Something rumbled within him. It was an uncomfortable anxiety of being watched by hundreds of strangers. The audience wasn't technically around him since Cosmatral Tlod was a separate plane from Cosmatral Naturale as proven from the stone steps earlier. Yet, Katachi tensed up a little bit at the thought of being observed by at least a hundred pairs of eyes.
C: "So, I heard that you're the student that flew through the sky and snatched the token."
He remembered that name. Sporting dark blue hair and a uniform far classier than his, with white fingerless gloves on his hands and a standard wooden sword of 80cm provided by the academy, Katachi remembered that student's name clearly. He remembered it so lucidly that he hoped to avoid fighting him if possible – He was the finalist in last year's tournament, after all.
K: "You're Cillian de Vorsche, are you not?"
C: "Yes. I am. It's great that the divisional shuffling put us against each other this early on."
The cold affirmation of his status only served to increase Katachi's guard and nervousness. Katachi subconsciously despised his decision to nominate him as the winner for the bet with that strange student from the other division, a possible omen to the event today.
K: (I have no idea what techniques he uses, or how he attacks. The best solution would be running around and dodging his attacks until I get a good feel for them.) "You're quite the opponent to have for my first match."
C: "So it must seem to you. Am I really that renowned? I didn't think I would reach the new students this soon."
Someone was certainly ecstatic.
K: "It's an honor fighting you."
C: "The pleasure is mine, but will your skills sustain it?"
Cillian raised his wooden dueling sword and ran the blade across his free left palm. With legs spread wide apart he stood firm in a stance Katachi didn't recognize. The child drew his wooden dagger and entered a more suitable stance as well.
*** ***
C: (A dagger?)
Cillian was honestly surprised. A dagger in a competition between magi was strange indeed. In most legends and tales which involved a dagger, there were often cosmetics and additional parts on the dagger that made it ceremonial.
Since the daggers in the competition were pitifully plain waster daggers with a simplistic hilt and blade it could only mean that the weapon was to be used as it was originally intended. Even so, that was a strange choice for a magus. Why would he use a weapon that required him to get into a range where he could be killed off easily?
Not to mention, most magi were physically frail unless they were trained hybrids like Cillian so they shouldn't be able to execute tricky or advanced attacks like the knights or champions would. Even if that were the case, the child looked unusually frail. So, perhaps it was to be used as a spellblade that increased the range of his attacks deceptively?
C: (Maybe it's best not to brood over it. Worse comes to worst I'd be hit hard by a surprise attack or something. The more on guard I am, the stronger I reinforce the image of a frightening foe. Focus.)
Without hesitation, Cillian readied his guard and stepped forward.
*** ***
The match proceeded for a full minute fruitlessly. There was no real development between the Ohdean constantly retreating along with the Rugnud warrior pursuing the talentless child around.
Naturally, since the tournament was supposed to focus on the individual students' understanding of magic, that skirmish was starting to become a yawn. It certainly didn't help that both Cillian de Vorsche who did little even with his magic, and Katachi who was not fast enough to cast any spells of sorts were incredibly boring to watch.
C: "... I don't like this. You're not doing anything besides dodging."
He deliberately threw off his footwork at times to prevent the unnoticed casting of potential spells, but that only allowed Katachi to run further to stall the match that should have ended as soon as it began. Cillian leaped back after dashing in for yet another fruitless strike against the ever-defensive foe.
C: (He's just retracting like a turtle of sorts. Maybe he's not as good as I gave him credit for.) "I want you to fight me at your fullest, but you're holding back. Are you so naive to think that you could beat me without using magic at all? Or are you trying to disrespect me by deliberately doing it?"
With that, Cillian held his free left hand over the blade portion of his sword.
C: "Or perhaps you are the type to go all-out only after your opponent has?"
With a simple motion of running his hand along its fuller, the blade portion of his sword released an uncomfortable light. It was a magic Katachi recognized, but knowledge was only half the battle won.
K: (The Vorsche family is known to for a transcendent magic known as Bringer of Dawn. It began with Tarren de Vorsche using magic to lead the lost sheep back to him in the darkness of night. The light was so lucent and glaring that the villagers were roused so he was heavily criticized for it.)
Unfortunately for Katachi, the very nature of supportive spells gave him little room to act on its potential weaknesses.
K: (One of the descendants, Bryne de Vorsche used it in actual combat to blind his opponent, and since then it's been revered as a situational support magic. There's nothing for me to pry apart, though. It's not like I can make him believe that he is incapable of using the magic, especially considering his heritage. I can't do anything about this.)
The light was glaring enough for people to shield their eyes from the source and still be partially blinded. It was emanating with such intensity that merely looking at an object reflecting its light would hurt one's eyes much like the sun itself. Cillian himself did not seem to be affected by the magic at all, but he was either immune to its effects or accustomed to the glare from the swords being pointed at him by his own family.
The knight was never really liked for that form of magic. Stunning as it may be, the spectators barely if at all got the chance to see Cillian fighting his opponent because of the blinding brilliance. As a result of the magic's nature, it was quite a mockery to the other students who saw little potential in its utility.
K: (I wish he would teach me how to use Bringer of Dawn, but that does not seem likely. Utility magic is harder to counter compared to offensive magic so I would like to learn it if he's keen on teaching.)
With his opponent blinded Cillian walked towards Katachi slowly, raising the sword above his head primed and ready to cut it down. Yet the child did not frown.
K: (But that is exactly why it will be undone.) "... Perfect."
The first word he spoke in two minutes and he was completely unfazed.
*** ***
K: (恒定. Constant status – Wooden sword. 固定. Fixate object in space – Wooden sword.)
Two golden sigils that formed 定 surfaced on the blade of the tool. Katachi took advantage of its radiance to disguise his 定 so that nobody could see them placed on the waster sword. He blindly rushed forward and swung his dagger wildly. The dazzling light placed him at a disadvantage, but if he couldn't determine where the enemy was or at least get the light behind him without showing his back it was going to end much worse.
In response to his sudden aggression, Cillian tried to jump away to distance himself safely. But he realized the trick a moment too late; his sword could not be moved at all. Cillian loosened his grip and leaped back to see the sword hanging in mid-air. By then, Katachi had already reached a position where the sword was behind him.
The brilliance meant little to something he wasn't looking at directly... Even though the eye-searing radiance was the linchpin to the success in his strategy. Katachi opened his eyes and assessed the scene before him with care.
The senior's uniform seemed so much cleaner compared to his own – Katachi tumbled over and rolled across the sand repeatedly to avoid some of the knight's riskier attacks so his uniform was stained with countless grains of beige on his sleeves and back.
Cillian merely needed to advance and retreat on his two feet as a proper knight ought to. When comparing their uniforms his was definitely much dirtier and sandier. But was it really the time to concern himself with something so trivial? Cillian's weapon was behind him, and Katachi now strategically stood between him and his weapon. This was a great opportunity to counter-attack.
Yet there were still risks present. Winning the battle meant little if the war was lost. For example, if the weapon was not meant to glow when it left Cillian's hand then the foul play would be obvious from the moment Katachi removed the weapon from his grasp. He didn't know enough about Bryne de Vorsche's history to determine if he had once dropped or thrown his sword to blind his opponent from a distance.
There was also the issue with positioning. If Cillian could circumvent his strikes and make Katachi turn around to face the glowing sword, the advantage would be lost. To that end Katachi considered going for horizontal and diagonal slashes that promoted Cillian to duck sideways, limiting his ability to reposition.
C: "... Not bad."
Cillian's face didn't show an expression of shock, but rather one of admiration and respect that he was ensnared in his enemy's trap. From his expression, it seemed as though the sword was able to glow even when there was no body contact, which brought him slight relief.
Yet there's bound to be a time limit as to how long it remained glowing, and every second ticking away brought his Word of Power closer and closer to being revealed. Every moment he spared was every moment Cillian came closer to realizing the flaws in the hasty plan.
K: (It can't go on any longer than this. I have to end it now.)
Katachi gripped his dagger tight and slashed at Cillian aggressively. Swipe. Swipe. Swipe. Stab. Swipe. Swipe. Backhand. Swipe. Katachi unleashed a torrent of blows against the defenseless Cillian who could only dodge backwards without his weapon by his side.
Despite being superior in close combat Cillian had yet to recover from the shock enough to take the initiative and overcome Katachi's ploy. His short opponent may be wet behind his ears in close-quarters combat, but confronting Nistier's Style was no joke even when performed by an amateur.
Under the mêlée fighting rules, should the wooden blade touch the opponent enough times indicating an amount of damage the magus could not withstand the round would be over. It could be many repeated slashes on the arms or a direct stab at the heart. So long as the 'cumulative damage' was substantial it could be anyone's victory.
It was a job of a magus to avoid such situations both on him and his comrades in the first place, so if that could not be avoided or if a magus could force his enemy into a situation like that, it was as good as declaring the victory of the battle. Finally, *pa!* with an aggressive lunge that forced Cillian to jerk back and lose his footing for a brief moment, his swing finally connected.
C: "Huurk!!"
Katachi's wooden dagger cleaved towards Cillian's throat, pushing the knight back and forcing him to stumble.
*** ***
C: "... I'll be honest here, I never expected an opponent like you."
K: "It's a pleasure fighting you too, Cillian de Vorsche."
C: "I guess I'm too used to having a blade by my side that my body has rusted. This will be a good lesson for me to train my body along with my swordsmanship. Thanks, Katachi."
Cillian walked towards the obelisk to his right and left Cosmatral Tlod with dignity and satisfaction.
*** ***
S1: "Mister Jiel!"
J: "Hello, students. I don't see you in study groups often. What are you doing?"
S1: "We're discussing the type of magic that new kid uses."
J: "New kid?"
S2: "Yeah. The one that beat Cillian!"
S1: "Oh, Mister Jiel! Do you know any magic that could recreate the third round just now?"
J: "I'm sorry, but I don't have time to watch those competitions. Not with my children-"
L: "You lot sure are energetic. What's the buzz about?"
S1 & S2: "Mister Lamale! You know the magic he's using?"
L: "I won't spoil too much, but you should think about it carefully. That student didn't use any chants or items to invoke his spells. From there, you can guess that he used some form of Reincarnate Art in that match." (Well, assuming he's below a Meister's level, at least. It's possible to treat Cillian's weapon as an idol of worship 'not meant for human hands' if he finds the right story for it.)
S2: "Reincarnate Art?"
L: (But, if that were the case... To do so without any preparation prior, he is a terrifying one. The Magus Association could use an assassin like that who can cast magic discreetly without the target noticing.) "What do you think, Jiel? You're better at Reincarnate Arts than I am."
J: "I'm sorry, Mister Lamale. I haven't watched the match so I really don't know what happened. You know how playful Totta is, and it's hard to keep Seiene from being teased."
S1: "Aww, you should have! You should have seen how awesome that was! Cillian's sword was floating in mid-air, and only when that new kid struck the fatal blow did the sword fall onto the ground."
J: "Floating in mid-air...? Would the field happen to be sunny while they were fighting?"
S1 & S2: "Yeah."
J: "Well, if nothing else I'm guessing it's Child of Sun."
S1: "Child of Sun?"
S2: "Is that Soltak?"
L: "I suppose he could very well be a Soltak believer. The Vorsche family's magic was, after all, based around light. You would use light itself to counter something that uses light."
J: "You shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly. This is just a guess, so don't go crazy over-"
S3: "What's this about the new student being a Soltak believer?"
S4: "Is he really using the Child of Sun Reincarnate Art?"
S5: "Hey everyone! The dark horse's a Soltak follower!!"
J: "Hold it right there, hasty decisions are the bane of-"
L: "Well that's just great. Why do the students always do this?!"
*** ***
A mass of voices came from behind him as he headed towards the tournament participant layout. Katachi felt compelled to spin around hearing his name briefly in the conglomerate of sounds to see at least eight students with empty wooden tablets in their hands.
"Follower of Soltak, could you give us an autograph or something?"
Katachi was speechless. He witnessed first-hand the terrifying power of what rumors could do once more. It began as a simple white lie to Mafer, but to think that there were students already addressing him as a follower of Soltak. Was it wrong to trust Mafer? But at the same time, any possible suspicions over his Word of Power were thoroughly erased. Katachi felt a great relief that he avoided what could potentially spell his downfall.
K: "Uhm... I-"
Before Katachi could even begin to answer, eight wooden tablets were shoved into his hand.
K: "..."
It would normally be easier just to raise the tablets to the magic circle on his left arm, but that word grafting method gave power to the tokens. Giving those away was the equivalent of selling his identity which, as an obvious violation of the school rules, was prohibited.
K: "... Can I borrow that, then?"
"Take it! Consider it a gift to you."
Their smiles friendly, but their thoughts sinister. Katachi had the suspecting feeling that they planned on using the carvings for something unethical. They were likely cussing under their breaths for him to fail and die, and his signatures sold as mementos. It was not uncommon for the novices to be given tall seats only for the chair to be yanked from them, as was the poison of pride. It applied to offices, brothels, chandleries and banks, so what would dispel that malice from academies?
K: (They would wish harm upon others while hoping for mercy, always doing things they come to regret. I wonder when they may reach the maturity Mother spoke of.)
If the children ever knew how warped Katachi's interpretation of their presence was, they would click their tongues in disgust and walk away. But none would refute his otherwise accurate claim. Katachi could only sigh as he graciously accepted a carving pick from one of the students and proceeded to scrape his name onto the tablets.