Melanie Atax versus Drayton.
It was my first fight in the Wizard Games and it was against a guy losing a lot of blood. I shook my head and forced myself to stay on track and not underestimate my opponent. It was now or never.
With the flick of my hand, a ball of fire ignited from my core. I gripped the flames and flicked my wrist again, causing them to spread down into a rope. My fire bullwhip was one of my most painful weapons in battle; not only would it whip into my opponent’s skin, it would burn them with every flick.
Drayton’s eyes widened at the sight of my bullwhip, but what I thought was fear turned into a giant grin on his face. With a small flick of his own wrist, the blood that he’d lost flowed into a dagger pointing out of his palm.
I stepped back, not knowing what was happening with Drayton. There I was, thinking he was losing blood and making himself weaker and it was a weapon all along.
“You’re just like every other opponent I’ve faced. You have no clue about blood magic,” he said, his voice sharp and almost like he enjoyed seeing me back away. “You all underestimate my magic and that leads to my victory.”
“I’m not like everyone else you’ve faced.” Drayton gave me a strange look. “I won’t be losing today.”
I cracked my whip and advanced towards Drayton. He kept his ground and bared his blood dagger in front of his chest to shield him. I almost laughed; nothing can defend against my fire bullwhip. Flicking my arm and wrist, I aimed the tip to hit his shoulder and neck. Using the full force of my whip left me open and Drayton gripped his dagger tightly and slashed into my right side just as the tip of the whip flicked into his shoulder.
He cried out in pain for a moment before bringing himself back into the fight. In the air, the faint smell of searing flesh wafted around me, alerting me that my whip hit its mark. Drayton lifted his hand to where I struck before directing his rage-filled stare at me. With a slight movement, his dagger transformed into a long broad sword, which he grabbed with both of his bloodied hands.
“How dare you burn my shoulder, you bitch!”
He advanced, his rage erupting. Holding his sword high in the air, he aimed and was ready to strike. His movements were becoming sloppy— not something you want in a fight. Drayton swung his sword at me. It clipped the edge of my arm as I tried to dodge out of the way.
He was fast, even faster in his enraged state, but I flicked my whip again, this time aiming at his back, then again at his legs. His uniform was scorched and the flesh underneath got a full hit of my fire.
He cried out again but it didn’t stop him. He swung back again, this time hitting my side and knocking the wind from me. My flames died out as I fell to the floor. Behind me, Drayton’s laugh echoed off the cavern walls and hit me like a ton of bricks.
I wasn’t about to lie down and lose. Pulling myself off the floor, I tried to ignite my whip again. It was no use. He had knocked the wind and flames out of me.
“Oh no, poor fire wizard doesn’t have any flames left,” he said, mocking me as he struck once again. This time, he hit my ribs; the pain was unbearable and my breathing became shallow to ease off some of the pain.
I needed to strike back soon or I would be finished. Drayton raised his sword again, this time for the final blow. I pulled my hands into a fist, cooling myself down. As I did, ice daggers formed in my grasp. Before he saw what I did, I dashed forward and, using every ounce of force I could get, I spun towards Drayton, turning my daggers into spinning blades. My daggers hit their mark over and over, sending him crashing to the ground. With that final strike, Drayton was done.
I released my ice daggers and their shattered pieces fell to the ground. The words above us changed.
Winner: Melanie Atax.
The pathways around the cavern opened. Drayton stirred on the hard ground. His voice was soft, yet I could still hear him.
“What kind of wizard are you? I’ve never seen anyone do that before.”
“If you didn’t work it out from our fight, then you have to wait and see,” I said, leaving him to recover.
I chose a path following the scent of fresh air. Being the largest tunnel out of the cave, I figured it was the right way. The air became fresher, almost crisp the further through the cave I got. The lights even changed into sunlight coming from the tunnel roof. However, there was still no end in sight. I had no idea how long I had been in the maze or even how many of the wizards had emerged yet. I knew I wasn’t going to be the final wizard out since Drayton was still knocked out.
I wove my way through the maze, eager to find the exit. The fight with Drayton had knocked me down a peg; I didn’t know if I could take another full fight with another competitor. The twists and turns within the maze had me completely lost. Not being able to rely on my magic really hindered me. I ran into a dead-end— actually, it was the fourth one I had found. As I turned back the way I came, something in front of me snapped. A wall of magic energy appeared before me but there were no other competitors in the space with me. I tried to break free but the energy forced me back.
“Who did this? Come out and face me!”
A shadow appeared on the tunnel wall. They slowly moved into my view. The man was short and had jet-black hair and eyes red like fire. He wore one of the uniforms but I didn’t recognise him.
“Why did you trap me? Fight me like a man!” I screamed.
He laughed. “Why would I do that? I saw your fight with Drayton, I know you are stronger than me so why not trap you and ruin your chances to win?”
“I will get out of here and I will beat you.”
He laughed again, turned, and walked away. There was nothing I could do but stand there. I waited but after a while, I realised no one was going to come and help. This was a competition, after all. I examined his handiwork, the trap he created was good. Magic couldn’t penetrate it no matter how strong the wizard; however, I spotted a flaw. He didn’t write his spell all the way to the floor. I summoned my fire magic circle and it appeared on the floor, directly under the trap wall and set it off. Lava erupted from my magic circle and engulfed the trap. Once the spell died down, I could see the cracks that formed from the extreme heat. I summoned my ice dagger and stabbed at the weak points, shattering it completely.
I ran back through the cave, hoping I would run into the wizard who thought trapping me would be a good idea. I caught up to him in a small cavern, barely big enough to have a full-blown fight in. Thankfully, we didn’t need to, he already said he was weaker than me. I came up behind him, my fire whip already in hand. Before he even noticed me, I flicked the tip around his body and wrapped him up in the rope. He screamed and turned to see what happened.
“Never, ever trap me again. Next time, fight and lose like a man.”
I surrounded him in the flames of my whip. He screamed until he passed out. I doused my flames and returned the whip to my belt before trying again to find my way out of the maze.
The tunnel grew larger and finally widened into another cavern. It was smaller than the first and there was only one exit— the final exit. I looked over to the light-filled opening and noticed the magical block. Someone was in there fighting. Grunts and shouts bounced off the walls, then I saw them— the familiar silver shirt of Joren fighting against a dark green shirt of someone I didn’t recognise. I stepped back into the tunnel and found a small viewing spot in a wall crevice.
I had no idea how long their fight had been going on for, but Joren didn’t seem tired at all. In fact, his opponent looked tired and bruised enough for both. Joren’s opponent raced forward, advancing at a speed I had never seen before. His precision was impressive and his strikes were aimed directly at what would be anyone’s weak points, but they weren’t landing. Joren skilfully dodged every blow his opponent dished out. Kick after kick, punch after punch, none of them hit Joren.
As his opponent stepped back to catch his breath, Joren took the opportunity to attack. He drew in a deep breath that lasted longer than a normal person befo
re unleashing a smoky breath attack. The attack hit the centre of his opponent’s chest and knocked him back into a wall. The words above them changed before I could even see who Joren had fought and announced Joren as the victor.
I started to step into the cavern then remembered the entrance would be blocked again and I would have to fight Joren to exit. I stopped myself and slipped back into the crevice, allowing Joren to exit before me. Taking the advantage of a knocked-out wizard in the cavern, I ran through to the opening, hoping it wouldn’t trigger another fight. The cheers of the crowd boomed in the air as I stepped out of the cavern and back into the arena.
“With the final fight of Joren verses Leith, the fight finishing in under a mere five minutes, that gives us our first-place wizard! Joren Starrik with ten points! Followed closely behind by Melanie Atax with five points,” the announcer paused for a moment to allow the crowd to cheer for us. “Wait a minute, folks, our third and final wizard for our top three is emerging and it’s... Lilica the fairy!”
The crowd went wild as the three of us stood in front of the maze. Both Lilica and I had bruises and cuts from our battles, but Joren appeared unscathed. My mind raced on how he finished his fight in under five minutes without getting hit. As though he could read my mind, Joren turned to look at me. His stern face turned bright and lit up with a sly smile as he winked and returned his focus to the crowd.
A long while later, the rest of the wizards emerged from the maze, and as the final three stepped out, they were instantly eliminated from the games.
Elijah projected himself into the arena and looked at the wizards that remained. He grinned from ear to ear as he made his next announcement.
“This afternoon will be the battle rounds. Each day will consist of three full battles; the wizards will fight until one either forfeits or is knocked out. The winner will be awarded ten points and the loser zero. If the fight is declared a draw, we will award points depending on how each wizard performs in the battle. Our day one battles will be...”
When he stopped talking, six names popped up on his projection. Instantly, I spotted my name.
Neva VS Bane
Joren Starrik VS Alto
Melanie Atax VS Stella
“Battles will begin in three hours. Until then, wizards, rest up.”
When the projection vanished, we were transported into the stands of the arena. I found a quiet spot away from the other wizards to prepare myself for my fight. The fight with Drayton was hard enough, I had no idea how much stronger everyone else would be. I watched as the other wizards talked with each other, some arguing over their fights in the maze. When I looked in front of me, I noticed Joren heading my way.
“I thought I felt magic energy behind me in the maze, I didn’t think it would be you, though,” he said.
“If you felt it, why didn’t you stop to fight? With how short your other fight was, I thought you’d want another one.”
Joren laughed. “Each fight I had in that maze could barely even be called a fight. Stopping for another one when I was that close to winning would have been pointless.” He leaned in closer for a moment and whispered in my ear, “Your next opponent is tough. Be careful.”
3
Enter, Dragon
The next few hours flew by quickly and most of the other wizard competitors went behind the stadium to train before their big fights. I, on the other hand, watched them. However, my next opponent wasn’t there, I had no idea what kind of magic she used or how she would use it, but with the others, it was easy to pick their fighting styles. Bane was an acid wizard, his attacks focused on trying to burn his opponent until they could no longer fight. The ice wizard, Neva, had a style that was a lot more difficult to figure. She had a range of attacks and defensive moves that could render her opponent useless. As for Joren’s next opponent, he was something else. His sound magic was something I had only heard of and never seen before. His attacks were completely random and had no structure to them at all. His fight with Joren was bound to be a good one.
Once it was time, we were transported back into the stands of the stadium. The two wizards of the first fights appeared in the middle of the arena. I followed them in as I waited for Elijah to do his announcements. Neva was a small wizard with long, black hair, her bright blue eyes standing out in stark contrast on her face. The way she stood there— her feet shoulder-width apart and her arms ready at her sides— said she was always ready for a fight. Bane was the complete opposite. He stood with his hands crossed over his chest and a smug smile on his face. He had short, blond hair and deep green eyes that looked deadly in their stare.
A flash on the screen above the two wizards jolted me away from them as I focused on the light. Elijah appeared on a screen just above their heads.
“These battles today will be a fight to the finish with no time limit. The battle will end when one or both of the wizards are unable to continue to fight,” he paused for a moment as Bane and Neva’s names appeared on the screen. “Our first fight today is between Neva the Ice Queen and Bane the acid wizard. Let’s start the battle rounds!”
The screen disappeared and a deafening bang vibrated over the arena. Bright words lit up over the wizards.
Fight begin.
Neva attacked first. A bright blue magic circle appeared under her feet, her hands out in front of her in fists, and her eyes open wide. With every second, the magic circle grew bigger when finally, she attacked. Neva released her fists and aimed her now-spread palms at Bane. As she did, long, thin swords of ice appeared from her hands and flew towards him. With one swift movement of his arm, a bubble of a light green acid formed in front of him. The ice swords hit it and instantly melted.
“Is that the best you’ve got?” he taunted.
Before Neva could respond, Bane sent a barrage of acid spikes towards her. Another magic circle appeared under her feet as Neva produced an ice shield to protect herself from the attack. The first spikes that hit bounced backwards at Bane and hit him with full force, burning lines into his arms. Bane looked down at the burns, his face fierce. His body gave off a light green glow. From the stands, I could hear him grunting with anger as he balled his hands into fists and let off another barrage of acid spikes.
This time, Neva’s shield was no match for him and the spikes shattered the ice on impact and rained down on the ice wizard. With that attack, I knew Bane was dangerous. He was the type of wizard that used their rage to build their power, making their attacks stronger, and Bane seemed like he had a quick temper.
Neva quickly brushed herself off, and with a swipe of her hand over the burned areas of her skin, she placed a small layer of ice to cool them down. As Neva healed herself, Bane grew angrier and advanced within seconds.
The attacks continued one after the other, and Neva was starting to be at a disadvantage. Her ice would simply melt each time the acid hit. Bane was beginning to gain rhythm, attack Neva’s skin directly, then use his acid bubble to shield from her attacks. I gripped the railing of the stands as I felt uneasy. The intensity of the fight had me anticipating my own fight.
When Neva finally gained more momentum, it looked like it was too late. Around her, a dozen magic circles appeared as she lifted her hands to the sky. With her eyes closed, she began an incantation that I could barely hear, and as she finished, she pointed her hands at Bane. His face paled as he looked around at the magic circles. He backed away, but it was no use. When she opened her eyes, the magic circles vanished then appeared again a second later.
“Iced Obliteration!” she called as a giant magic circle appeared in the sky above Bane.
The circles around her vanished, and with that last call, a multitude of ice swords came raining out of the magic circle onto Bane. He tired to block the onslaught with acid bubbles in vain. There were too many. The swords sliced through his acid with ease and faded it into the air around him. When the swords finally stopped, Bane was on the ground, still. Everyone in the stands held their breath to see if the fight was
finished. Bane twitched on the spot, but when he didn’t get up, it was done.
Neva’s name lit up in the sky as the winner and Elijah’s projected screen appeared again.
“What a comeback! The winner of the first fight is Neva, the Ice Queen!” Elijah yelled.
The crowd cried out with cheers for Neva as she stood in the centre of the arena, her face showed she was in shock, but she collapsed to the ground, staring at Bane unconscious on the stadium floor. Before she could move from her place, she was magically transported into the stands with the rest of us. I watched as she walked into the back room with a stunned look still painted on her face. Her skin was pale and her blue eyes looked dull compared to when I saw them before. Neva just stood in place, unmoving. I took a step towards her, but healers rushed to her side and lead her away. Something wasn’t right.
Moments later, one of the healers returned and made an announcement to everyone. “Neva will be fine. She used all her magic energy in that fight. Her Iced Obliteration spell was too advanced for her and took all her energy to perform. She will be back tomorrow in better health.”
The crowd behind us began cheering again. I turned to see what the commotion was and found Joren and Alto standing in the centre of the arena, facing each other with hard stares on their faces. I wondered how they could start the next fight when something was wrong with one of the competitors, but they did. Elijah appeared on his projection screen with a massive grin on his face.
“If you are still excited from the first fight, then this one will do the same. We have Joren Starrik, the smoke wizard versus Alto, the sound wizard. If you all remember back to this morning, Joren won all his battles in the maze within five minutes. Let’s hope this battle will be a great one!”
Elijah disappeared and the starting words lit up the sky. The two of them eyed each other before making any moves. They walked circles around the stadium, waiting for the other to attack. Alto struck first as he placed his arms across his chest then pushed them out towards Joren, causing a deafening sonic boom to soar across the battlefield. Joren didn’t move, but he held his hands out in front of him as though to block. The sonic boom gained speed as it crashed the ground beneath it, pulverising the solid dirt field.
The Elite Wizard Games (Elite Wizards Chronicles Book 1) Page 2