ACT V
THE GLORY WARS
Despite Hans being declared the winner, none from the audience who were cheering him on before even clapped. But that never mattered to him, the moment he saw Arlin. The humiliation he was forced to suffer before resurfaced in his mind. The punishment was still insufficient, and he incurred a huge debt because of that too.
He turned, ready to lunge at Arlin, carrying on the stretcher. “Easy.” Walter gripped him tight, “Where the fuck are you going, do you want to destroy everything we have built till now. It's just two matches away.”
Hans calmed down and his sight searched the audience, reading their expressions, all terrified. They wanted the tower and association beaten in the Glory Wars, but what Hans showed them was not a competition. He was upping the game every match.
“You okay now, farmboy?” Walter asked.
“Yeah, tired but okay.” Hans glanced at battered Arlin and added, “He was strong—”
“No. Do you need healing?” Walter interrupted, not eager to hear Hans’s experience as he was glancing at the boy’s burned chest, “That must be painful—”
“What?” Hans looked down, his bare skin covered with dried blood, sweat and mud. “Agh..” He grunted as the rush of battle calmed down, and he started feeling the prickly pain, “Shit, it hurts.”
“Let's get you patched up.” Walter responded with concern, “You can still fight the next battle, right? You have to face Chris after little Wonter’s match.”
“Agh… I’ll be fine”
Meanwhile, as they were returning to Concordia’s corner, Chris blown away by one surprise over another, asked Delimira, “He is not just a foster son of a dominion knight, right Deli?”
“I don’t know what are you talking—”
“Do you take me for a fool?”
“Yes. You should remain a fool.”
Chris looked at her baffled, continuing, “That red thing, his amount of mana, the Parvians agreeing to give their loot to us without asking anything in return.” He lashed out, continuing, “Back when Arat found us, he backed down just because of Hans’s interference. The Sad death interrupting. He is an Imperial from Parv, isn’t he?”
“Yes, your father killed his and aided in the Parv’s demise. Now satisfied?” Delimira curtly responded, “You couldn’t just remain ignorant can you—”
“Then, how is he okay with me…” Chris mumbled, “No he must be laughing at me…ready to off me on any opportunity—”
Delimra interrupted, looking straight into Chris’s eyes, “Can’t believe Im defending that moron.” She sighed, continuing, “You still do not know him, do you?”
“What?”
“Don’t you remember his words when he stopped Arat — Sins are not inherited. That was his father’s words and he had enforced them into his mentality.”
“Delimira winters.” Her name was announced, and she asked to make her way to the arena. She crossed her path with Hans in the middle. “Don’t lose” Hans whispered and got a quick Delimira-like reply, “I still have to punch you seventeen times”
Hans stopped, baffled, “Which bastard was counting…oh, great grandfather, you are making your descendant’s life miserable. Can’t you keep things to yourself?” Sighing, he climbed the stairs, reached their platform and saw Chirs with a mixture of emotions, “Now, What is biting your ass? Scared to face me… Haan..” Hans nudged him as usual, but Chris remained silent so he encouraged him, “Oh come on brother, may the best one win, right?”
Still not getting a response from his friend he turned to Walter for help, and their esteemed professor had one response for the boy, “Get your ass patched up, farmboy.”
“Yes, sir.” Hans went on jumping in a cheery mood to their designated healer. They couldn’t use Sierra, but the people organiser had provided it, just to not give any unfavourable advantages to specific people like them.
“Guernier from Knight Association, grade 30 lightning Knight” Guernier shouted, introducing himself and attracting the chattering people’s attention. Even Hans had his head raised to look at what was happening. “Delimira Winters and it is enough. Let’s start.”
Both Examiner and Guernier were baffled, “Can’t you do better—”
“I don’t talk to cowards.” She taunted Guernier, reminding him how underhanded they fought in Heat Riddance, “That was not my doing.” He defended.
“Whine all you want. To me, you are nothing but a COWARD.”
“Oh, she is rilling him up,” Hans commented, dragging his healer to the platform, for a broader view. “You are done?” Walter asked, but Hans was excited to see someone else on the other side receiving Delimira’s trash talk for a change. “He must be fuming.” He giggled. And as he expected, Guernier unsheathed his two-handed sword, pointing at Delimira, “I’ll make you take those words back—”
“That won’t work unless you show what you keep deep in your pants, sir knight.”
“Wha..what?”
“Dipesllium, idiot. Geez.. you are not just a coward, but a moron too.” She remarked, her channelling of mana complete. “We have talked enough, Mr moron. Didn’t your teachers teach you, A prepared mage is a dangerous thing to talk to?”
The mana in the air increased, the quad-colour strands spiralling around Delimira, and entering her heart. She said staring right at Guernier’s eyes, “I was holding myself back. Since it was a prerequisite to have no more than two circles before participation. But it doesn’t matter if I reach that stage during battle, right?”
The third circle formed in her heart, giving her a brand new mana capacity and output, “Finally I can use bigger spells.” She said forming numerous spell circles in the air, all aiming for Guernier. Surprised like everyone, Guernier was preparing himself for a slash attack that shook the Judgement barrier, but what he was facing now was a third circle Mage.
“You are mainly a water mage,” Guernier said, calculating, “Draw your sword and show me the sword mage. I have the lightning attribute, you are inherently weaker—”
“Let's change that, shall we.” Delimira focused, her eyes glinting blue, “You are just a grade 30. I practised with a warlord of the same element. And he taught me a nifty trick to beat greenhorns like you.”
GurgesDomitor
The air turned heavy, filled with moisture, swirling around Delimira as the centre. It quickly picked speed, forming a whirlpool as big as the arena. Encasing Guernier and her within. Her newfound mana output was shining brightly, showcasing the power of her third circle and was shrinking every moment.
“Surrounding yourself with water, facing a lightning-type knight.” Guernier quipped, “What a genius move—”
“I’m not in the water you are.” Delimira pointed out, commanding the spell to sweep Guernier away.
“Do you think, I’ll wait for it” Guernier commented ready to launch himself with his ThuderRush skill.”
WindShield
Delimira cast another spell quickly, rotating wind, forming a sphere around her. Shielding and separating her from the closing water of the whirlpool.
“Do you think, your flimsy shield can take my attack” Guernier, almost reaching Delimira shouted.
“It's not for you Coward. It's for the water.” She pointed past him. The torrents suddenly appeared beside him. Like she was intentionally slowing down its shrinking progress, just to let him guard down. “Shit!!” he shouted as the water brought him to an unending joy ride, circling him around the arena several times and finally slamming him into the ground. Meanwhile, due to WindShield rotating at the same speed as the whirlpool, Delimira remained dry.
“Haa…ha…!” Guernier stood, on guard, gasping. “So you planned to drench me. Do you think I’ll receive a backlash from using lightning” Summoining his aura from within he reactivated ThunderRush. “Zapp… agh” he grunted, dropping to his knees as he staggered. “What the—”
WindBullets
“Shut! Shut!” Two fast-paced wind spells struck him, one on his leg that was helping the kneeling one to stand, while another delivered a sucker punch right through the gut.
“It seems to me, you are receiving the backlash, coward,” Delimira taunted, staring at the whimpering knight. She recalled Rudolf’s words, Increase the conductance in water. So much that even the self-tolerance of elements render useless for young mage or knight. He’ll zap himself if he uses any lightning attribute. But you can’t form that kind of water unless you reach the third circle kiddo.
She asked this method specifically to handle Chris, but who knew she would face another knight with the same attribute? “That’s why I stepped up one circle, Dean Rudolf.” She answered looking at Rudolf among the audience who was grinning back with pride.
“Why? How?” Guernier asked, deflecting two more wind bullets and zapping himself again.
“You wanna know, coward.” She pointed at the ground, “Another idiot just enriched this land with hundreds of mana stones. It helped me increase mana conductivity. So does the lighting in water.”
“And you call me a coward.” Guernier mocked, filling himself with aura and showing persistence, taking in all the backlash. “This is nothing.” He shouted, activating his other skill.
Skill: Thunderstorm
Aura surged from his very core, erupting outward in the form of a raging tempest. This ethereal storm expanded rapidly, a maelstrom of crackling energy striking himself and the ground alike. But it seems that ground was eating up his skill like a hungry beast.
“Tsk,” he clicked his tongue and retorted, “You rigged the ground as well—”
“I told you, a prepared mage is a very dangerous thing. Water being my weakness is turned yours.” Delimira showing her cunningness, cast another spell.
HydroKinesis
Taking the water from the highly concentrated place on the ground, she constructed several spears, all floating around her, aiming for Guernier. “Swoosh! Swoosh!” One after another they launched, cornering Guernier and forcing him to move as Delimira wanted. Out of tens of spears, she only remained three, but all three hit the mark as she had planned.
“Zapp! Zapp! Zapp!” The speed he was so proud of was reduced to half all due to regularly shocking himself, and now the three water spears hitting him increased the shock he was enduring. But that was not all, Hydrokinesis was a water manipulation spell of advanced level, where the caster still had control over the water after it hit.
Transforming into several small snakes, the water slithered, housing themselves in every place they could find in Guernier’s body, his mouth, nose, inside the clothes, even entering his ears and nether regions.
“Get away from me,” Guernier shouted, using the aura to burst and evaporate the HydroKinesis water, and whatever was drenching him. “I’m done taking you lightly, so you should too—” His words still hung in his mouth as he saw something unbelievable happening.
***
AnnouncementNEXT : DAMSEL VS KNIGHT (2)
ACT V
THE GLORY WARS
Despite Hans being declared the winner, none from the audience who were cheering him on before even clapped. But that never mattered to him, the moment he saw Arlin. The humiliation he was forced to suffer before resurfaced in his mind. The punishment was still insufficient, and he incurred a huge debt because of that too.
He turned, ready to lunge at Arlin, carrying on the stretcher. “Easy.” Walter gripped him tight, “Where the fuck are you going, do you want to destroy everything we have built till now. It's just two matches away.”
Hans calmed down and his sight searched the audience, reading their expressions, all terrified. They wanted the tower and association beaten in the Glory Wars, but what Hans showed them was not a competition. He was upping the game every match.
“You okay now, farmboy?” Walter asked.
“Yeah, tired but okay.” Hans glanced at battered Arlin and added, “He was strong—”
“No. Do you need healing?” Walter interrupted, not eager to hear Hans’s experience as he was glancing at the boy’s burned chest, “That must be painful—”
“What?” Hans looked down, his bare skin covered with dried blood, sweat and mud. “Agh..” He grunted as the rush of battle calmed down, and he started feeling the prickly pain, “Shit, it hurts.”
“Let's get you patched up.” Walter responded with concern, “You can still fight the next battle, right? You have to face Chris after little Wonter’s match.”
“Agh… I’ll be fine”
Meanwhile, as they were returning to Concordia’s corner, Chris blown away by one surprise over another, asked Delimira, “He is not just a foster son of a dominion knight, right Deli?”
“I don’t know what are you talking—”
“Do you take me for a fool?”
“Yes. You should remain a fool.”
Chris looked at her baffled, continuing, “That red thing, his amount of mana, the Parvians agreeing to give their loot to us without asking anything in return.” He lashed out, continuing, “Back when Arat found us, he backed down just because of Hans’s interference. The Sad death interrupting. He is an Imperial from Parv, isn’t he?”
“Yes, your father killed his and aided in the Parv’s demise. Now satisfied?” Delimira curtly responded, “You couldn’t just remain ignorant can you—”
“Then, how is he okay with me…” Chris mumbled, “No he must be laughing at me…ready to off me on any opportunity—”
Delimra interrupted, looking straight into Chris’s eyes, “Can’t believe Im defending that moron.” She sighed, continuing, “You still do not know him, do you?”
“What?”
“Don’t you remember his words when he stopped Arat — Sins are not inherited. That was his father’s words and he had enforced them into his mentality.”
“Delimira winters.” Her name was announced, and she asked to make her way to the arena. She crossed her path with Hans in the middle. “Don’t lose” Hans whispered and got a quick Delimira-like reply, “I still have to punch you seventeen times”
Hans stopped, baffled, “Which bastard was counting…oh, great grandfather, you are making your descendant’s life miserable. Can’t you keep things to yourself?” Sighing, he climbed the stairs, reached their platform and saw Chirs with a mixture of emotions, “Now, What is biting your ass? Scared to face me… Haan..” Hans nudged him as usual, but Chris remained silent so he encouraged him, “Oh come on brother, may the best one win, right?”
Still not getting a response from his friend he turned to Walter for help, and their esteemed professor had one response for the boy, “Get your ass patched up, farmboy.”
“Yes, sir.” Hans went on jumping in a cheery mood to their designated healer. They couldn’t use Sierra, but the people organiser had provided it, just to not give any unfavourable advantages to specific people like them.
“Guernier from Knight Association, grade 30 lightning Knight” Guernier shouted, introducing himself and attracting the chattering people’s attention. Even Hans had his head raised to look at what was happening. “Delimira Winters and it is enough. Let’s start.”
Both Examiner and Guernier were baffled, “Can’t you do better—”
“I don’t talk to cowards.” She taunted Guernier, reminding him how underhanded they fought in Heat Riddance, “That was not my doing.” He defended.
“Whine all you want. To me, you are nothing but a COWARD.”
“Oh, she is rilling him up,” Hans commented, dragging his healer to the platform, for a broader view. “You are done?” Walter asked, but Hans was excited to see someone else on the other side receiving Delimira’s trash talk for a change. “He must be fuming.” He giggled. And as he expected, Guernier unsheathed his two-handed sword, pointing at Delimira, “I’ll make you take those words back—”
“That won’t work unless you show what you keep deep in your pants, sir knight.”
“Wha..what?”
“Dipesllium, idiot. Geez.. you are not just a coward, but a moron too.” She remarked, her channelling of mana complete. “We have talked enough, Mr moron. Didn’t your teachers teach you, A prepared mage is a dangerous thing to talk to?”
The mana in the air increased, the quad-colour strands spiralling around Delimira, and entering her heart. She said staring right at Guernier’s eyes, “I was holding myself back. Since it was a prerequisite to have no more than two circles before participation. But it doesn’t matter if I reach that stage during battle, right?”
The third circle formed in her heart, giving her a brand new mana capacity and output, “Finally I can use bigger spells.” She said forming numerous spell circles in the air, all aiming for Guernier. Surprised like everyone, Guernier was preparing himself for a slash attack that shook the Judgement barrier, but what he was facing now was a third circle Mage.
“You are mainly a water mage,” Guernier said, calculating, “Draw your sword and show me the sword mage. I have the lightning attribute, you are inherently weaker—”
“Let's change that, shall we.” Delimira focused, her eyes glinting blue, “You are just a grade 30. I practised with a warlord of the same element. And he taught me a nifty trick to beat greenhorns like you.”
GurgesDomitor
The air turned heavy, filled with moisture, swirling around Delimira as the centre. It quickly picked speed, forming a whirlpool as big as the arena. Encasing Guernier and her within. Her newfound mana output was shining brightly, showcasing the power of her third circle and was shrinking every moment.
“Surrounding yourself with water, facing a lightning-type knight.” Guernier quipped, “What a genius move—”
“I’m not in the water you are.” Delimira pointed out, commanding the spell to sweep Guernier away.
“Do you think, I’ll wait for it” Guernier commented ready to launch himself with his ThuderRush skill.”
WindShield
Delimira cast another spell quickly, rotating wind, forming a sphere around her. Shielding and separating her from the closing water of the whirlpool.
“Do you think, your flimsy shield can take my attack” Guernier, almost reaching Delimira shouted.
“It's not for you Coward. It's for the water.” She pointed past him. The torrents suddenly appeared beside him. Like she was intentionally slowing down its shrinking progress, just to let him guard down. “Shit!!” he shouted as the water brought him to an unending joy ride, circling him around the arena several times and finally slamming him into the ground. Meanwhile, due to WindShield rotating at the same speed as the whirlpool, Delimira remained dry.
“Haa…ha…!” Guernier stood, on guard, gasping. “So you planned to drench me. Do you think I’ll receive a backlash from using lightning” Summoining his aura from within he reactivated ThunderRush. “Zapp… agh” he grunted, dropping to his knees as he staggered. “What the—”
WindBullets
“Shut! Shut!” Two fast-paced wind spells struck him, one on his leg that was helping the kneeling one to stand, while another delivered a sucker punch right through the gut.
“It seems to me, you are receiving the backlash, coward,” Delimira taunted, staring at the whimpering knight. She recalled Rudolf’s words, Increase the conductance in water. So much that even the self-tolerance of elements render useless for young mage or knight. He’ll zap himself if he uses any lightning attribute. But you can’t form that kind of water unless you reach the third circle kiddo.
She asked this method specifically to handle Chris, but who knew she would face another knight with the same attribute? “That’s why I stepped up one circle, Dean Rudolf.” She answered looking at Rudolf among the audience who was grinning back with pride.
“Why? How?” Guernier asked, deflecting two more wind bullets and zapping himself again.
“You wanna know, coward.” She pointed at the ground, “Another idiot just enriched this land with hundreds of mana stones. It helped me increase mana conductivity. So does the lighting in water.”
“And you call me a coward.” Guernier mocked, filling himself with aura and showing persistence, taking in all the backlash. “This is nothing.” He shouted, activating his other skill.
Skill: Thunderstorm
Aura surged from his very core, erupting outward in the form of a raging tempest. This ethereal storm expanded rapidly, a maelstrom of crackling energy striking himself and the ground alike. But it seems that ground was eating up his skill like a hungry beast.
“Tsk,” he clicked his tongue and retorted, “You rigged the ground as well—”
“I told you, a prepared mage is a very dangerous thing. Water being my weakness is turned yours.” Delimira showing her cunningness, cast another spell.
HydroKinesis
Taking the water from the highly concentrated place on the ground, she constructed several spears, all floating around her, aiming for Guernier. “Swoosh! Swoosh!” One after another they launched, cornering Guernier and forcing him to move as Delimira wanted. Out of tens of spears, she only remained three, but all three hit the mark as she had planned.
“Zapp! Zapp! Zapp!” The speed he was so proud of was reduced to half all due to regularly shocking himself, and now the three water spears hitting him increased the shock he was enduring. But that was not all, Hydrokinesis was a water manipulation spell of advanced level, where the caster still had control over the water after it hit.
Transforming into several small snakes, the water slithered, housing themselves in every place they could find in Guernier’s body, his mouth, nose, inside the clothes, even entering his ears and nether regions.
“Get away from me,” Guernier shouted, using the aura to burst and evaporate the HydroKinesis water, and whatever was drenching him. “I’m done taking you lightly, so you should too—” His words still hung in his mouth as he saw something unbelievable happening.
***
AnnouncementNEXT : DAMSEL VS KNIGHT (2)
