When we finally reached the inn, Joren walked me back to my room and stood there while I opened the door. His eyes flicked around before settling on the floor.
“Thank you for helping me with this. I won’t forget it.” Suddenly, he looked up and his eyes met mine. “Don’t forget you are my opponent in this competition, if I ever have to come up against you, I won’t go easy on you.”
I nodded and smiled. “I understand.”
I turned to enter my room when Joren placed a hand on my shoulder but didn’t turn me back.
“You fought well yesterday.”
5
Fight to be Seen
By the time I fell asleep, it was almost time to wake up again. My mind raced over the information we found about the dragons. So many questions were raised and left unanswered. When it finally reached sunrise, my game uniform was ready for me on the bed. On top of my uniform was the same letter as day one that informed me of my participation in the event.
I turned to look at the only other furniture in the room and spotted something on the desk. A dark brown leather book with gold trimmings sat in the centre of the desk. It wasn’t there when I fell asleep, and any movement in my room would have woke me. I picked up the book and saw the inscription on the front. Dragon Lore. Above the title was a small inscription of a dragon’s body. I wondered how the book came to me or why.
The book looked to be hundreds of years old and was written in another language, one that I recognised but couldn’t fluently read. The ancient Drakor language had been banned hundreds of years ago as it was the language used in the forbidden spells. When I was younger, I came across a small book with the extreme basics of the Drakor language. However, it seemed the Dragon Lore book was a lot more complicated than I could handle.
I had just over an hour before I was transported to the games. I rushed out of the inn and ran across town to the library. This time, as soon as I stepped foot inside the library ground floor, the floor pulsed to show me where to go. The magic energy within the library could sense I was in a rush. I picked up all the books that could possibly translate the Drakor language. As I began to walk out, a piece of paper glowed to my left, catching my eye. I wrote down my name and the books I was taking and left an imprint of my magic energy so they could be magically transported back to the library if needed.
As I rushed back through town with the books in my hands, I noticed everyone in town was excited for the second day of the games. The streets were packed with wizards from all over the globe, wanting to get a piece of The Elite Wizard Games. I continued to look around.
I wasn’t watching where I was going and slammed face-first into the back of a hooded man. The books I was carrying crashed to the ground with me. The man helped me to my feet and picked up a few of the books. As he did, he gasped and stared at the first few pages of the book he held. I didn’t like the sound of his reaction and yanked the book away from him.
“Thank you, sir. Now I must be going. I have a games event to participate in.” I hurried away before he could say anything about the banned books.
The inn was almost empty by the time I returned, the halls that were filled with competitors now bare. As I stepped in my room, the colours of the transportation magic engulfed me. I barely had enough time to place the books on my bed before being transported to the stadium.
We all stood in the centre of the arena again, lined up in order of points. Beside me stood Joren, his face showed no emotion as he stared at the ground. The projection screen appeared in the air and Elijah’s happy face filled the screen. He waited until the cheers from the crowd died down before he began to speak.
“Welcome competitors and wizards from around the globe. Today is day two of The Elite Wizard Games! Today’s event will be like no other, it is called The Black Zone, but before I explain the rules, I have a small surprise for all the competitors.
“In the stands are the masters of the eight elite wizard guilds. They will be watching you for the next few days to see if you are all up to the standard of their guilds. Also, as a bonus, they have the power to eliminate anyone they see that doesn’t belong in the elite guilds.”
The other wizards around me murmured and yelled about the newly added rule. The guild masters had never had any input in the games except for accepting the members that decide to join their guild at the end of the games.
“The Black Zone is exactly as it sounds. You will all be transported in areas around Tolia and you will have to search for your battle opponents, but there is a twist. Each time you encounter an opponent, a magically cast barrier will appear and your powers will be rendered useless, making it impossible to use magic. You will have to use your knowledge of combat to win your way out of the barriers. Also, each win will give you two points, a draw will be one point each. You will have six hours to defeat as many opponents as you possibly can.
“Let the game begin.”
As his words faded, so did the arena. Everything around me turned into darkness, and my body felt as though I was floating. My limbs felt weak and numb to my surroundings and I continued to float, weightless, wondering what was coming next. A thick mist rose in the darkness, but somehow, I was able to see it. A beacon of light formed in front of me, calling me to emerge. I floated towards it as best as I could until I found myself back in the real world.
With my feet firmly on the ground, I took in my surroundings. On three sides, I was surrounded by a high brick wall. Forwards was the only way out of where I was. I was purposely placed here, by who I had no idea. The transportation was utterly different than the one I was used to.
I used my magic to lock into the earth surroundings, but I couldn’t sense anyone, only buildings. When I stepped out of the alley, I was faced with the town of Tolia. The whole municipality was now the battlefield and I had six hours until I was done.
The town felt abandoned. I couldn’t sense any magic energy at all. Walking around town, I continued trying to sense anyone I possibly could, but it was no use. I turned a corner and a barrier formed behind me. Someone was near me. I followed the barrier wall until I found who I was looking for. It was Alto, the sound wizard. He was a tall man with a fair amount of muscles and after what I saw in his fight against Joren, fighting him wasn’t going to be easy.
“Well, this isn’t going to be much of a fight now is it? Why match me up against a girl?”
“For a sound wizard, you are awfully out of tune. I’m stronger than I look,” I said.
Alto shook his head and laughed a little. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just didn’t want to fight against a girl because I didn’t want to hurt any of you. I know all of you are strong, I’ve seen you fight. I just don’t want to hurt you if I do win.”
“I’m not as fragile as you think, Alto. Let’s do this.”
Alto advanced. His hands were balled into fists and he held them in front of his chest. He was ready to strike whenever he saw an opening. I searched for his weak spot. I watched every movement he made until I could find it. His fighting stance was impressive; he kept moving around and keeping his body closed until he was ready.
Before he could strike, I swung low with my leg and hit the side of his shin. It did nothing. He didn’t even falter. Alto was strong and extremely balanced. Before I could return to my fighting stance, he swept with his own leg and knocked me down. My bare skin slid across the hard ground and split open before I finally hit something hard to stop me.
Alto was fearless, I didn’t doubt that and he wasn’t holding back. I had to be smart and fast to beat him. I pulled myself up off the floor and dusted the dirt off my uniform and my skin, trying not to wince as I brushed against the cut.
Without my magic, I couldn’t pull speed and power from the earth; I had to rely on my normally quick reflexes to aid me in the fight. Alto powered towards me with his fists in the air, ready to strike. As he came barrelling towards me, I held my legs as low as I could, waiting. Once he was in range, I twisted under his arms and aro
und the back of him. I jumped and spun a kick into the side of his body. Although it didn’t send him flying to the ground like I hoped, the surprise of the attack sent him off-balance and staggering forwards away from me.
I used this to my advantage. Keeping my body near the ground, I spun again and swept a kick under his staggering feet. He dropped, his body knocking hard against the pavement.
When Alto picked himself up from the floor, he looked mad. “I didn’t want to fight against a girl, but now you have made me mad.”
His words didn’t faze me. I was used to men talking smack to me when we fought. Nothing he would say would have been any different. Alto shook himself off and when he looked back up into my eyes, I could see my attacks hadn’t done anything. He was in no pain.
He came barrelling towards me again, and as I prepared my defensive manoeuvre again, something changed. Alto’s speed had increased somehow. Was he holding back before? His speed was incredible. I was so lost in his power change that I didn’t have time to dodge when he got closer.
His arm hit me with a force that I had never felt before. It knocked me to the ground and sent me speeding across the pavement again. When I eventually stopped, I couldn’t move. The air had been knocked out of me and my body ached. Even a slight movement sent agonizing pain throughout my body. Alto came at me again, his face still focused on winning the fight. The closer he got, the more desperate I was to move.
Coming up next to me, he grabbed my shirt and lifted me off the ground. His eyes held the reflection of the sun and almost looked like they were glazed over and he was in a trance. I shook my head and thought it to be impossible. The barrier stopped any kind of magic and no one in the competition had that kind of lost magic.
Alto held my gaze as he lifted his other fist and aimed it at my head. He was going for a knock-out hit. I squirmed in his grip, but it was no use, his strength outweighed my own. I closed my eyes and waited for the punch. When it didn’t come, I opened my eyes again. His fist was still there, hovering right in front of my face but his own face showed nothing— no expression and no sign of life.
His grip still held, and with no chance of being released, I hit him full force with my own fist. This pushed him backwards a few steps and knocked him out of whatever was causing him to halt. His glazed eyes locked onto me and he swung. His large fist hit on the side of my face at the same time he released his grip. I fell to the hard ground and as my head hit the pavement, before I blacked out, I watched Alto walk slowly away from me and through the disappearing barrier. Around the corner of the building, I swear a saw a cloaked figure turn and walk away from us.
When I woke, I could barely feel my body except for when I tried to move. The excruciating pain exploded through my limbs as I pulled myself into a seated position. That was when I remembered what happened. My fight with Alto ending in my defeat, Alto’s glazed look in his eyes, and the mysterious cloaked figure that was watching our fight. Something strange was going on.
I wondered how long I was passed out for. When I looked at the sky, I saw the sun hadn’t moved that far. High in the air above the centre of town was a projection timer counting down how long was left in the event. Four hours remained. My fight with Alto hadn’t even lasted half an hour, so I was out for at least one and a half hours. I needed to get going or I would be eliminated from the games.
I tried to get up from the ground, but the pain was too much. Tears burned in my eyes and threatened to be released. I needed something to heal me. I remembered a spell that I read in a book years ago that pulled energy from the earth and used it as a healing remedy, but it couldn’t heal you fully. I crawled over to the nearest patch of grass and held my hand over the blades. I pulled as much energy as I could through the earth and spread it throughout my body. I tried to heal the most significant injuries first before moving to the smaller ones, all I needed was to be able to move and fight without much pain, and that was what it gave me. When the spell finally finished, the pain was almost gone and I could move freely again.
I wandered around town, searching for another opponent for the event. As I reached the centre of town, the timer now said three hours left. My place in the standings was going to be severely affected if I didn’t fight and win more battles.
I cautiously walked down the main street in town before she came into view. A girl dressed in a light pink uniform shirt with black shorts. Her hair was long, blonde, and in a long ponytail with soft curls. She looked to be around seventeen years old. When she spotted me, her face lit up and she began floating in the air, surrounded by a pink mist. I knew exactly who she was, and she wasn’t going to be an easy fight. Her name was Lilica and she was a fairy wizard.
6
Fairies, Fights, and Freaks
Lilica continued to float towards me and once she got in range, the magical barrier appeared, surrounding the area. She stopped a few feet before me and smiled brightly. Before I could even get a word out, she sped towards me. Her speed matched my own. She stopped advancing as she got closer to me, but she flipped her body over so she stood on her hands. She spun on the spot while aiming her legs at me. Confused by her attack, she got in a few kicks before I realised what she was doing. I swept my leg under her and knocked her off-balance, causing her to crash to the floor face-first.
“Nice to see you again, Lilica. How long has it been?”
“Four years since you saved me on the job. You do know I could have taken that wolf,” she sneered.
I watched as she picked herself up off the ground. “That wolf was not only possessed by a high-grade demon, it was a dire wolf. It would have ripped you to shreds without being possessed. Plus, you were only thirteen, you didn’t have anywhere near enough power to beat it. I had to intervene.”
“You were only fifteen at the time. How is it you had more power than I?”
“I had been training full on that year and had gained the right to take on jobs like that. I proved myself to my guild master.”
“Yeah, well, I am a lot stronger now that I have been blessed by the fairies. Not only do I have their powers, but I also have their strength, too. You won’t win this time.”
Lilica flipped over again, landing on her hands. She bent her elbows and kicked out with a tremendous amount of force at my chest. The kick sent me backwards into a building wall and knocked the wind out of me. While I couldn’t tell if her powers had become stronger in the last four years, her hand-to-hand combat had undoubtedly come a long way.
After I saved her life from the possessed dire wolf, Lilica became furious at me. She had no magic energy left and she tried to fight me with her fists. She had no strength in her punches, and her kicks barely knocked me back. When she finally admitted defeat, I told her to train before she took on any more jobs. It seemed as though she listened to me.
As I was pressed against the wall, Lilica took the chance to strike again. She stood in front of me and punched my stomach and chest over and over. I was able to get a few strikes in and push her away from me before she did any damage. With a barrage of punches and kicks, I knocked Lilica off-balance and continued to strike. Even though she trained in hand-to-hand combat, she wasn’t skilled enough to beat me. With one more hit to her side, Lilica was down for the count. The barrier around us disappeared and I had won. Before I left the area, I looked at how long remained on the timer. Two hours.
The final two hours passed by in a blur. I only found one more fight during that time and had just managed to win before the timer ran out. We were transported back to the centre of the arena to see our scores. Elijah appeared on the screen with our names written next to him.
“Here are the scores for the event. Our resident dragon scored the highest with four wins, gaining eight points. Second, we have our fire wizard, Aedus, who won three fights, scoring him six points. Third, we have our elemental wizard, Melanie, who won two fights to score herself four points. Each other competitor only scored two points each, meaning they won one fight each.”
/> The crowd went wild as all the competitors were transported out of the arena. Elijah remained on the screen, but more names popped up next to his face— the battles for the day.
Lilica VS Aedus
Versanth VS Alise
Catori VS Drayton.
“We will be back in the next few hours to start the battle rounds.”
We were all transported back to where we wanted to go while we waited for the battle rounds. I wanted to go back to my inn room to look through the Dragon Lore book. When I finally stepped back in my room, something felt off. My books that were placed on the bed were now gone. I frantically looked around my room looking for the one book that mattered most. When I couldn’t find it, I stopped in front of the bed and realised the Dragon Lore book was gone.
The curtain blew in the breeze and I clenched my jaw at the ajar window. My pulse quickened at the thought of someone breaking into my room and stealing things, but I knew I couldn’t tell anyone about it. No one knew I had Dragon Lore or that fact that I was in possession of books to translate an ancient and forbidden language. I wanted to do a tracking spell on the text to see if I could find where it was taken, but I realised the book wasn’t mine and wouldn’t have my magic tracer on it.
Before I could think of another spell to track the book, I felt myself transported back to the arena for the battle rounds. The competitors’ stands were filled again, and in the back, I could see Joren, his face still stricken with shock and unanswered questions. I slowly walked up to him and made sure no one was around me before I spoke.
“Something happened this morning.”
The Elite Wizard Games (Elite Wizards Chronicles Book 1) Page 4