Black Mist

by Michael Sisa

  “One at the west. Three at the east,” he mumbled. He squinted when he saw a rather peculiar scenario far north from him. “What’s that?”

  Numerous monsters were gathering near a small creak, just before a decimated cabin. On top of a boulder was a mini boss, its eyes vigilantly staring at an approaching student.

  Lightning immediately engulfed the area where the monsters were, and numerous screeches echoed as the monsters turned to particles of light one after another. From that single cast of magic, four of the mini boss’ subordinates were decimated.

  “Cazareth,” whispered Dan. For the first time, he saw the famous student in action. Indeed, the fifth year student was a worthy opponent.

  It was quite far, and Dan was having a hard time seeing everything, but he was sure that the mini boss multiplied into two and attacked Cazareth. It quickly became a battle of speed, something that was surprising with a monster that resembled a turtle.

  A small pillar of lightning fell down the sky, and a cloud of dust flew. Dan did not know the outcome of the battle, but it was too shrouded to see for now.

  He saw five rabbit monsters approaching from the south, and Dan immediately jumped down his spot.

  “Now’s not the time to watch another’s battle,” he said to himself, his body dashing towards the approaching monsters.

  ***

  After the commentator declared the start of battle, Cazareth immediately found himself in the middle of a forest. Two rabbit monsters were pointing their spears at him, and he wordlessly cast his magic, creating a serpentine lightning that immediately struck the two. They screeched then dispersed into particles of light.

  “The forbidden forest, huh,” he mumbled. He could hear the muffled sounds of fireworks and cheers to his west.

  “Two points,” a voice above spoke. Cazareth looked at it and saw a small orb hovering above.

  Glancing left and right, he surveyed his surroundings. Not far from his position, he could hear the sound of someone fighting. He took out a small band then tied his blonde hair into a pony. He disliked the sun, especially something this scorching. He usually made sure to take good care of his ivory skin. But he had no choice.

  “I’ll just end this thing,” he said. He used magic perception to find the positions of monsters nearby. After finding out where most of the monsters were, he immediately dashed forth to that location.

  On the way, he encountered a couple of rabbit monsters, but those were immediately taken care of by his magic.

  He inwardly sighed. ‘This year’s tournament too. It’s boring. They should have at least made it a little harder. Well, not that I should complain. I’ll just win it again.’

  This was the third time he had joined the competition. And the past two results were beyond satisfactory, with him winning every single time.

  He grinned when he finally arrived at his destination. As he had thought. This place was a good choice.

  Before him were nine rabbit monsters armed with spears. At the back, a massive turtle-like creature with four arms and serpentine tail idly stood on top of a boulder.

  Cazareth immediately chanted a large scale magic, and numerous orb of lightning the size of a fist manifested themselves before him. It was a feat that one would not normally see in a mere student, but to Cazareth, it was as easy as breathing.

  The orb of lightning flew towards the rabbit monsters at a frightening speed. Those that were unable to dodge were immediately reduced into particles of light.

  The mini boss saw this, and it roared in a fit of rage. It leapt down the boulder then dashed towards Cazareth. The turtle monster’s body split into two, their speed as fast as before.

  Cazareth made a chet sound and he clad his entire body with lightning, amplifying his speed many fold. He dodged then struck back, but his every attack was simply nullified by the hard carapace of the beast.

  “Damn,” he mumbled. He did not want to use too much magic here. If the mini boss was this strong, how much more would the actual boss be? He channeled his mana into the sky, and a small pillar of lightning flew down from the heavens, clearly hitting the turtle’s body.

  That single cast of magic alone consumed a large portion of his mana. He breathed heavily as he waited for the cloud of dust to recede. To his dismay, it was not enough to finish off his target. The turtle was clearly tattered all over, but it was still alive.

  Though a little hesitant to use some of his remaining mana, Cazareth cast a serpentine lightning. It hit the mini boss monster, turning it into numerous particles of light. He once again heard the orb above declare the points he had accumulated.

  He sighed. He had used far too much mana than he should have.

  “I wonder… how many students are left in the competition?” he said to himself. Judging by the difficulty of this year’s tournament, most of the first year contestants must have been eliminated by now.

  He patted off the dusts that clung to his clothes, then stopped. Cries of horror echoed inside the forest. Flocks of birds flew, and the trees rustled. Cazareth felt dread coming his way.

  He quickly glanced left and right, before eventually deciding to jump up a tree using lightning magic.

  Just in time, three students, particularly a fifth year and two fourth years, appeared from the depths of the forest. They ran ahead in full speed, sweat covering their faces.

  Cazareth decided to play it safe. He suppressed his mana in an attempt to stop even a small amount from leaking out. Whoever was chasing those three, Cazareth was sure that it was a dangerous foe.

  He waited, and the hunter eventually appeared.

  It was a human, a child at that. It did not have a face, but Cazareth somehow felt that it was oddly familiar. It held a translucent blade in each of its hands, as it briskly followed the fleeing trio. A naked, genderless monster.

  It was too calm for someone hunting its prey, but that fact added more to the dread that surrounded it. Cazareth realized that it was probably the boss class monster the Guardian of the Sky Academy had prepared for the tournament.

  But which student was it modeled from? As far as Cazareth know, the boss monster for the first round was a replica of the strongest student among their group. There was no way the witch and the Spirit Guardian would make a mistake regarding it.

  The faceless humanoid brandished its blades, creating twin gargantuan slashes in front of it. It easily destroyed the trees, eventually reaching the running trio. They screamed in horror, before their bodies were teleported out of the battleground.

  Cazareth’s eyes almost bulged in surprise after he saw that. That was not a strength that should belong to a mere student.

  ‘They told us the truth, right? But, there’s no way they modeled that monster after a mere student. Absurd,’ thought Caz as he tried his best to suppress his presence. ‘I don’t know of any student that summons a sword like that. It’s clearly made out of magic.’

  The boss class monster calmly surveyed the aftermath of its carnage. Cazareth held his breath in fear of being found out. If a fight broke between him and that monster right now, he doubted his victory, especially at the state he was currently in. Half of his mana had already been spent fighting the small fries.

  To Cazareth’s horror, the faceless monster turned towards his direction. Cazareth was sure that his entire body was shrouded by the tree, but the monster was still able to pinpoint his location.

  A colossal slash flew at him, and he instinctively jumped down to the ground with a soft thud. The tree he was previously at was cleanly split into two. He locked eyes with the faceless monster for a full second.

  Cazareth gritted his teeth. “Damn it.”

  He summoned five orbs of lighting, and they all shot forwards toward the faceless creature. The monster’s figure blurred, and the orbs of lightning hit nothing but an afterimage. Clouds of dust flew after Cazareth’s magic hit the ground. He used that opening to escape.

  With utmost concentration, he clad his feet with lightning
magic. His speed rose tremendously as he ran through the forest with all his might. Trees blurred as he ran like the wind.

  It would have been his greatest shame if he, the former champion of the tournament, was eliminated just on the first round.

  ‘There should be a way to defeat that monster,’ he thought. ‘But what the hell are the professors thinking? They told us that the boss will be modeled after a mere student! There’s no way that’s the case!’

  Cazareth’s hairs stood on their edge. On instinct, he jumped to the left, successfully evading a colossal slash. That strike mowed down the trees that blocked its path, and Cazareth could not bear to think of what would have happened if he was a second late.

  He would have been eliminated from the competition. He knew.

  He looked back and saw the faceless monster approaching, its hands still holding the translucent blades.

  Should he fight it? Such question ran through his mind. But Cazareth did not want to risk losing. And even if he fought it and won, there was no guarantee that he would be able to fight off the remaining grubs in the forest.

  He gnashed his teeth when he realized that all of this was currently being relayed to the large crystal in the arena. He looked above and stared at the orb that oversees his movements. It was then that he saw a ray of hope.

  “Fifteen minutes left?” he mumbled upon seeing the numbers imprinted in the orb. At every tick of the clock, its number dwindles down by one.

  He glared at the approaching boss class monster. If his hunch was correct, the tournament would end in the next fifteen minutes. He only had to survive until then.

  “There’s no sense risking it,” he whispered.

  Lightning crackled on his feet, and Cazareth’s figure blurred as he once again ran through the forest.

  Chapter 30: The Princess of the Desert

  Chairman Grasse’s head violently throbbed when he found out that student’s secret. Why did he not found out about it a bit sooner? He gave a long, deep sigh as he watched at the ongoing battle using surveillance magic.

  The participants in the tournament were desperately fighting off one monster after another. At the same time, those that were watching from the arena were ecstatic of the sight. Cheers boomed and echoed, but it still failed to drown the throbbing sound in the Chairman’s head.

  He remembered the events that happened two hours ago, just before the start of the competition.

  [Two hours ago]

  Inside his dimly lit room, Chairman Grasse sat with brows creased and with occasional sighs escaping his wrinkled lips. His graying hair seemed to have lost its luster as he impatiently tapped his fingers against the table before him. Three consecutive knocking sounds were heard from the door and his eyes immediately dilated.

  “Enter,” said Grasse. He gave another sigh, this time of relief, as he added, “You’re finally here.”

  The student that had entered was on her first year, and her crimson hair that had evident frills and curls at the end hung till her shoulders, further emphasizing the freckles that adorned her stubby cheeks. She gave a soft smile as she lightly closed the door, before eventually coming to a halt right before the aged Chairman of the Sky Academy. Grasse gestured for her to sit, but she remained standing regardless.

  “You called for me, sir?” Her voice was surprisingly soothing to the ears, and it gave off the impression that she already knew the reason why she was called.

  “Marianne Locova Mordredh,” said Grassed with resigned eyes. The wrinkles on his cheeks further crumpled as he combed his braided beard. “I can’t believe I made such grave mistake.” A sigh was heard before he continued, “You’re known as Marianne Love now, correct? Look—withdraw from the competition. I cannot afford to let you partake in the tournament. It’s too risky. Especially the second and third round of this competition.”

  “I am well aware of the risks,” was her immediate reply. She remained standing right before the Chairman, her crimson eyes gazing directly at Grasse’s. “Compared to what I would gain once I’ve spoken with the Guardian, everything else becomes trivial.”

  She tilted her head to the side. “I am correct, right? If a student wins this competition, he can have a simple wish from the Guardian of the Academy. Wealth, prestige, power. Qaval is capable of granting those things, but my wish is to simply speak with him.”

  Grasse groaned. “What is it that you want from Qaval that you would risk a war between our two Empires?”

  Marianne frowned, her smile slowly fading away. “Risk war? I have no such intentions, Chairman. Do not be mistaken—I am here to converse with the Guardian. Once that is over, I shall withdraw from the Sky Academy. I assure you that.”

  A long pause filled the air before Grasse eventually stood up. He swept the curtains and opened the window, instantly amplifying the shouts of ecstasy from the outside. The sounds of fireworks were heard along with cheers and buzzes from the crowd.

  Grasse lingered beside the window for a moment before he asked in a grim tone, “What do you think will happen once the Empire of Mordredh becomes aware that you partook in the tournament? Young lady… I am sure that you are well aware that all four Empires of the continent are in peril. We cannot risk instigating war with one another now that Krukas is approaching.”

  The Chairman glanced upwards, eyes half-closed as he pondered for a full second. “I will personally ask Qaval to converse with you. There is no need for you to participate in the competition. This time will be a special exemption.”

  A hint of amusement flashed in Marianne’s eyes. She touched the necklace in her arms and slowly took it off, eventually revealing a beautiful girl with red, burning hair that flowed till the waist. Her figure slowly, but continuously became slender, and her skin turned even paler, almost translucent. Grasse's expression remained unchanged despite the peculiar scenario that unfolded before his very eyes.

  “My question would require Qaval to exert an enormous amount of power in order for it to be answered,” said Marianne. She thumbed through her hair then added, “Special exemption, huh? Chairman, do you know why the Empire of Mordredh is called the Inferno of the South? The Ruler of the Desert?”

  She touched the wooden table, tracing it backwards with the tips of her fingers. “We never forget our grudges, and we never forget our favors.” She glanced at the opened window, eyes gazing at the swaying sea of students that continued to go towards a single direction. “I am sure that once Qaval grants me the answer to the question, he would be no longer able to grant another. It’ll probably take him a full year to recover.”

  “A question that would consume an impossibly large amount of power to answer?” said Grasse in disbelief. It was something he could not bear to imagine. What kind of question was it that even Qaval would barely be able to answer it? If what Marianne told him was the truth, then granting special privilege to her right now was tantamount to cancelling the Annual Competition. He was stuck in dilemma.

  After a lingering pause, she clapped her hands twice as though to break the tension. “The best course of action is to let me participate, Chairman. Besides, it will leave a bad aftertaste if I got the winning mark for the lottery just because of my lineage.”

  Grasse did not answer. She flashed a smile. “Then that concludes our discussion, sir magician?”

  After a bow, she turned around and put on the necklace with a purple gemstone attached, reverting her figure back into a stubby one. She was about to leave the room when Grasse called out to her, voice filled with uncertainty. “Just assure me… assure us… that no matter what happens, no matter the outcome, you will not involve the Empire of Mordredh in this.”

  “Of course. You have my word.”

  Chapter 31: Boss Class Monster

  More than half an hour had passed since Dan was transported to the Forbidden Forest. He chose to stick with his scout-then-kill tactic. He was not sure if his current accumulated points were enough for him to pass the first round of the tournament, and so
he kept killing the monsters he encountered along the way.

  He would occasionally see some students fighting by themselves, but he did nothing but watch. After all, it was better to thin down the competition. Once the students were eliminated, he would then deal the final blow to the surviving monsters.

  It may seem cowardly to others, but he had no desire to waste his energy for something that could be won more easily.

  He heard rustling sounds from his direction, and he instinctively grabbed the hilt of his sword.

  A young woman emerged from the shadows of the trees. A familiar face. They locked eyes with each other.

  “Lady Yvette,” mumbled Dan. Her hair was covered with a few leaves, and her skin was filled with dust.

  “Dan! I’m glad you’re fine—,” she looked at her back. There was the sound of something approaching. “Oh, darn. It’s coming!”

  She immediately ran, and Dan followed suit. They were both competitors, but they were sure that none of them currently held the desire to eliminate each other.

  “What are you running away from?” said Dan. He slowed down his pace to accommodate the lady’s slow running speed. She almost tripped on a root on the ground, but thankfully regained her balance.

  Yvette replied in a huffing voice, “Mini Boss monsters! Three of them are together at the same time! My mana’s almost depleted after killing the small fries!”

  Dan glanced at their rear to confirm her statement. Sure enough, three of those giant turtles appeared behind them. Their speed was absurd for their size. Dan knew that it was only a matter of time before they outrun the two of them.