Alchemy In Battle

Jien kept a neutral expression as he made his way over to Lesley to shake his hand, letting him know that he felt it was a good match and that he looked forward to rematches in the future. This was both Jien being honest but also being cordial. The purpose of this entire event was to build relations with the other noble children and he had the duty to do so. As this was his first loss he wanted to ensure that everyone understood that he was not one to hold grudges regarding such small things.

This match had actually proven quite the learning experience and he was already dissecting what he could as he made his way to where the others were seated once again. His body ached more than it had before, his joints were creaking more than ever and his mana reserves were definitely on the low side compared to before. His next matches would be a lot harder but he would give it his full effort even if he would fail.

These matches were nothing like those against his mentors. It was now that he realized just how much they had been holding back when training him. Of course he knew that they were holding back, the training was harsh and always pushed him to his limits but they didn't actively try to strike him down. This was the difference between training and real battle experience and it proved that he was still very wet behind the ears when it came to real fights. He may be alright at strategizing on the fly, but if he couldn't execute on his plans then it was worthless.

His first fight had taught him that he was overestimating what magic could do for him. He had won sure, but the cost was that he had burned a significant amount of his mana to end the fight earlier than it had to. Not only that but his use of spells had put an unnecessary burden on his body. He felt that it was a good move at the time to perhaps strike a nerve by acquiring a quick victory and stunning his opponents. This may have been decent if used from a military shock and awe style tactic and the victory was taking out many enemy soldiers but he was facing opponents in one on one matches and he quickly realized that while impressed the others didn't appear fazed by his accomplishment as he had hoped.

The second fight had proven that he lacked experience against long distance fighters. Emily and Mark had been spending so much time shoring up his close combat skills that they had nearly forgotten about this. Now it was firmly in their minds that they would be training him hard in this area after this celebration. Not only had Jien not understood how to handle a long distance fighter he had also accidentally lead to his own loss by mistiming the use of the paralytic. If he had managed to dodge the arrow and then use the paralytic to stop his opponent from drawing back another then victory would have been possible but he had wasted quite a bit of mana on a failed smokescreen strategy and then been the reason the arrow had nearly struck him in the first place.

Now there were going to be a few matches before his next one but that time would hardly account for what was needed to recuperate any substantial amount of mana, let alone allow his body to rest. As predicted the fights flew by in a matter of about a half hour at most. Most of the children were beginning to show some fatigue but all of them had been fighting fairly reservedly so they were in much better condition than Jien on the whole. Out of all of them Barret was doing the best given his stealth like capabilities and that he did not particularly exert himself to win his match.

Soon it was back to Jien, his opponent this time being Olivia the tanned young lady who used twin short swords. Before they stood up for their match however Jien reached to his side, opening the pouch containing several phials of colorful liquid. Jien had rested this entire time but he was far from his peak and knew that he would need something to help him if he wanted to be able to compete in these last rounds.

Without even looking at which phial he was grabbing he pulled one with a murky brown liquid in it from the pouch. He then opened it and put the opening beneath his nose, inhaling deeply the rather acrid scent that wafted from the liquid. The scent was rather horrible, something akin to burning hair and licorice but as soon as he inhaled it his senses seemed to reach their peak once more. He felt more awake than he did after having a full nights sleep. Of course this would only be temporary, and unfortunately could not be used again with the same level of effect for an entire day.

The purpose of this first concoction was simply to impact the senses so strongly that it would cause a temporary rush of adrenaline. It was not that useful in many situations because when it would wear off it would be the same as any adrenaline rush, leaving you even more exhausted. This however was at least partially mitigated by the second phial he removed from the pouch. The liquid in this container was an irritatingly red viscous liquid.

Jien knowing exactly what he was about to drink grimaced slightly but still chugged the contents of the phial quickly. The first thing that he noticed upon it entering his mouth was the texture. It was like a combination curdled milk and melted rubber, making him nearly gag and through the concoction back up. Luckily he restrained himself from doing so, much to his own benefit because it would be quite a bit worse in the opposite direction. He knew this because once it had entered his stomach the taste hit him. The only way he could describe it was eating burning coal. It had so much heat that it did not even have a flavor that he could discern.

The upside of the potion was that that burning sensation soon decreased as it spread through his body layering his worn muscles, relaxing them to a degree but also invigorating them. The heat of the mixture had caused his face to turn so red that one would imagine that steam was about to pour out of his ears but he felt much better than he had moments prior. His tense muscles felt relaxed and flexible, his fatigue at least partially washed away. He was ready to give his best once again.