for me. It takes a few minutes to reach Pippa and when I do so she is just standing there waiting for me.
“Too slow! This is where you lose!” Pippa calls out at me and as she does so the nearby branches flail wildly at me. I dodge easily enough, but it isn’t just the nearby branches that have become animated. All the trees are literally pulling up their roots and moving to attack me. Not just the nearby ones, but every tree in the forest, or at least all the ones I can sense.
The trees appear slow though, and despite their numbers I easily dodge their attacks as I continue to fly at Pippa. A wall of thorny red roots shoots up forming a dome around her, so I am forced to veer up at the last moment. I slash with wind slices but the roots just merge again after being hit and Pippa’s shield easily holds. In fact I have no desire to kill her so I am not even trying to pierce her shield.
I dodge the trees attacks again and this time strike with lightning and fire. The trees burn, but there are too many to burn them all and I doubt Dairon would exactly be happy if I destroyed a whole forest even if I could. So I need to end this quickly. I strike with lightning and flames at the root shield but it effortlessly resists my attacks. I consider dropping my port block, but Pippa has one up too. I have no idea how to port through a port block, so I keep my own up too.
I have few options left so I decide to go with brute force. I gather a lot of my power and throw it into one almighty wind fist, which I follow directly behind. To my relief it penetrates the root shield and the magical shield, allowing me to reach Pippa. More roots reach out at me but they are too slow. Unable to see her gem I grab hold of Pippa and leave through the gap I just made in her root shield. We just about manage to get through the hole before it closes behind us.
I soar up into the sky above the trees, holding Pippa by her waist. Flames surround her waist but my dwarven hands and arms are unaffected. Before she can do anything more dangerous I drain the air from her lungs and she falls unconscious. Holding Pippa with magic I search out her gem with my senses. It takes a few seconds but when I find it I grab it from her pocket. Then I am ported back to the academy arena.
“The winner is Peter of the Wind. Pippa, with approval of the royal judge, is hereby declared by royal decree slave of Peter, and Peter will advance to the next battle. The rights of the family of Pippa are eternally forfeit. Only two competitors remain to face him. Will the boy beat Jade and Sor, or will his luck run out so close to the end?” The commentator says, and the crowd is staring at me silently. I can’t tell what they are thinking, but they certainly aren’t bored.
“Let’s port to my room. I have a contract to give you.” I tell Pippa who now awake again is getting slowly to her feet. I take her wrist once she is standing and port us. “Basically you just have to join my club and when it is formed my company. Read the contract and then sign it.”
“I can’t believe I lost.” Pippa sighs as she reads the contract. Then she signs it and gives it back to me. “Thanks for not keeping me as your slave.”
“We train after lessons every day other than our day off. The rest of the club are probably waiting in our classroom. We celebrate after every match. I’m sure everyone is looking forwards to seeing you there.”
“So I get to celebrate losing?” Pippa asks with a wry smile.