Chapter 25 - The Battle Royale I

Lancaster Academy Testing Grounds, Alterion, Therian Continent

The twelve hour exam, which started at noon and would end at midnight, was now around half way done.

The circle closed at their back. Somehow, they'd landed around the edge of the battleground after their little aerial confrontation. Because of this, a kilometer of hiking led to nothing but more forest. At any rate, they'd outran the closing of the zone, and stood on the very edge to recover from the rush. This was at Minerva's recommendation. As a mage, it was clear that she wasn't very well suited to long periods of physical work. The majority of her battles involved swinging a wand around and occasionally dodging; it would need work, Ulfric thought.

"Hey, Ulfric. Isn't this just the worst?" She asked.

"Nay. Get up, Minerva. I hate to say it, but if you can't survive this, you're not fit to be a mage."

"Harsh."

"Come on. Up!" Ulfric grabbed her hand and heaved the girl to her feet. She loudly exhaled and put a hand on each knee, bent over.

"Right. Let's move, then."

The forests stretched on and on, fields of dark green, oak and pine trees. They basked in the shadows, skillfully avoiding other contestants. This was pretty easy, since any ongoing battle would be marked by the sounds of explosions and tumbling trees. The forests seemed to be quite active, and it was often that the battle was right around the corner, a few steps away. They battled over different monuments and noteworthy locations, where remnants of magical attacks could often be found.

There was an obelisk in a clearing, and the top of it had been entirely removed by some sort of beam. The unconscious body of a student lay at the bottom of it. There was a cave with bodies lying at the door, and remnants of sleep inducing magic according to Minerva. Finally, the most prominent spot was where they'd finally stop; a massive hill that went even above the trees. Magic residue was more prominent here, so the battle was incredibly recent. It was rocky and rough, with a waterfall sprouting from the top and giving way to a river that flowed toward the city. The waterfall was magical, created from nothing.

Behind the flowing water was another cave, and there they found more bodies put asleep by the same magic, their gear strewn about. Minerva and Ulfric came to the same conclusion, that being that there was an incredibly powerful person blazing a trail through these groups of students. Ulfric pitched that they should continue following the trail, but it ended up that they hunkered down inside of the cave, since all of the contestants in that particular region had been eliminated already.

Another hour passed peacefully, and the unconscious students were whisked away. Ulfric and Minerva sat against opposite walls like before, sometimes chattering and sometimes not. It seemed that, despite everything, their relationship remained on the edge of a knife. Whether or not they were companions, or simply an aid to each other in this exam, was still ambiguous to Ulfric. The girl who sat before him could not have been more of a mystery.

The Keeper, a god from between the worlds, was certainly not a liar. Minerva Whiscourt was essential to stopping this supposed enemy that would bypass the world between worlds. That meant that, undoubtedly, there was something special about her that he did not see. Still, all of the things that god said were too vague and borderline insane to be taken seriously. The thought that he would return there on the brink of death once more made his skin crawl.

Minerva. Just who are you, exactly? Are you like me? Someone strong? Or is there something beneath the surface, evading my sight?

"Hey. Is there something on my face?" Minerva asked.

"Ah. Sorry. I was staring off."

"It's alright."

Come to think of it, there was no one who really understood how he thought, or how his experiences shaped it. He'd had a lot of things happen to him that he simply didn't tell even those closest to him. The true extents of his training, or his estimated grade in reference to a mage. Most recently, it was the encounter with the keeper. Likely, if he told anyone about it, he'd just seem like a schizophrenic; but that moment was far too real to be a dream or an illusion. He shook his head.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Just thinking."

Minerva tilted her head. "About?" She asked. 

Ulfric made a complicated face. After a moment of thinking, he spoke. "Hey. What is this, exactly?"

"What?" Minerva frowned. "This? What do you mean?"

"Us. Are we friends? Or is this strictly transactional?" Ulfric asked a stupid question with the straightest of faces. He wasn't the greatest socially, and mostly relied on brute force within conversations.

"I don't know… Are we friends?" Minerva had gone a little bit red. Was he imagining it?

"Yeah, we are. We might as well be." Ulfric sighed. "I… Have no one to rely on at this school. At least, no one I wouldn't be bothering in the process."

"Me neither."

This look on her face. I don't know why, but I feel as if I trust her with my life. Don't tell me. I can't be crushing on this girl already, can I? Ulfric, get your mind out of the gutter!

"Listen. I can't really tell you anything just yet but… There's a bit on my mind… Pertaining to you."

"Eh?" Minerva's face was bright red now. "But, we hardly know each other!" She exclaimed.

"No! No! Not like that!" Ulfric waved his hands wildly, panicked now. "I know, we hardly know each other! It's different. It'll have to wait." He exhaled, seeing he'd successfully calmed the girl down.

"Right…" She murmured.

Ulfric pressed onward, desperate to change the subject. "So, do you–"

In an instant, the space between them was obliterated by a beam of white light. Ulfric's eardrums were shattered by the colossal sound. The air went still, and any smell was annihilated. Vision was blinded. Reality ceased to exist, and then in a moment was brought back. Water from the waterfall's source crashed down on top of them as the hill collapsed in on itself. There wasn't enough time to save Minerva, only himself. He gripped his sword and pushed off of the ground, overcoming the force of the water's current and launching himself through the waterfall.

His feet touched the bottom of the pond with a splash, sliding through the muddy floor to a violent stop. The water was past his ankles, and now he'd fallen down to a knee from the impact of the landing. He spat out a mouth full of water, breathing in fully as fish danced around his legs. Adrenaline surged through his body, his fight or flight response in full gear. Behind him, Minerva nonchalantly stepped out from behind the waterfall, twirling her wand between her fingers. Five enemies were before them.

"Water technique: sea serpent," Minerva said, swinging her wand to direct the emergence of water. Suddenly, the pond beneath Ulfric's feet was gone, and a creature made of deep, black water emerged. The fish in the pond flopped on the dirt, slowly dying, their life given so the mighty sea serpent could fly, and fly it did. A mighty roar, and one of the enemies was swallowed whole. 

"Basic technique–" One of the enemies started chanting, but Ulfric was already on top of him, breaking his jaw by hitting it with the broadside of his sword as if it were a bat. The man reeled away, falling to a knee; there, he grabbed up a fistful of dirt and hurled it at Ulfric's face. It bought him only a second as Ulfric blocked, but it was enough. He'd started reciting the incantation as he made the movement.

"Flame technique: fire strike!" He reached out and grabbed a sword of flame that manifested before him, dashing to meet Ulfric. They both swung, and in an instant, his sword of flame dispersed as Ulfric flawlessly predicted the core's location. A second passed, and suddenly he was slammed across the face once more by immeasurable force, this time staying down for good.

Two mages came down on Ulfric at once. Earth spears flew from one direction, a fireball from the other. He swatted the earth spears out of the air and used the unconscious body before him to block the fireball, discarding the charred body to the side; with any luck, the one who'd fired the spell would be blamed if the man were to die. Ulfric advanced, targeting first the one who'd shot the fireball.

He swung, but the man dodged smoothly, enhancement magic allowing his body to bend backwards under the sword with nothing short of incredible speed. He'd recited an incantation, pressing his wand square against Ulfric's chest. Ulfric did panic, but only for a moment, his free hand grasping the wrist of his enemy and jerking it out of the way. A violent spout of flame shot off and obliterated a path through the forest. The mage made a tsch sound. Ulfric planted his foot firmly in the ground, and swung his arm around, picking the man's whole body up by the wrist and throwing him against a tree.

After that exchange, the ground beneath Ulfric's feet turned to mud and trapped him, sinking up to the ankles. He'd failed to fully finish off either of the enemies, and now they surrounded him while he was utterly unable to move. They each readied spells, and Ulfric reached for his gun; it became purely a matter of who would be faster. The battle would come down to a single moment, a risk, whether his shot would kill the enemy and destroy both of their lives, or strike true.

"Earth technique: rise!" Minerva called. She'd finished her opponent off, and casted a spell to raise the ground beneath Ulfric's feet. In the instant his enemies finished their incantations, he was released. The dagger from his boot was immediately grabbed and thrown, as this was something he could do far more accurately than firing a bullet. The mage leaned against the tree had the side of his face sliced open, disrupting all focus and ending his spell.

"Earth technique: jungle god!" The remaining mage chanted. Ulfric's mind flared. A grade one spell. Suddenly, the battle had turned up a notch. Whatever was about to come must have been the student's last resort. Spells of first grade or higher were usually massive, and could manipulate the environment for a distance of up to a few kilometers at best. Seeing how this was a first year student, the range would likely be about ten meters, but it didn't help that it was a spell Ulfric didn't recognize.

The ground beneath his feet grew greener, and the area around him and the mages were fenced in by spiky vines. A sharp pain shot through Ulfric's foot, and then he realized the entire ground had been covered in grassy spikes, one of which had gone all the way through the middle of his right foot. Enough adrenaline shot through his veins that he hardly felt the pain though, so he jerked his foot up and away, spraying blood everywhere. He placed his weight on it anyway and prepared to dash.

Inside of the grassy arena, he was enclosed with nothing but the other mage as an opponent. The man appeared angry, but also shocked that Ulfric had shrugged off the massive wound. Meanwhile, on the outside, Minerva and the remaining enemy had begun to fight. The battle was reaching its conclusion, here and now. Ulfric clenched his fist, maintaining the strength to hold onto his sword. The victor would be decided in the next attack.

Ulfric dashed forward, and the grass domain came to life. He was surrounded by vines, tentacles of green shooting towards him at unbelievable speeds. They were covered in spikes, so each narrow dodge sliced open a different part of his clothing. He swung his sword wildly, sending hundreds of tiny vine bits flying every which way. Then, in an instant, he gave the decisive slash. The mage had vines wrapped around his body to protect him, but Ulfric's cut sent them all away, bursting the domain in the process; he grabbed him by the collar and threw him into a tree, pounding him square in the forehead and knocking him unconscious.

The last mage was locked in a battle with Minerva, and didn't see Ulfric coming from behind. Ulfric leapt into the air, coming down on top of his head with his fist and knocking him down. There, he stomped on his chest and knocked the air out of his lungs. The man grasped desperately at Ulfric's leg, trying to move it; eventually, he gave up.

"A group of five," Ulfric said. "Are there more?"

"There… No… More…"

"Lies. Where's your leader? Did he send you after us?"

"There is no… Leader!"

Ulfric applied more pressure until the man choked. "It's a simple matter. I either stomp on your face or I don't. Where's the leader?"

"Darius. Boneshaw. Darius Boneshaw!"

Boneshaw? "Where is he!"

"He's in the city center… Release me!"

Ulfric released his foot. "Very well."

The mage sat up, clutching his chest. "Darius Boneshaw. The strongest of the first years. He sent his men to eliminate high-priority targets. The named examinees." He breathed out, a sigh of relief as if he'd gotten something heavy off of his chest.

"Right…" Ulfric scratched his chin. "Well. Go on back to Darius then. Tell him you found them, and that Ulfric Arrowheart is coming."

"Ulfric!" Minerva yelled. "You can't be serious!"

"Go on," Ulfric said, gesturing forward.

The mage did a double-take, wondering if he'd be struck from behind. He started running, running faster than Ulfric had ever seen a mage run before. In moments, he'd disappeared into the woods beyond, pitter-pattering across the dirt and wholeheartedly abandoning his companions. His boss would be happy to hear the news of this transgression, Ulfric was sure. To be hunted by the younger brother of the student council president, he almost felt honored. In that instant, watching the mage run away, Ulfric decided to destroy Darius Boneshaw.

"Ulfric. Have you lost your mind?" Minerva grabbed his shoulder with a surprisingly strong hand. "Darius Boneshaw is seriously influential. Assuming you even manage to eliminate him, there will be consequences!"

Ulfric slapped Minerva's hand away. "Consequences are to be faced as they come. Right now, it's time for Darius to face his."