different novel

The urban district within the tournament arena was organized in a circular fashion. It was divided into 4 distinctive areas with the central tower directly in the middle. According to the map within the tournament wristband, the four distinctive areas were identified consecutively as zones A, B, C and D in a clockwise manner.

Getting to the borders of each urban zone was relatively easy, for each of the six Rest Zones established around the forest grounds were connected to either one or two urban zones. If your team were one of those that chose to avoid the Rest Zones, you could still make a detour to the district borders. However, it might take a little longer to arrive, unless you wake your teammates up very early the next day.

Each of these urban zones had different area sizes, and with the variety of urban buildings within their domains, they could appear as individual small towns.

Zone A, which was to the northwest, had some abandoned houses surrounding three building complexes with a fountain in the center. Zone B and D had the largest areas, with the most intricate of building layouts and infrastructure. While these three zones each had connections to two Rest Zones, Zone C, the smallest of the four, only had connection to one Rest Zone.

The goal, i.e. the central tower, was the only noticeable landmark within the entire district. With the height of around thirteen stories, the central tower dwarfed all buildings within the four urban areas. The tower was separated from the four zones by a ring of water canals, save for four bridges that connect each zone to the tower grounds.

As Davian walked across the paved road, there's really nothing happening. The streets were quiet, and the buildings appeared unoccupied. As he studied his surroundings, Davian really could not see or sense anyone within a mile.

"I guess no one has really arrived yet."

The time was 8:03 am.

Davian and Claire had arrived at the border of Zone C by 7:38 am after waking up early at 6:23 am. Thanks to their early thirteen team-winning streak yesterday, the two of them were able cover quite a distance. And since they had such early start, their journey to the urban district turned out to be uninterrupted.

They were only five kilometers from the urban district when the sun was about to go down. This placed them at a good advantageous start to reach the central tower by around 8:30 am.

Despite this early advantage, Davian had expected some hostile activity from several teams on arrival. If he and Claire were able to pull this speed run, who's to say that others could do the same as well?

But as of late, there's barely anyone here. Its either the early arrivals were in the other zones, or they were deliberately hiding from the two of them. In any case, this lack of activity just made this part of the preliminaries all the more easier. How ironic, in considering that everyone was anticipating that things would get way tougher once they reached the urban district.

At this rate, Davian and Claire would really reach the central tower within minutes.

In fact, they just did.

As Claire stopped before him, Davian's gaze was soon directed to the tower before him.

The central tower was tall, up to around thirteen stories high, just like how it was depicted in the tournament map. It's also pretty wide, spanning at around thirteen meters apart. The entrance past the bridge was three meters tall and two meters wide. From the roads constructed around the base, the tower must have three more entrances to accommodate for the other three bridges.

The water canals in-between the tower grounds and the urban zones were around twenty meters wide and probably twenty-two meters deep. If there were Grey or White Mages here, they would be having quite the blast with the Element Water.

But before Davian and Claire could proceed to report to the central tower, there's just one small problem.

"The bridges… they're destroyed."

A large portion of the bridge before them was destroyed, leaving charred wood and stone in the wake of either side. The same could be said of the other bridges.

"…It's either the Academy's ridiculous intentions or someone's act of saboteur."

From the looks of it, the bridges' destruction was most likely done by the latter, but the destruction is too clean. There's no significant debris, and the streaming water still appears to be rather clean. It's as though the bridge has been completely incinerated, and the resulting ash had been washed away.

Upon seeing the type and severity of damage, Davian already had a key suspect in mind. It's relatively easy to believe that a certain relative of his would pull such a crazy stunt.

Claire walked to the destroyed bridge's edge. As she went on one knee and touched the charred surface of the burnt end, she soon clicked her tongue. She soon came to the same conclusion Davian had.

"This is definitely Acriscius's work."

"Sigh… I knew it."

There's no mistaking that idiot's paranormal signature, and it's also not that fresh, so he must have done this a while ago.

"Hang on. But that would mean…"

That would mean that Acriscius was long inside the central tower.

"If Acriscius is already in the tower, why did he destroy the bridges?"

"Isn't it obvious? He wants to cause more trouble for the other competitors. If there are more people stuck, the higher the chances they will get caught up in more fights. The more fights, the lesser the competition later. I would have done the same one way or another." Claire replied.

"We can't use the Element Earth and Water. If anything we Darks suffer the most from this act of saboteur. What is that idiot thinking?"

"Maybe he did it with that filthy imposter in mind?"

"Cadeus again? Couldn't Acriscius just let it go already?"

Davian gazed at the twenty-meter gap between them and the central tower. They could just swim across, but knowing Claire, she would instantly refuse to let some canal water touch her clothes. In addition, there's quite a height separating the water surface and the platform's edge. Even if they could swim across, there's nothing to grab on to pull themselves up. Davian could always use his own Blood Gift to counter this obstacle, but in the end swimming across will never be an option since Claire will outright refuse to swim.

"So what now? The distance is too wide for me to use my Blood Gift to swing us across. Even if I could make the distance, there aren't even any trees I can latch onto on the other side."

As a response, Claire reached for her sling bag and took out more crystals. As she tossed them to the ground, the crystals intensify their glow, and enlarged themselves to the arthropod chimeras she had turned during the catacomb incident. Claire kept throwing until there were about thirty of them. With a snap of her fingers, the crystallized chimeras proceeded to move towards the broken bridge.

The first few crystal chimeras latched themselves against the bridge's edge, creating a solid foundation for the others to latch on. One by one, the others began locking their long segmented legs with each other, creating a bridge using their crystallized body.

Claire proceeded to walk forward once the crystals were almost done, prompting Davian to follow. When they reached the other side, Claire snapped her fingers. The chimeras gradually moved, gathered around her and shrunk back into their carrier dormant forms.

As Claire's crystallized birds moved to collect the scattered dormant chimeras, the two of them proceeded to walk towards the tower doors.

The tower doors themselves were not that impressive. They were just two huge old wooden planks with black iron metallic hinges and bronze doorknobs. If anything, they remind Davian of old classic architecture.

Davian was just seven feet away from the doorknob when Claire suddenly decided to stop him.

"Hold on."

"Hm?"

Claire paused to ponder. She then took out more crystals from her sling bag and turned to walk away from the door.

"Claire? What are you doing?"

Claire stopped at a spot a few paces away from the front door. After fiddling through a selection of crystals, Claire knelt and placed three different crystals in a straight line.

When she got back up on her feet, Claire snapped her fingers, and the three crystals glowed brightly before formulating a magic circle. A paranormal flash occurred, and crystallized marks were engraved into the pathway.

As she smiled with satisfaction, Claire then took out three more sets, before proceeding to walk around the entire parameter.

Davian, clueless as to what she's really doing, could only rush to keep up with her.

"What… what exactly are you up to?"

"Just putting in an additional investment."

Davian raised an eyebrow.

"And just exactly what sort of investment are you getting yourself involved in?"

"Since Acriscius destroyed the bridge, I'd figure that we might add a little bit more spice in making life much more difficult for the others."

"What 'we'? You're the one adding unnecessary nonsense."

"And eliminating more pointless competition. The less people we have to fight, the faster things will move on in the second phase, and the faster we can end this pointless charade."

"You do realize that you just called an important trial a 'pointless charade' right?"

Claire immediately turned and gave Davian the look that provokingly said 'Really? Are you kidding me?'

"An important trial? Why then, are all those buffoons up in the VIP lounge gazing at us from some live streaming screen? If anything this trial is just a staging ground to show case talents in order for the Academy to attract outside interest and funding."

"You know… Our parents might be here and they might be one of those 'buffoons' watching us up there."

"Pff…"

Claire puffed a breath of annoyance.

"I doubt our parents have the time to bother coming down for this insignificant event."

"Perhaps they already did, and are planning to surprise us when we are done."

"And you are too optimistic. Although it has only been for about four months, working for the Student Council has made you incredibly soft."

Davian sighed. It's this conversation again…

Despite her harsh words, Claire and Acriscius do not particularly hate the Student Council. The two of them simply thought that getting involved with it was a waste of time. Working with Mages of the other colours was a thought that rarely rang well with Dark Mages, particularly when it's common for Dark Mages to be treated with reserved prejudices and cautions when they work with other Mages.

Like Claire and Acriscius, Davian used to have this pessimistic attitude when it came to working with non-Darks. The three of them were pretty much in the same hoops when they enrolled together. But when senior Valadar personally asked Davian to succeed his position within the Student Council, Davian could not decline.

The first two weeks in the Student Council was rather plain, if you don't count all the matriculating hassle. The only person Davian could talk to was Cordelia. Firstly since she's the boss, and secondly since Davian got to know her slightly when she took it upon herself to show him around. Cordelia had quite a good experience working with senior Valadar. As such, she

The others in the Student Council never bothered to open up since they have the comfort of their own groups. The majority of the Student Council members were Whites, and they usually revolved around Lord Progenitor Cenyr. The only Greys who frequent around the Student Council room were Vierga and Stronis, but the two of them only had businesses with Cordelia, and they rarely interacted with the others.

As one could expect, being the only Dark Mage in the Student Council was indeed quite lonesome. But eventually, various assignments eventually led to Davian having to work with his Student Council peers. He soon made friends with some of them, and eventually everyone opened up to him. From these experiences, Davian was able to learn that while people were certainly cautious around Dark Mages, the fears could be remedied by simply… well, opening up, and being helpful and cooperative.

Davian had once shared the overall positive experiences with Claire and Acriscius, only to be scoffed at for being naïve. In fact, the two of them were rather perplexed that Davian had continued to work with the Student Council. Apparently, they viewed his continued involvement as a kind of weakness, for they perceived his participation to be nothing more than sucking up to the Greys and Whites within the Student Council.

It might be immature of them to think in such a way, but Davian could understand where they were coming from. Apart from interacting with non-Darks, Claire and Acriscius were also not comfortable with the idea that they had to answer to Cordelia. If anything, the thought of having to work with Lord Cenyr rubbed things off for the worst.

Things might be different if Senior Valadar was still around. If he were still present, Claire and Acriscius just might be a little bit more cooperative. But Valadar had moved on to the other island for his tertiary curriculum, and Davian could not command his level of authority. As such, Davian was forced to content with being the only Dark Mage in the Student Council.

Once Claire had finished replicating what she had done with the other three entrances, the two of them finally proceeded to report to the central tower. When they were within five feet from physical contact, the doors automatically opened itself inwards.

Davian soon saw a lounge, and a huge spiral staircase that paved the way up to the top. There's no one present, save Educator Kris, who could be seen sitting at a table drinking his tea and reading his book.

"Ah… Lady Claire and Lord Davian."

As the two approached, Educator Kris got up and gave them the customary bow, before gesturing at a sign-in list at the side of the table.

"Please fill up this form, and you may both proceed to one of the rooms above to relax."

Needless to say, the list was empty, save for one reported team at the top. The handwriting did not belong to Acriscius, but seeing his name there confirmed everything.

"Tch! So he did beat us to the chase. How infuriating."

"Come on now Claire, if he had the time and energy to destroy those four bridges, it's obvious that he beat us to the central tower."

Claire soon turned her gaze to Educator Kris.

"Educator Kris, when did Acriscius destroy the bridges?"

"Early this morning, about two hours ago. He claimed that it's for practice and warm up. But destroying the bridges had nothing to do with tournament rules so Master Morgan gave him the pass."

Two hours ago? At around 6 am-ish? Davian thought.

"Educator Kris, when did Acriscius arrive?" He asked.

"Last night. Just after 11 pm. If you are looking for him, his team is currently in one of the lodging rooms on the fourth level."

"Thank you Educator Kris. Davian, let's go."

As they moved up to the fourth floor, Davian noted how small and empty the rooms were. There was enough space for a commoner's bedroom in each of them. There were no beds, which made Davian slightly remorseful. To make matters worst, there are also no table or chairs, and the toilet appeared to be rather small and communal in its purpose.

"…Is there a test of endurance hidden somewhere in here?"

There were about twelve rooms per level, making it thirty-six rooms in total from the second level to the fourth. But Davian honestly doubted that that many teams would make it for the second round.

Once they arrived on the fourth floor, it was relatively easy to single out the only occupied room with the lights. As they entered the room, Vanderburg was quick to see them coming.

"Lord Davian, Lady Claire."

Vanderburg closed his book, stood up from his sitting position and gave the proper bow.

As the two Greater Nobles paused to have a look, Acriscius was nowhere to be seen. It's just Vanderburg, and some random girl the two of them had not seen before. Unlike Vanderburg, the unfamiliar girl did not bother to stand to greet them. She remained lying on the ground, eyes closed. The fact that she did not pay them any heed automatically brought Claire's lips curling downwards. Davian did not care, as long as she did not cause any trouble, she could just stay right where she was.

"Butler, where's that muscle head?" Claire said.

"He's taking a stroll in the urban district, zone B if I recall correctly."

"And he's alone?" Davian asked.

"Yes… he said he wanted a quiet stroll."

How did he even leave? Davian thought.

"Did you guys set up a teleportation circle somewhere in the urban district?" he asked.

"…Yes Lord Davian. We had set up several teleportation circles next door."

"What is that idiot thinking? He should at least bring you along." Claire said.

"That's what I said Lady Claire. But he's keen on being alone."

"Why did he decide to go out on a stroll?"

"He said that the weather is good for a morning walk."

"Are you seriously having us believe that?" Davian said.

Davian may not like his fiery cousin very much as of late, but Acriscius going out on a stroll was something that could only happen in the void.

Vanderburg broke out in cold sweat. Davian could see him biting his lower lip, and that was all he needed to know.

"Sigh… please don't tell me that Acriscius is doing something like patrolling the urban district to help out his surviving lackeys?"

"…"

Vanderburg's silence was the answer they needed. Claire and Davian sighed.

Davian soon turned to Claire.

"Shall we drag that idiot back before he does something stupid?"

"Of course not! If that idiot wanders into a few teams and gets outnumbered that's on him. I'm staying here."

Claire turned and left the room. From the sounds of her footsteps, she must have decided to take a stroll of her own.

Well, there's no point worrying about the muscle head. Acriscius always had a high Cast Limit, and with his magical abilities, in addition to his Blood Gift, no one would ever get close enough to graze his defensive barrier.

Davian decided that his relative should be fine.

"Vanderburg, if Acriscius returns, let me know."

"Yes my lord. Do you have anything you wish me to pass onto him? A message of sorts."

Davian waved him off.

"No… I'll just feel better knowing he's back without getting his buttocks whooped up."

Vanderburg gave the bow. Once the Greater Noble turned and left, Vanderburg stood straight and turned his attention to Celes.

"Thanks for not getting involved, but you could have at least greeted them."

Celes remained silent. She remained lying on the ground with her eyes closed, uninterested.

"They are his cousins right? They must be a rather happy family."

Vanderburg sat down and opened his book again.

"Lady Claire is often harsh with her words, but her sharp mind means well. Lord Davian may be overly conscientious, but he has a strong sense of duty and ties to family."

"Do you know them well?"

"Enough to know that they are family through and through. They may bicker often, but they will never really hurt each other."

Celes shifted her posture.

"Family eh?"

Vanderburg was not fully aware of the circumstances surrounding Celes's background, but he at least knew that she had one or two family issues.

"If they are close, what happens if we face them in the next round?"

"We fight as we normally would."

"Why? Won't either party hold back then? They are after all, family."

"All the more reason to go all out."

"…I don't understand."

"The three of them knew each other very well since the earliest days of their childhood. If either were to hold back, it'll just be an insult to the others."

Celes remained confused, and she eventually gave up on understanding.

"Nobles are so weird."

"You have to think of it like this. What do you think Lord Acriscius aspire to be?"

"You tell me."

"What every Mage would aspire to be, to become the best of their generation, and this applies at least threefolds to nobles born with gifted abilities. So if everyone is pushing to become the best, what happens if someone purposely under performs despite having the ability to shine?"

"…It'll be quite the let down I imagine."

"Exactly, and let's not forget. Lord Acriscius is a Greater Noble. He cannot go easy on anyone, his status will not allow it."

"So we will have to expect our three Greater Nobles to go all out cracking each other's heads?"

"That pretty much sums it up."

"How silly…"

Celes did not ask any further, and as Vanderburg was about to resume reading his book, she voiced out another question.

"Vanderburg. Does this aspiration thing have anything to do with why our Lord dislikes the other Pure one?"

"The other Pure one? Oh…"

She must be referring to Cadeus.

"That is… a complicated situation. I'm sure you may have heard something of it."

"I don't trust the rumours, it's just people saying what they think is right without fact checking."

"Ah… well, some bits of the rumours are actually true. Cadeus had claimed that the Dark Progenitor's family name is his own. He claimed to be born under that name, and the last I checked, his lineage is still under investigation."

"So it's just a name. If he's born under some name it's not his fault right? Why does the boss have such a huge bone to pick about it?"

Vanderburg had to think about what words to use next. A street hooligan like Celes may not be quick to understand certain elements related to high-born society.

"Names are important. It represents your lineage and tells others who you are descended from. The Dark Progenitors died off six hundred years ago, and when Cadeus shows up, let's just say that everyone is skeptical about his circumstances. He may be a Pure Blood, but claiming the Progenitor name was… well, not a good thing."

Celes paused, processing this information. She still had difficulty understanding bits of it, but she decided not to dwell on it any further.

"Is the other Pure one strong or weak?" she asked again.

"…"

Vanderburg paused. He had no idea how to answer that immediately. Vanderburg did not know the full extent of Cadeus's abilities. True, he did create a wraith, which was an immense accomplishment for a sixteen-year-old student. Vanderburg could remember Acriscius fuming for three days straight when that wraith was the top news of the week. However, Vanderburg's assessment of Cadeus's abilities amount to nothing more than… meh.

"He's not weak, but he does not stand out either. If anything I would say he's good at hiding his capabilities."

"So neither weak or strong then."

"It's either that, or he has talents in unconventional fields of magical studies."

"Pff."

Celes snorted at his vocabulary. She turned her posture to the other side away from Vanderburg and slept.

TOA

When the clock turns to 10:08 am, Cadeus was soon able to see glimpses of urban buildings some distance away. They were almost there.

As he landed on the ground at the edge of the forest, he halted, causing the other girls to stop behind him.

"So we've arrived. What now?" Jouna asked.

Padrela moved up beside Cadeus and spent a few moments studying the outskirts.

"Padrela. What do you think?"

"Quiet. Too quiet. I don't know whether to suspect traps or ambushes."

"Hm… Vel."

Vel instantly manifested before him.

"Survey the area before us, and let us know if you find anything particular. Search all you can, if I do not call for you, return to me in three minutes."

Vel nodded and instantly warped herself away.

As Cadeus gazed at the central tower some distance away, Padrela flashed out the tournament map from her wristband.

"Let's see… we are currently at the south west tip of Zone D. If your friends are anywhere near, they'll probably somewhere at the southern most part of Zone D, or somewhere near Zone C."

"Zone D…" Cadeus uttered.

The size of Zone D was large, rivaling that of Zone B. It's landmass alone amount to around twenty-four acres, and it's filled with buildings of various sizes, designs, and heights. The buildings themselves were a mixture of houses and urban blocks, making the use of terrain to be highly inconsistent. In fact, the entire place looks like a mess of displaced empty urban buildings, with only four large water ponds spread around inconsistently around the zone's parameter. There's only two straight streets, one near the base of the map connecting the lower quadrants of the Zone, and the last strip of road near the urban district's center that leads to the bridge connecting the zone to the central tower.

On the surface, it appears that one could easily travel from the edge of the zone to the central tower in at least an hour's time. But with all the possible fights that might happen, time seemed to feel a little tight.

"Hey Cadeus, is there a way to contact your friends or something? Meeting up with them might be a good idea." Jouna said.

Susan lips curled down with a bit of disproval at the thought, but even she could not deny that it's a good idea.

Cadeus soon pulled up his left sleeve and gazed at the remaining enchantments Sing had latched onto him.

"I don't think there's anything really. Even if there's something, I would not be able to activate it. If anything my attempts might either disrupt or dispel her enchantments."

"That's true… it would be disastrous since Pure Dark Magic would disrupt almost everything that isn't Pure Dark." Padrela added.

She gazed at the enchantments on his forearm.

"None of them are active… and it would take your White friend to activate them personally in order for them to work. I don't think she can if she does not know what you are up to, so I would not count on using them anytime soon."

"Not until we reunite." Said Cadeus as he pulled his sleeve down.

Vel, is there anything so far?

Nothing out of the ordinary Master.

Hm…

Cadeus turned to Padrela.

"Padrela, bring the map over."

Padrela quickly complied.

As Cadeus studied Zone D, trying to find the best possible way to get everyone through.

Padrela seemed to have read his thoughts, for she soon traced her right index finger across the map.

"If you intent to make a rush for the tower, taking the lower street before moving straight up to the second street is indeed the most ideal. But…"

"Others looking at this map will definitely think of the same thing."

Cadeus looked over the zone.

"Padrela, what are your thoughts about making a rush to the central tower?"

"Hm… in assuming that we do not get interrupted, we may reach there by roughly 10:50 am at least. That is… if we use Magic to amplify our travel abilities. Once we reported out names, we can get out again to secure some wins."

"Hm…"

While Cadeus spent a moment absorbing this information, Padrela turned to her companions.

"How are you two holding up?"

Jouna massaged her shoulders.

"Not too bad. Some parts of my body still ache, but the Blood Imprints should help me cast spells again."

"Well… you still do have around twenty-six [Point Spells] of your Cast Limit left. Don't squander it before we even get to reach the central tower."

"Can I just save the blood imprints for the second round?"

"You could… but if we get to bath in the central tower, you might loose them…"

"Eh? I could?! NNOOO!"

Sighing, Padrela soon turned to Susan.

"How about you?"

Susan looked at her limbs.

"I should be fine… but apart from the Blood Imprints, I can't cast any more spells. I still got around three [Point Spells] worth left."

"I see… I got about seventeen [Point Spells] worth left. it seems none of us have recovered a single point of our Cast Limit since Nora, so don't worry about it. Could you still use your vines?"

"…More or less. It does not hurt as badly as before."

"And the other Mutagens?"

Susan massaged her mutated elbow.

"I should be able to use the [Norx Potenta]."

"Hm… all right. Don't worry about saving it. If you need to use it, use it. Let me know if anything else turns up. Cadeus?"

Cadeus turned his gaze to Padrela.

"How's your Cast Limit holding up?"

"I got around twenty-one [Point Spells] worth, but the crystal shards in my pistols are a bit on the low side. I will have to switch over some point soon."

"I see… well this is not so bad."

Cadeus soon raised a question of his own.

"Just let me check. How many teams have you defeated? If we do not count Nora earlier, my team had three wins."

The three girls flushed with embarrassment and looked away.

As Cadeus tilted his head to the side with a '?', Padrela soon spoke up for the others.

"We… had zero."

"Eh?"

Cadeus blinked his eyes, but he quickly recomposed himself as he soon realized that his reaction caused the three girls to flush even redder.

" *Clears throat*. If that's the case, I'll help you three with your scoring once we reported our names."

The three girls soon looked up with renewed enthusiasm in their eyes.

"Really?" Jouna said.

"Yes."

"This is not an empty promise? You are not going to report our names and decline helping us later?"

Susan instantly jabbed Jouna's abdomen for that remark, but Cadeus knew that she was just messing around.

"I cannot speak for my friends if we get to reunite with them. But I'll help you guys out. You have my word."

Vel soon manifested before Cadeus's eyes.

"Master, the area is cleared of any set-up phenomena, but…"

But?

"Out with it."

"There are other teams that appeared out of the forest. I counted five in total so far."

"Shit." Padrela cursed.

Cadeus turned to the three girls.

"You guys head out first. I'll cover you from behind."

"Are you sure Cadeus?" Susan asked.

Cadeus tapped at his pistol handle.

"I work best at range. In this way, I can provide you guys cover."

"Come Susan, let's go. We're running out of time." Padrela said.

As the three girls started running, Cadeus turned to Vel.

"Vel. Please."

Vel instantly knew what her Master wanted. She began flushing out an enormous amount of shadowy ethereal mist from her small body, and molded her physical form into that of a cloak. As Cadeus turned his back to her, Vel rested herself onto his shoulders, allowing her Master to wear her comfortably.

Cadeus closed his eyes and took a second to synchronize his body's physical properties with Vel's ethereal attributes.

Once he had reached a comfortable sensation, Cadeus kicked off against the ground, allowing Vel to alter his weight and physical presence.

TOA

Somewhere, in the large area of Zone B, the sounds of battle already began to echo.

As a nearby explosion demolished a housing wall, a White student rolled out from within, and quickly got to his feet.

"Damn it! I was so close! Just how can sound be made to become something explosive?!"

The White student cursed. He's alone, for the bloody Darks had eliminated his companions yesterday. There were two Dark teams, and they were initially fighting each other, but when his team encountered them by chance, the two teams ceased hostilities at the very last minute and ganged up on them instead.

The White student managed to slip away, and he was banking on the possibility that his team could make a comeback once he reported his name to the central tower. That chance for a come back was so close, and yet it was so far at the same time.

As he dodged another round of Earth projectiles, he quickly traced their trajectory and thrust his five fingers out towards his target.

"[Ray – "

In the next instance, a sonic boom landed near his feet, triggered a violent explosion of sound waves.

"Gha!"

The White tried to cover his ears from the barrage of high-pitched atonal sounds, but his hands were too late. The sonic boom vibrated past his eardrums into his head, causing a mental shut down.

As the White collapsed, his tournament wristband registered a no return, and began to teleport him out of the arena.

Once she confirmed the White's disappearance, Zelestia placed her hands over her headphones, and pulled them down.

Claudis soon landed right next to her from the air, scattering some feathers from his previous physical form.

"You done?"

"Yup."

"Good. That makes nine teams for us in total."

Zelestia turned to Claudia with a surprised look on her face.

"Did you seriously just imply to me that you took down two Whites on your own in three minutes? I know we took down two teams of Whites before, but alone in three minutes?"

Claudis shrugged.

"Become a bear, and with some sloth's hair, you can defeat even the most capable Mage out here."

Zelestia's eyes sparkled.

"Are you serious? Then you must teach me how to become a bear!"

"…Please don't treat what I said that seriously. My earlier strategy may work for the other students, but please absolutely do not think it'll work on one of the adults."

A nearby explosion forced the two of them to stop their conversation. Although the fight was out of their line of vision, the two were quick to arrive on the same line of thought.

"So… do we go and check that one out?"

Claudis shook his head.

"No. Let's make a beeline for the central tower. Nine teams should be enough for a decent score."

"Do you want to make it rain again? Just in case."

Claudis shook his head.

"The concentration of Grey Magic in the air is less dense compared to the forests earlier. It'll take longer for me to set up the rain, and the duration and effectiveness will be cut by half as well."

"I see… well, let's get moving then!"

Zelestia reached for behind and took out the skateboard she had been lugging at her back since the beginning. As she placed one foot on the skateboard, she kicked her free leg, and glided herself off the building's roof.

Claudis quickly followed suit. He jumped, and instantly morphed his body into that of an eagle.

Zelestia dropped on some ledges before gliding herself safely down onto ground level. As her skateboard wheels rolled, Claudis flapped closely above her, keeping an aerial vision on their surroundings.

TOA

"…Is there really no one else present?"

"Please don't jinx it Claudia, I'd really hate to get involved with a fire fight after coming this far."

After spending the past thirty or so minutes walking down the empty streets of Zone B, Claudia and Luna could not help but be tempted to relax their guard. While it would seem that they were indeed one of the early arrivals, they could not afford to relax until they had reached the central tower.

Any team could drop down on them with a surprise attack, but with Pyron handling reconnaissance, the two girls did not need to worry about any surprises. If there were any teams within vicinity, they will either fell for Pyron's illusion spells, or they will suffer his paranormal debuffs. It's either going to be that, or the other early arrivals had the same idea of wanting to avoid any more fights.

With no one else still in sight, Claudia eventually tapped her mind into the active enchantment [Probbing Voice] and checked on Pyron.

"Pyron! Have you detected anything?"

[Nothing as of yet.]

"Do you want to take a short break?"

[No. Let's keep moving.]

Pyron was quick to cut the conversation off, but Claudia was able to brush it aside knowingly that he was very focused on his reconnaissance duties. But even so, the two girls could also sense that Pyron was very anxious to arrive at the central tower.

"Sigh… the boy is so keen on beating Sirena to the central tower. He's been at it since the tournament briefing." Luna said.

"Can't blame him, particularly since we defeated eight teams yesterday. That number must have given him quite a boost of confidence."

"Well, it's quite a good start. Not to mention, we also smacked down two of Klive's groups."

"Yeah, that honestly felt gratifying."

Claudia placed a finger on the side of her chin.

"But… that might already put us under a black mark by Klive."

"Who cares about him? If he comes at us, we'll just hit him until he drops." Luna replied mercilessly.

Claudia could not help but giggle gently. When Klive tried to hit on Luna at the start of the term, things did not go well between the two of them. But then again, the same could be said for quite a number of girls who had the misfortune of catching his attention.

"Well, I recently heard, he's going after Sirena now." Claudia said.

"Are you kidding? Wasn't it so obvious that Lord Cenyr has his sights on her? Klive is a lot more dumber than I thought."

"Shh… that's supposed to be an open secret."

Luna rolled her eyes. It's no longer a secret when everyone in class knew about it.

"I bet Sirena already knew about Lord Cenyr's interest. She's just avoiding him at this stage. In all honesty, she should just reject him out right if she does not want to date him. But she's just too afraid of the potential drama that may follow."

"Of course she's afraid. Nobody wants to be involved with bad dramas with a Progenitor. That's social suicide."

"True… but she's not helping herself either, hanging out with that Pure Dark."

"Oh yes I heard. You know… I managed to have a look at him at dinner two days ago."

"Did you now? What do you think?"

"Hm… He's seclusive, cold, and quite the introvert. He only talked to two people before retiring."

"Sounds like any typical Dark out there."

"The paranormal air around him dries up passively, and…"

"And?"

Claudia paused in thought.

"I somehow got this strange feeling that there's something off about him. For a Pure Blood, he appears to have a very unbalanced paranormal physique. But I could not help but sense a significant presence of raw corruptive power within his blood."

"Meaning to say that he has untapped potential?"

"Possibly. I'm actually quite curious to see how he'll turn out should he make it to the next round."

"Are you? Well, if he were to fight against Klive in the next round, I'll definitely be curious as well."

"And if he dosen't?"

"I'll tell you this then. If we get to fight Klive in the next round, I'll kick him in his nuts, you hit him hard on the face, and we let Pyron finish him with an uppercut. It's going to be perfect."

"…I honestly doubt it would be that easy, but the imagination is quite sating."

The two girls were just about to continue talking when Pyron's voice resonated in their heads.

[Ladies, we got something big coming up ahead. Meet me in the building coming up to your left.]

The two girls stopped talking and quickly moved. As they entered the designated building, they soon moved up to the next level and found Pyron crouching against one of the windows.

As they moved up, they entered one of Pyron's concealment barrier fields, which helped mask their paranormal presence from possible nearby students.

"So Pyron, what's the issue?"

Pyron gestured outwards with his finger, and as the two girls looked, their gaze fell upon a rather troublesome person.

"That's… not good isn't it?"

"Yeah… not good."

With that red hair and crimson custom made uniform, there's no mistaking him.

Acriscius Incendium ve Ustrina, one of the three Greater Darks participating in the Initiate Tournament. He's alone, sitting at a nearby street fountain with a teleportation start circle at his side. Frankly speaking, the trio already knew about this Greater Noble through some notorious rumours. But even so, the three of them soon found themselves dreading having to fight a Greater Noble at this stage in the game.

"Um… Can I say this for everyone that we best avoid him?" Claudia asked.

TOA

As Jouna, Susan and Padrela raced across the lower street, they soon stumbled upon two other teams in the midst of fighting each other. One of the teams had a White and two Greys, while the other had a Grey and two Whites.

The three girls soon paused in their tracks, and this prompted Jouna to turned to Padrela.

"What do we do? Do we engage?"

Before Padrela could reply, one of the Whites yelled and pointed towards them. The others soon ceased what they were doing and turned. As the nine Mages stared at each other, the opposing six instantly called for a cease-fire and proceeded to rush towards the three of them.

"What?! You've got to be kidding…" Susan said.

"It's always like this. Everyone just doesn't like us do they?" Jouna replied.

"Three Whites and three Greys…" Padrela uttered.

"So what now Padrela? What do we do?" Jouna asked.

Just as Padrela was about to say something, two volatile bolts of bluish plasma shot themselves straight from behind her. They both landed in spots within the enemy teams' ranks and instantly discharged plasma explosions.

"We play defensive and let Cadeus cover us. Jouna, you are up front. Susan, I need you to use your remaining vines to pull them in one at a time. I'll sort out the rest."

As the plasma explosion erupted spheres of static electricity, the blow knocked some of the opposing students off their feet. The impact of the blow was not as effective as Padrela thought. Of the six, two Grey students ignored the blasts and continued to charge. From the glitter of deflected electricity around their defensive barriers, Padrela soon deduced that the opposing students each must have [Layer of the Juggernaut] in effect.

"Jouna, the one of the left is yours. Susan, prepare to pull in either one on my mark. Jouna, whatever happens, don't use elemental spells."

"Righto!"

Jouna bumped her fists together and charged up to the Grey on the left.

Before the two Greys could move in onto her, a shadowy figure glided across the air towards the right side of their vision. As the six opposing students stared, the mist-like figure pulled out a pistol. Flames erupted at the pistol barrel's tip, before formulating an arrow like shape. Upon pulling the trigger, the flames shot themselves forward like a gliding bolt.

"Shit! That fellow is firing [Thermal Ballistas]! Get out of the way!"

As the four students dodged the next few [Thermal Ballistas], the Whites quickly raised their hands and casted a couple of [Ray Bolts] towards Cadeus. Multiple light rays arced across towards his location. Some missed, hitting the buildings behind him, while others managed to land a hit on his ethereal figure, only to pierce through into bricks and windows. Despite the ongoing barrage, Cadeus did not flitch. He merely focused, and slowly began to pick his targets one by one.

Meanwhile, Jouna closed in the distance between herself and her target. The Grey student before her had a set of [Rock Fists] and [Rock Feet], and two of them soon collided their clenched fists together.

"[Punch]!"

As Jouna yelled, she connected her conscious to the Blood Mark Cadeus so generously provided earlier. With a single thought, one of the marked ends soon flashed and glittered in blood red. In the next instance, Jouna soon felt the full front of Pure Dark Magic racing through her body, providing Jouna with more more paranormal reserves than she had anticipated.

With a single punch, the opposing [Rock Fist] shattered in a vacuum of corruptive space, and the consecutive wave of corruption soon dispelled her opponent's defensive barrier. Her opponent widened her eyes, and she quickly pulled back.

Just as Jouna moved in for a follow up punch, her opponent quickly reached for behind her waist and pulled out a round ellipsoid Arcane Artifact that was half the size of an American football. As the Artifact reached within a few inches of Jouna face, it twisted and twirled before generating a few sparks.

"Shit…"

Boom!

The Artifact exploded in Jouna's face, dispelling her defensive barrier, and sending her a few paces back.

As the Arcane Artifact continued to spin onto the ground, the Grey student quickly stepped in and kicked the Artifact towards Jouna. But before the Arcane Artifact could do its worst, Padrela quickly swiped out her gauntlet chains and quickly pulled Jouna back. The Arcane Artifact missed Jouna at the very last minute and shot way past her towards the other end of the street.

"Tch!"

The Grey student clicked her tongue, but before she could do anything else, Padrela quickly shout out new commands.

"Susan, pull that one in now!"

In quick response, Susan shot out her undamaged vines, and ensnared Jouna's opponent by her legs. As she quickly pulled, the Grey student yelled, prompting her partner to come into the rescue.

The other Grey quickly pulled out a set of bluish short swords that glittered with the Snell's Window effect, an obvious hint that the Arcane Artifact was imbued with properties of the Element Water.

"Sorry Jouna. Hold on tight."

"Huh? Eh? What are you – WWWHHHAAA?!"

While Jouna found herself suddenly entangled in Padrela's gauntlet chains, Padrela dug one foot back, and quickly burned one of her own Blood Marks to activated her set of [Dark Embodiment of Strength]. The sudden surge of Pure Dark Magic filled her body with a highly unusual exhilaration. As Padrela's blood boiled with a red hot sensation, she proceeded to hurled Jouna towards the Grey student with the water elemental knives.

As Jouna departed from her chains, Susan successfully pulled her target in. While she retracted her vines, Padrela quickly stepped in, burned her second Blood Mark, and slammed her gauntlet into the Grey student's abdomen.

"[Bursting Deformation]!"

The Grey student found herself being caught in another corruptive vacuum, and the concentration of Pure Dark Magic in Padrela's blood was enough for her spell to dispel all of her opponent's other active enchantments. But before she could react any further, Padrela quickly swiped her free hand over the Grey Student's forehead.

"[Mind's Agony]!"

The student's mind felt immense mental pressure, and she soon collapsed her head against the floor with a confused mind. In seizing the opportunity, Padrela quickly sent a hand to the Grey student's tournament wristband, and forcefully yanked it off.

As the student teleported out of the arena, Padrela briefly paused herself as she felt the lingering effects of Pure Dark Magic dissipating from her blood stream. While the blood marks were indeed a much-needed boost, experiencing their first-handed usage soon gave Padrela cause to reflect on the potency of Pure Blooded Magic.

Woah… So this is what it feels like to wield Pure Blooded Magic. No wonder it's highly regarded as the legendary medium. She thought.

On the other side, Jouna's back soon found itself getting slammed against the other Grey Student's torso. The collision knocked the other Grey student off his feet, causing him to stagger, fall and lose his grip on his knives.

"Ow…"

As Jouna quickly rolled to her feet, she grabbed one of the knives that fell to her side, and activated its elemental properties using what Grey Magic she had in her blood.

Before her new opponent could get back up properly on his feet, Jouna quickly slashed downwards against his defensive barrier. But before she could land a hit, the Grey Student saw her coming and quickly fell back on his buttocks. Jouna's swing missed him by a few inches, and the Grey quickly responded by casting a hasty [Bed Rock]. Jouna was immediately uprooted and thrown off away from her opponent.

While he sighed a breath of relief, the Grey student quickly got up and grabbed his remaining knife. He turned to see his companion getting teleported out of the arena. While he stared at Padrela, and Susan, he quickly came to the conclusion that fighting three Darks alone was suicidal. He turned and ran, hoping to get back to the others.

Padrela quickly resisted the lingering stinging sensation on her forearm. Having squandered three Blood marks at a fast pace, the high corruptive concentration in Cadeus's blood had retained a persistent level of activity.

Whilst rubbing her forearm, Padrela soon turned to Susan.

"Susan! We're pursuing!"

"Got it!"

After running a few steps, the Grey Student soon saw something wet coming around from behind him.

"Eh?"

Two strands of weird slimy vines wrapped itself around his defensive barrier. Susan's vines closed in for a tight envelop, but the Grey's defensive barrier prevented the vines from sealing his limbs in bondage.

"Tch!"

The Grey Student quickly raised his knife for a downward slash, but before he could swing his arm down, Padrela quickly activated her special scope and thrust her gauntlet hand out with an open palm.

"[Psyche Arrest]!"

With her special scope, the hex was casted quickly and effectively.

The Grey Student mind was soon targeted and his conscious was disrupted.

"Eh?"

Confused, the Grey student placed a hand on the side of his head and staggered, giving the two girls time to close in the distance.

Padrela was the first to get to him. She quickly placed her hand on the Grey student's defensive barrier, and dispelled it with a disruption hex.

Susan's vines moved in, sliding and tugging the student's limbs together. Padrela quickly grabbed the Grey's wristband and yanked it off, teleporting him out of the arena before Padrela's hex even wore off. That's two Greys down, with one more Greys and three more Whites left to go. Once the two girls confirmed his elimination, Padrela quickly turned to Jouna, who was still buried under the lump of earth.

Padrela quickly tapped the communicative rune over her left breast.

[Jouna. Are you still alive?]

The huge lump of earth was soon kicked to the side, and Padrela could see Jouna getting back up on her feet.

Before Padrela could say anything else, Susan quickly nudged her forearm.

"Padrela?"

"What?"

"Cadeus… what happened to him?"

As Padrela turned to look, her eyes widened in surprise as she saw Cadeus floating around in the air, hopping on building roofs with his body in a shadowy ethereal-like presence. His paranormal presence was something off the charts, and he had completely drawn the attention of the remaining four Mages.

Just what happened? How did he become something like that? Was it some ability of his? A Blood Gift?

Padrela continued to blink her eyes, but she quickly snapped out of it. With this new phenomenon, Cadeus had managed to avoid getting hit by the enemy's spells and attacks, but could he keep things like that? Padrela suspected otherwise.

"I don't know what he did. But the fact of the matter is, is that Cadeus had done a good job covering us. Now it's our turn… Jouna!"

"Coming!"

Jouna recasted her defensive barrier and was about to move over, but she soon saw that ellipsoid football Artifact some distance away from her. She quickly made a grab for it and rejoined the others.

"Jouna, we need to…"

Padrela's gaze instantly fell onto the ellipsoid Artifact in Jouna's left hand.

"You got the enemy's Arcane Artifact?"

"Yup."

Jouna brought up the elemental knife she got from the other opponent.

"And I got one knife too."

Padrela turned her attention to the other four enemy students and quickly spent the next few seconds coming up with a new plan.

"Brilliant. We'll start by creating some disruption. Listen, here's what we do…"

TOA

Three Whites and a Grey… on second thought, getting their attention like this is definitely suicidal… Cadeus thought.

As he landed on another roof, Cadeus paused as he let his knees catch a bit of a rest.

More spells came his way, but Cadeus paid no heed. Vel had long tuned his physical body to that of a semi ethereal state. Any spell or physical attack that might hit him would either pass through or be deflected. As Cadeus moved his hands and feet, they felt fuzzy, as though completely numb, and yet fully responsive at the same time. According to Master Morgan, it's a common sensation when one underwent this present phenomenon.

"Damn it! We can't hit him with Elemental spells, not even with the Element Light!"

"Why are you hitting him with Light? Is he not using the Element Darkness?"

"Oi, what about those White disruption spells you Whites are well known for?"

"Did you honestly think that I have not been using them all this time? They aren't working either!"

Cadeus raised his elemental pistol and shot a couple more plasma shots, scattering the opposing students below him.

Of all the possible things Cadeus had expected to learn under Master Morgan's guidance, [Wraith Wearing] was certainly not one of them. Cadeus smiled. He could still remember how much he was surprised when he first heard of the concept not too long ago.

"[Wraith Wearing]?"

"You heard me right boy."

Cadeus found himself looking down at Vel. What could she mean when she said [Wraith Wearing]? Should Cadeus expect to literally wear Vel? How was this going to be possible? She's not of the appropriate size!

Cadeus continued to blink his eyes, while Vel continued to nest within his embrace.

This was the fifth private lesson he's having under Master Morgan's guidance. These particular lessons were always situated in her personal office within the highest floor of the Academia Building in Tenebris Vacuum. Master Morgan's was office considerably large, but it was filled with full bookshelves, displays cases showcasing various Magical items, posh furniture, an oddly placed observatory telescope, and of course, scattered piles of documents.

Ever since he had created Vel, Master Morgan was rather strict in her new founded role as his temporary Master. She might not be consistent with lesson timings, but she's quick to reserve a slot whenever the two of them were available.

The lessons so far were pretty basic, and relatively easy for Cadeus to understand. Despite the varying rumours, Master Morgan was surprisingly a good teacher. Her present knowledge, combined with her affluent control of each lesson was both inspiring and extremely informative.

"[Wraith Wearing], as the name suggested, is the act of wearing a Wraith, but not in the conventional sense. The term can be rather misleading because one does not simply wear the wraith. Instead, the Wraith voluntarily morphs its physical form and coats its contracted Mage with its body, enabling the Mage's body to adopt some of the Wraith's physical and paranormal attributes." Master Morgan continued.

"Oh… Is that it?"

"Obviously not, boy. Stop interrupting me."

"Sorry…"

Master Morgan snapped her fingers, and Zedeweiss immediately manifested directly behind her. In the split of the second, Zedeweiss molded his physical form to that of an ethereal robe, and conscientiously enveloped Master Morgan's body without causing her any hints of discomfort. Once the Wraith was finished, Cadeus sensed a significant change to Master Morgan's paranormal presence.

He could… hardly sense her. She's there all right, but she certainly did not feel whole. Her physical body had also turned into a blurry fit, like the sort of distorted vision one experiences when looking at a mirage.

Master Morgan then took some steps towards him. She soon reached out to him with a hand.

"Try shaking my hand."

Cadeus reached out and clasped her hand… only to feel nothing.

"Eh?"

Cadeus moved his fingers around. He could not feel Master Morgan's fingers, wrist or palm.

"What are your impressions?"

"Your hand… is somewhat ethereal."

Master Morgan smiled at his correct answer. Having demonstrated the physical effects of [Wraith Wearing], she pulled back her hand and resumed her explanation.

"Now, having a body that has been paranormally altered into a semi ethereal state brings three benefits and one risk. The first benefit is that the Mage's body would be immune to most paranormal effects and physical attacks."

Cadeus was this close to dropping his lower jaw.

"Really? You can do that?"

"Why don't you see for yourself? Throw a [Fire Ball] at me."

"What?"

"You heard me correctly."

"…"

Cadeus wanted to point out the obvious setback of firing a hazardous fire spell in the middle of an office, but he eventually decided to comply. Cadeus pulled his right hand out and instantly created a ball of fire above the palm of his hand.

"[Fire Ball]!"

Cadeus launched the hostile spell towards Master Morgan. But when the spell landed on her body, it tore a hole through her ethereal body and passed by harmlessly, as though it did not hit her in the first place.

"Oh wow… ah… the [Fire Ball]…"

The [Fire Ball] would have continued to explode in the chalkboard standing behind Master Morgan. But before the damage could be dealt, Master Morgan quickly pulled her fingers out and siezed paranormal control of the [Fire Ball]'s movements.

The ball of fire soon ceased moving and soon hovered around back to Master Morgan's palm. With a snap of her fingers, the ball of fire was instantly extinguished.

While Cadeus gave a soft whistle in the midst of admiring her acute control, Master Morgan continued her explanation.

"With this body, most offensive elemental spells will inflict zero damage, and we cannot be touched by any physical weapons. However, this altered body will become more exposed to environmental phenomena. It's not necessarily a weakness, but your senses will be more affected than others. For an example, if you were to wear your wraith within the effect range of a temperature-altering phenomenon, you will be more sensitive to temperature changes."

"So… if I wraith wear into a air conditioning phenomenon, I might suddenly feel very cold when my companions would just feel a slight chill?"

"Yes. That's an accurate analogy."

"That sounds… cumbersome."

"Don't worry. If you think about it, it's actually quite a subtle payoff in exchange for having an ethereal body. Of course, you will still have to be mindful of the various paranormal shifts that will be happening around you. But when push comes to shove, your wraith would usually supply you the necessary information you need. That is, for as long as it knows about said various paranormal shifts."

"I see…"

Cadeus looked down to Vel again.

"So it's teamwork then."

"Everything we are discussing here has to do with teamwork boy. Make sure you keep that in mind."

"Yes, Master Morgan."

Cadeus suddenly thought of an implication.

"Master Morgan. If our bodies become ethereal while wearing our wraiths, does that mean we can pass-by walls?"

"We can, but I will not recommend that for beginners. Passing through solid objects… well, let's just say some intense practice would be needed for that. We'll leave that for another time."

"Practice? But shouldn't we have no issue walking through walls if our bodies are ethereal?"

"Categorically speaking, we do not become fully ethereal. We merely borrowed and blended some of the wraith's physical properties into our own physical bodies."

Cadeus somewhat got the gist of it, but he was still somewhat lost about the rest of it.

"I see…"