The First Game, The First Night (5)

The trio descended down stairs once more, this time it was a spiral stairwell heading down with lights to guide the path from time to time. Down they went with muted anticipation as they wondered what could possibly be contained within, and soon, they had their answer.

The stairwell ended in its descent, exiting into a large expansive man-made cavern once more. The room was dark, but a large lever on the wall was easily seen and pulled allowing all to see what secrets lay within.

"This is exactly what I require, perfect" said Cyrus, with the slightest hint of happiness contained in his voice.

The cavern was split into two sections, one section taking up around 40% of the room with the other taking 50% and the last being the empty corridor between the two. The smaller part was a row of currently empty prison cells. These cells were not ordinary as the bars were thicker than one might expect and there was two layers to each cell if one wished to enter or exit, perhaps to stop one from escaping so easily. Within each cell was a simple stone bed attached to the wall and a hole for relieving oneself. If one were to crane their necks up, however, they would see a large covered opening in the ceiling of which the purpose of was unknown. The entire prison area itself was separated from the rest of the cavern by a large wall with the center being see-through tinted glass of a dark color.

The second area, the larger of the two, was split into three sections on its own of which each's purpose was unknown to the untrained eye…but Cyrus was different as he had envisioned having such a structure in his possession for a long time now.

"How do you know what it is already, we have not even gone in yet" mumbled Imran as he walked past Cyrus to open one of the doors. Doors might be an understatement, as they were extremely large and heavy looking metal behemoths that required a giant wheel to be turned to slowly open it. As he turned the wheel, eventually it opened revealing what was inside to everyone.

���This… this must cost a fortune! Ah… if only we could sell this" exclaimed Imran in shock, followed by disappointment.

"I would never sell this ,fool… the amount of progress I can make with this gift… Hahaha, if I had found out this existed for being a high rank before earning one myself I would have killed one of them to get this" said Cyrus, his excitement now visible to all.

Peering into the room and turning on the lighting within, one would be greeted by a metallic shine every which way they looked. Sleek metal tops resting on thick slabs of much the same, with various instruments of research either embedded on the tables or resting on top. A pipeline leading to an enclosed box for heating or chilling something to whichever degree you require, an array of magnifying devices to allow one to see closer than ever possible before, a variety of bottles all shapes and sizes all with the most advanced re-sealing capabilities, the finest mortar and pestles money can buy, a ventilation chamber for dealing with toxic materials, and even a large furnace for whatever one could imagine.

"A mages dream" noted Minerva, looking at the unending tools of which to dissect the world around them.

Imran left the room for a moment before entering once more saying,

"The two other rooms are much the same, all of them custom research laboratories with the same set up and tools contained within. All that is lacking are various raw materials…and I guess things which to fill those prisons" said Imran, ending with a slight shiver at the true purpose of the cells.

"This is truly something worth fighting for. I am in awe of the mind behind Glacies, the entire set up this year around is almost the picture of perfection. Making use of human emotion to manipulate the student base into a fiery rage of hard work, enticing people with benefits and honor to aim for the top, and even allowing a select few immense benefits in order to keep even the elite on their toes" said Cyrus.

"It is an Archmage after all. The Glacies in Glacies Academy is the family name of this region's current leader of the arcane, Archmage Glacies. No one would ever reach the pinnacle of magic without having a good head on their shoulders after all" revealed Minerva.

"Oh I forgot about that. I think I may have read that in a report somewhere at one time, but I was not too interested in the magical side of my business so I let it slip from memory" said Imran.

Talking while exiting the room and closing the door, Cyrus said

"I never had the time to learn the name of this region's top power, but it makes sense now in retrospect. If anyone were to drastically change a system like the Academy in one large act and so do so with such perfection, an Archmage would definitely be on the list of capable individuals."

He then began walking towards the wall opposite the original entryway and went down the last unknown area, a small arched hallway.

"Come" said Cyrus, guessing the purpose of this last area.

The two followed along and soon all three began to understand the function of the last area. What greeted their eyes as the lighting was activated was an open area that looked similar to a training ground of sorts. There were two spots across from one another that marked where one would stand at the start, as well as two long benches for spectators on one end or the other. The area itself was sealed behind yet another wall with a window running its length, and a metallic door that allowed entry or exit.

Cyrus walked up to the door, reading the instructions engraved on a plaque next to the door, and said with a devious smirk

"Perfect for solving a small problem"

The two were confused upon hearing that, but as Cyrus' odd behavior was nothing too unusual they shrugged it off while following him in to hear the rest of his explanation. First was Minerva, who on with a trained eye could see that she was interested in the training field, then by Imran who could care less about something that did not ignite his passion.

As he tried to follow through the door, however, the metal door slammed shut right in front of him. Surprised, he tried to open the door but to no avail as he soon found it was locked from the inside. He read the plaque that Cyrus had read and saw that the room was both a training area and a dueling room… He ran to the window and looked through it to see what was happening within, seeing the two standing apart from one another with Cyrus having his back facing Imran. He raised his hand to his face in slow order, perhaps while talking to Minerva, shuddering ever so slightly. Drawing his blade, much to Imran's fright, he takes a stance and steps toward Minerva who draws her blade in response. With an inaudible clash of blades, the two's fight began.

"He… he could not have feel threatened by someone so similar to him and thus decided to eliminate the threat…could he??" mumbled Imran aloud as he witness the battle between the two, of which could not be seen as anything other than a life or death struggle between two fighters to his eyes.

In his panic he tried to tunnel under the door, as they were underground and he was in control of the Terra domain, but this failed spectacularly as various runes of unknown purpose flickered into existence the moment he tried preventing him from even tweaking the slightest of the essence found within the ground around him. The same was for the walls as well and he did not even possess a fraction of the strength required to force the door open or the wall down…all he could do was watch in rapt attention as panic overtook him robbing him of any further rational thought or action.