“You’re probably right… this should be great for the all-kill round.”
“Ahh…” Kate sighed.
“What’s with the sighing? Isn’t this a great thing?”
“We got the short end of the stick, Wesley. If Headmaster Farhir finds out we took these potions, he’s going to have us do more of the fighting during the tournament…”
“That’s perfect!” Wesley grinned. “It’s been a long time since I’ve fought someone new.”
“...” Kate covered her face with her hands and pretended to cry. “My cute little cousin has turned into a battle freak. Ah…”
“...” A drop of sweat formed on Wesley’s temple.
…
A while later, the two left the training area to bathe again at their respective rooms - after a morning of constant fighting, the two were in no condition to go out.
After cleaning themselves off for the second time that day, the two left the Lumient family estate, headed for school.
Although, they didn’t really need to go to class - it was just that they had agreed to meet the rest of the team sometime today.
Soon enough, they arrived at Headmaster Farhir’s office and waited in the lounge for the rest of the crew to show up.
As the minutes turned into hours, the rest of the team slowly trickled into the office.
“Shall we go?” Jacob asked.
“Yeah.”
The reason the team had decided to meet that day, was because most of the other elementary institutes from the Reiniad Kingdom had made it to the city, and were currently exploring Reiniad City.
Hundreds of other schools, each with teams of nine mages. This meant that over a thousand new elementary mages had entered Lumient Family. Curious, the team had decided that they’d scout the competition.
Normally, when Kate attended school, the walk was very short - the distance between the Lumient family estate and the could be traversed in just a few minutes, and she usually only ran into a few classmates along the way.
After seeing a “celebrity” from the Lumient family for so many days, so many years, all of her classmates had long gotten used to her presence. However, once they left the area home to the family estates of the city’s richest families and the school, it quickly became clear how incredible the Lumient family’s reputation was.
Everywhere the team walked, people, upon noticing Kate, parted from their way like the sea, and shouts of recognition, encouragement and appreciation floated the team’s way.
Although, most of it was directed at Kate.
Seeing this prompted several in the team to laugh.
“Kate, you’re famous!”
Tony laughed. “Shall I carry your bags for you, miss?”
“I’ll sweep the ground upon which you walk!”
Soon enough, just about everyone on the team was pretending to treat Kate like an empress.
“Hey! Stop teasing me you @#^&@ idiots!” Kate started punching those teasing her, but they quickly ran away into the city.
Wesley stood in the street, not sure what to do, but quickly ran after them. “Wait, wait for me!”
Chapter 17
Now in the market district of Lumient City, the team strolled around, looking at the various wares each store was presenting, while keeping an eye out for similar groups of students.
Actually, it turned out to be extremely simple to see some of their competition - nearly half of the patrons in the market district looked to be around their age, dressed in mage robes. Almost all of these were in parties of nine or less - presumably, some of the teams had split up to explore different parts of the city.
None of the opposing teams really seemed all that imposing, but the students were curious. Last year, their seniors had lost against another school’s competitors, but Headmaster Farhir had never mentioned what school had taken the crown.
For some reason, none of them could remember either. Perhaps the name was simply easy to forget?
Either way, they quickly grew bored of their “scouting”, and decided to visit a Mage Association office instead.
Why?
Well, they’d all been confirmed to be Rank 8, 9, and 10 Elementary Mages when they’d first been chosen for their school’s representative team, but in the months since, it was extremely like that at least one of them had moved past their initial ranking.
Although they would still be allowed to participate in the tournament, they would need their ranks updated to their current level, so that teams could fairly assess their battle strength.
Walking into the Mage Association, Kate and several of the others were immediately recognized by the receptionists, and the team was immediately swept into a fancy guest room, although, it was not as overly decorative Wesley had been in last time.
“Miss Lumient, friends, how may we help you today?”
“We’ve come for our pre-tournament testing.”
“Ah, of course! Benjamin, bring the testing orbs over! Bring nine, and please administer the test!”
“Will do.”
Nine testing orbs, similar to the one Wesley had used the first time he’d visited the Mage Association, but different in color, were brought out.
“Since each one of you was close to the Advanced Mage rank last time you were tested, we will be using intermediate-grade orbs to calculate your rankings today. Is that acceptable?”
“Mm.”
A soft chorus of acknowledgements rang through the room.
“Then, please.” Benjamin motioned toward the assortment of orbs. “You all know the drill, yes? Funnel your mana into the orb until you run dry.”
Concentrating, the members of the team directed their mana into the orbs.
As intermediate-tier orbs, the orbs were able to intake mana far more quickly than elementary orbs, and in short order, most of the team had funneled what mana they could into the orbs.
That is, except for Kate, Wesley, and Luke. Kate and Wesley both knew that the reason they could sustain themselves for so long was because of the mysterious potions containing dragon blood that they had drank.
As for the others, they understood the vast amount of resources at the Luient
But what about Luke?
Everyone stared at him in wonder. Did he have a powerful family background too?
“Ah, um, under all of the training we’ve gone through, it looks like I’ve really improved…”
Everyone present felt an urge to smack his face.
It’s fine if you improve, but do you have to be so humble about it? It just makes us feel worse, you know!
Seeing everyone’s faces, Luke scratched his head in discomfort. “My bad.”
“Don’t apologize for it!”
After a while longer, Kate, Wesley, and Luke had finally used up all of their mana - at the same time, heaping dishes of food were brought into the room, so that the mages could replenish their strength.
As Benjamin headed toward the orbs to analyze them for each person’s rankings, the mages headed for the food.
Most ate normally, but when it came to Alex and May, the only couple in the team, it was another story entirely. The two stared into each other’s eyes and fed each other with sickening affection.
Everyone else quickly turned away from the two, pain in their heart.
Ah, the world was truly unfair!
Finally, after a bit of waiting, Benjamin told each member of the team their new rank.
“Jacob - Rank 1 Intermediate Mage.”
Hearing this, Jacob grinned. “Not bad, not bad. I’ll be able to attend the Lumient Intermediate Academy of Magic next year. Don’t make me wait for you all, haha!”
Benjamin continued down his list. “Cassandra - Rank 1 Intermediate Mage.”
Cassandra responded with but a smile.
“Miss. Lumient… Rank 3 Intermediate mage.”
Hearing this, everybody in the room briefly paused, then turned to Kate.
“You!! Get over here!”
>
Everyone started playfully hitting Kate over the head. “You’re not allowed to improve so quickly! Don’t leave us in the dust! How dare you!”
After the commotion, however, Benjamin quickly rattled off the rest of the names and ranks on his list.
“Luke, Rank 2 Intermediate Mage. Ryu, Rank 10 Elementary Mage. Tony, Rank 10 Elementary Mage. Alexander, Rank 10 Elementary Mage. Rank 10 Elementary Mage. Finally, Wesley, Rank 2 Intermediate Mage.”
Most of these results had been expected, but everyone had been waiting for Wesley’s new rank. After all, Kate and Luke had given them such huge surprises…
But nothing could have prepared them for Wesley’s growth.
Shouts and screams could be heard from those in the room, aside from Kate - for her, this had been completely within the expected range for her little cousin. After all, she had dueled him that very morning, and, well, she hadn’t exactly fared well.
More and more, her little cousin was starting to reach her level. Soon enough, he’d leave her in the dust.
Thinking about it, she pouted in her mind, fists clenched. She wouldn’t let herself fall behind!
After their initial shock, several of those in the room stood up and patted Wesley on the back, congratulating him.
However, a few of their teammates’ eyes held a tint of bitterness.
Those in the room were all geniuses - and proud ones, at that. Even normal people hated the feeling of being surpassed, being left in the dust, so how could they be any better off? Although they’d sacrificed blood, sweat, and tears together, the time they’d been together had still been too short - a few short months had brought the team closer together, but a certain level of competition had still remained.
A single thought ran through a few of the minds present - why couldn’t they have been born into the Lumient family?
Chapter 18
A few days later, the team was waiting outside Headmaster Farhir’s office, dressed in identical mage robes they’d received from the headmaster the day before.
All black, with aggressive gold linings. Apparently, this was the look that the school had agreed to go with this year. Of course, the color scheme fit - after all, for the school, this year’s inter-school competition looked to be a tale of vengeance, of reclaiming their throne.
After waiting for a bit, Headmaster Farhir walked out of his office and addressed his team. “Alright, we’re about to leave to the stadium now. As a “seeded” team, we’ll have a bye through the first round, but it’ll still be good for us to make an appearance and see just what level your competition is at.
“Most importantly, I want you to see the team that will be the hardest to beat, the team that beat us last year. Remember, all of our work over the past few months has been to prepare for these few days. Don’t let it go to waste.”
With that, Headmaster Farhir opened the doors and marched out of the building, students in tow.
The stadium was not in the wealthy district most of the students lived in, but instead was situated on the other side of the market district, making it somewhat of a length walk. Soon enough, however, they arrived outside the stadium.
All around, they could see teams milling around in their school’s tournament uniforms. Most had stuck with colored and decorated mage robes, while some had chosen some more avant garde outfits that looked very questionable… to say the least. For example, one team wore skin-tight outfits that...well… didn’t look very comfortable.
“Raise your heads, children. You’re representing the school.”
Headmaster Farhir raised his own head as well, and led his students into the stadium. Inside, a hundred thousand spectators cheered in a mad frenzy as two teams battled on the center stage. Although Wesley had fought in some stadiums before, he’d never seen one so big.
The sound of the cheers made his blood boil with excitement, and his heart rate quickly increased as his eyes glowed with determination.
This was a true stadium! This was truly a grand place to fight!
Headmaster Farhir led his students up, to the outer edge of the stadium, and into a private room. The room had three walls, while the side facing the center stage had been taken out to give those in the room an expansive view of the stadium.
Inside the private room stood several butlers at the ready, as well as several plates of food and many goblets filled with drinks.
“Relax yourselves, but pay attention to the fights below. One of the fights later today will determine who fights us in the next round - definitely make sure to see that one… I think it’s three or four fights from now. Anyway, I’m going to go walk around for a bit. Stay in here and don’t cause any trouble.”
Wesley walked his way to the edge of the room and gazed in awe at the amount of spectators in the stadium. From his vantage point, he could see each and every last one person present in the stadium
What would it be like to compete for the inter-school competition championship here?
Kate walked up to Wesley and gave him a small shove, almost making him fall out from the room.
“What the - KATE! Don’t do that! I almost fell out!”
“Wahh, are you afraid of heights?”
“... I can’t fly and it’s at least a twenty foot drop.”
“Sounds like a you problem.”
“...”
“Impressive view, isn’t it? Security is a pain to manage, though.”
Ah. That’s right. How many people would be needed to ensure the security and harmony of so many people? As he started thinking about the logistics behind what went into keeping so many people safe from outside forces, his head began to hurt.
Seeing steam leaving Wesley’s ears, Kate laughed. “Actually, it’s not that bad. There’s a few hundred mages and knights who regularly patrol around the stadium. For this event, they’re being led by a certain old grandpa.”
“Ah, great-gramps?”
“You got it. Actually, he’s in charge of the security for this event almost every year. After all, the King personally comes to congratulate the champions and sometimes comes to watch, so the level of security needs to be very high.”
“Hm.”
Wesley directed his attention below, toward the center stage. One of the teams on stage had clearly overwhelmed the other, as only two were left from one team, while the second still had eight members on stage.
In short order, the two remaining mages from the first team were defeated, the team’s hopes dashed as they were dispatched in the first round.
“Most fights in the inter-school competition are fairly lopsided, as the quality of each school’s facilities, teachers, and students vary heavily from school to school. There are many schools with talented students, but cannot afford proper teachers and facilities to properly train them. After all, not many mages are willing to turn to teaching - most turn to adventuring, or for people like us, may be tasked with managing their family’s assets.
“Although, I think the two of us lucked out. My dad will be stuck with all of that managerial stuff, so we probably won’t have to.”
Even as Kate finished speaking, the next two teams had been brought onto the center stage. After facing off for a few moments, the fight began - unlike before, though, one side seemed to be completely made up of earth mages, while the other was made up of light mages.
‘It looks like some schools specialize in a single type of magic… I suppose that makes it easier to provide quality education to new mages.’
Down below, three of the earth mages summoned earth golems into battle, while the others either built walls to defend themselves or created boulders to fling at the opposition.
Two of the light mages, however, wrote seals to create light barriers around the team, three more blasted the earth golems with bursts of light, and one was drawing what seemed to be a very complicated seal… while the other three were just standing there?
Wesley looked on, confused. What were the light mages doing?
&nbs
p; Chapter 19
Even as Wesley watched on in curiosity, Kate spoke up. “Don’t look down on schools that only specialize in a single element of magic. Because such schools concentrate so much on a single type of magic, some of the more prestigious ones are able to create spells never seen before.
Even as she spoke, the light mage on stage finished her spell, and the three who had remained motionless until now drew seals of their own. Instead of casting the seals, however, they simply walked up to the first mage and placed their hands on her back.
Memory Seal- Volume 2 Page 8