"You have got to be kidding me..." I groan, exhausted like everyone else from the constant battling we have faced on our way here. Something about this place had picked off our numbers and placed others before us. Yet, thankfully, most of them were not exactly House Exceptional material. The confusion of it all even led to our own team firing upon us.
"Does anyone still have a map?" someone asked before I raised a tired arm in the air. The item in question was soon snatched from it. But, I dismissed it with an annoyed gesture. I was just too exhausted to care right now.
We had been running and dodging incoming spells for quite some time now. Even the arena we were last in had been left a smouldering wreck because of the quantity. I don't even think I have been much use up to this point either. Not knowing how to cast a decent spell and all that.
"Alright, next wave, go!" one of our stronger teammates ordered confidently. Thankfully, that stuff all sorted itself out quickly. So, no one was tripping over each other just to get the top position. It was held by our best teammates, after all.
Which, unfortunately, meant a certain someone too...
"You heard him, up you go, Ravineer!" she cackled before I was grabbed by the scruff of my neck and thrown out of the trench.
"WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM!?" I shouted down to her while she kept a smug grin directed at me.
"Go on, get." she said as she gave me a little wave before a fireball exploded near me. And, as I wanted to at least be around until the end, I charged on over to a nearby wall. Then, I waited for anyone else to come, but, I was left watching the others. She had thrown me out on my own with no one else...
Because I was now watching the others charge down a building filled with mostly Errakurds. So, when the spells began to focus on the larger groups. I slipped out of this cover and made my way over to a destroyed building. Breathing in what air I could while choking because of the smoke and dust.
"Blegh." I spat before I ran once again, this time, barely avoiding a jet of fire that suddenly came out of a building.
"THERE!" one man declared before he brought the building down with a sudden wave of magic. Yet, its collapsing frame slid towards us. And I was nearly crushed, having been the one close enough to get shot at initially.
"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" another shouted before a lighting bolt struck him down in an instant.
"FOCUS YOUR MAGIC ON THAT WATERTOWER!" was the order that followed before the sky seemingly became infected by a storm. Thankfully, all that magic evaporated the water before it got too close. So we just barely managed to survive electrocuting rain.
"You, what magic?" someone asked me with a confident stare as he saddled up next to me. His thick, well-built hand rested on my shoulder while my mind kept wandering. And, I mean, how could it not? Everywhere was a battlefield right now.
"I can rust m-metal." I told him with a jitter before another stream of fire shot over us. But, this time, that fire lingered about as if it was fed fuel.
"Alright, I think we might be able to work with that." he said before he dragged me to my feet and through an alleyway.
"H-Hey, hold on!" I let out as I started to struggle against his grip.
"What?" he asked as he suddenly spun around and stuck himself to a wall. The distant sounds of violent splashes filled our ears as his gaze grew impatient.
"If you are one of the elected leaders, shouldn't you be back there!?" I asked him as this was an irresponsible way of going about things. We needed our leaders to guide the main groups. Not one useless kid from the ravines...
"I'm not, I just need some help." he answered before we started moving again. Yet, I was following him as if I was being controlled.
"So, what is the plan, exactly?" I asked him as it was clear my body had made a choice for me. We would be following along with whatever plan this guy might've had.
"See that metal thing over there?" he asked me while carefully gesturing his finger around the wall.
"How could I not?" I answered.
"Enough of that, but, yes, your magic will come in use here if it is up to scratch."
"You nabbed me without so much as checking how strong I was!?" I nearly yelled before some more foreign magic rained down around us.
"If you can make the metal weaker, then that is all I need." he said to me as his eyes made sure mine were stuck looking into this. And, he had an effect on me, I didn't know how to describe. I felt, confident that I could do this.
"So what do you need weakening?" I asked as my fingers started to fiddle with the necklace I forgot to remove this morning. It was nothing special, just another bolt I had been rusting.
"Going by its shape, we just need to cripple its legs and gravity will handle the rest." he explained with a clear voice despite the rain of muddy debris. Then, all of a sudden, the wall behind us exploded. And out came someone with a staff surging with lighning.
"LOOK OUT!" I nearly screamed before he shoved me aside after I tried to get him out of the way. He met this Eusorochiian head-on and he tried to get around that staff. But, the reach the lightning user got was too great. So, I decided to get involved by charging up my hand with magic.
And, when I got a moment to use it, I unleashed a wave of rusting magic. Weakening the staff to such a degree that it snapped when this guy missed and hit a steel beam. And, with that staff gone, my current companion slapped the guy away. A loud boom that should not have been that thunderous.
"Thank you." he quickly said before he slapped an opening into the wall that we would go on through.
"Wouldn't it have made more sense to get more help!?" I ask him just before he jumped over a low-hanging wall. One that I had to slowly hop over as I was nowhere as athletic as him.
"Too many and we'd get spotted."
"I think we just were!" I point out, referencing an event he most assuredly has not forgotten.
"She was a stray, always get a few idiots who go off on their own."
"You mean like us!?" I asked him, increasingly hysterical because of how we were hearing less and less wind blasts. More of the magic was beginning to sound like fire, lightning and water.
"You just disproved yourself." he told me with a straight face before we ran off again. This time, however, we came upon a fence made of metal wire. Yet, it was covered in some kind of plastic or paint. Either way, he was insisting I do something about it.
But, whatever this material was, it was thick enough to hold it all together even after I applied my magic. It also only rattled violently when he tried to do that slapping spell again. Then, he disappeared before he came back with an enemy. And, I panicked when a cloud of smoke and embers came my way.
"Move." he told me before he and this girl he brought got into a very hands-off fight. The pair of them both prodding the other with quick jabs and spells. Yet, the way this guy kept casting his spells gave me an idea. So, while she was focused on his continued assaults from his right, I charged from the left.
Bringing her down to the floor and keeping her there despite her protests. He even came in and helped and we managed to stop her from using her magic. I was then shown fingers that began counting down. And, when it ended, he ran towards the bit I rusted, yet, I was too slow.
"GAH!" I heard him growl when he took the spell meant for me. Then, he shoved this girl at the fence who in turn melted it before a lucky spell took her out.
"You alright?" I asked him as I really was not expecting him to save me like that.
"It's just there, get in there and bring it down." he dismissively ordered before he took up a position near one of the metal legs.
"How much?" I asked him, even though I had already started to rust it as much as I could.
"That'll do just fine." he told me before he slapped it down. Yet, the tower did not collapse.
"I'll take out the other one!" I said to him before I weaved around and began to rust it. Yet, it started to fall towards us and we had nowhere to go!
"COME ON!" he encouraged me after he came in and helped me catch it.
"MY MAGIC NEEDS TIME TO GO AWAY!" I point out, terrified of the idea of being crushed. Yet, this only made him double his efforts and his growls filled my ears alongside the screeching of the metal. And the twang of whatever those wires above were.
"Good job." he said before I received a pat on the back.
"WHAT'RE YOU DOING!?" I screamed as he had stopped trying to move it.
"Thanking you." he clarified before the metal thing suddenly jerked away from my hands.
"Huh?"
"There was another group waiting for a signal." he clarified before a bunch of accented screams went silent as the sounds of wind magic came back.
"I'm not doing that again..." I pant out before collapsing onto a box. Sighing my fatigue out again while he watched me.
"You might just have to, we have to push onwards in that direction to get to the goal." he tells me as he walks around the fence that would've trapped us moments ago.
"I'm sorry, but, I can't exactly go on here." I inform him before I wave him off.
"Because you're a pathetic ravineer who has no right to be a part of this institution?" he insulted out of nowhere.
"Your plan relied on me!" I nearly shouted as my body filled with energy and I moved over to him. Slapping on his chest but not moving him.
"And they will continue to do so." he said with a much kinder tone as a weak spell from him urged me on.
"No, you don't get to say that and ju-" I start to say before he shoves me to the ground. A conical-shaped projectile made of fire soared over mere moments after.
"So, what's your name?" he asked me before he got down to a knee to avoid some more spells coming at us from the village across the still green field. Even if it was rapidly being burnt down by fire and lightning.
"Baltanthan..." I utter as I slowly use my hands to get back to my feet. And, I dropped down just like he did while his gaze became fixated on the distant village.
"Michney, and, I need you to listen carefully."
"W-Why?" I asked as I moved closer to him, confused about this sudden concern from him.
"In the distance, can you see it, a mighty aura has just stepped into the arena." he told me, and, I went cold despite the fires burning around us.
"Exceptional House!?" I uttered in shock. Words that he only nodded to before he tore a pipe out of the ground.
"Most certainly, now, listen, get back to the main group, have them do what they can. Set up a firing line so we can whittle them down." he explained before he started to move in another direction away from the cover.
"Where are you going!?" I asked him with a hiss before jerking away from a bolt of magic.
"To see what I can do to help." he vaguely explains before he enters a full sprint and disappears into the burning woods.
"Great..." I groan before turning around so I could head back to everyone else. If I was lucky, she would not be here and I could hopefully just get my message through. However, I had no confidence that it would work. Just taking this small village was a nightmare in and of itself.
And it was by a miracle we have only been fighting those on our level so far. Then, all of a sudden, the ground shook and a shockwave washed over us in a tide of dust. It scared me, because I could also see the remnants of a spell linger in the air. A huge, towering cloud that went so high it flattened out in the clouds...
"EVERYONE! EXCEPTIONAL HOUSE IS HERE!" I scream to them once I stumble back to where everyone else was. Yet, they were a little preoccupied with getting debris off of others. And, I was quickly pressed into service to try and get it off.
"AH! IT'S IN MY LEG!" the girl under me screamed as men were directed about to use our internal magic. And, maybe a few instinctual behaviours as well. Either way, this girl was soon being dragged away in tears while leaving a bloody trail.
"What's this about Exceptional House?" someone asked me quietly after we had moved to another spot to free someone.
"That explosion just now, it's one of them!" I whisper back to him for some reason as my previously ignored news spread like wildfire.
"W-What're we going to do!?" he asked me with a shiver and quake in his voice. And, I could not blame him, how could anyone.
"Don't scare our teammates, Ravineer." a certain someone scoffed as she shoved me against a wall. But, while I was growling out my frustrations at her, she took command of the situation.
"Fellow leaders, take a look around, this is what our power can do! On our own, we might fall, but together, even Exceptionals will fall!" she cheered. And, to my despair, she was joined by those who were just as cocky as her. Which, unfortunately, seemed to involve a lot of our leaders... She wasn't seriously considering sending our best fighters at an Exceptional like this!?
"WHAT'RE YOU DOING!? WE NEED TO EITHER PULL BACK AND LET THE ODDITY'S HANDLE IT OR DULL IT SO WE CAN FINISH THEM OFF!" I roar into her face. Enraged that she would want to do something so foolhardy.
"Do not get in my face!" she snaps at me before she sends me flying with a push. A display of magical superiority that only got everyone laughing at me. At least, those who agreed with her. And, just like that, I watched helplessly as she halved our numbers...
An Exceptional had taken to the field, and she was content to make us failures. And soon, I was left looking up at staff-holders and spell chanters. The lesser runts of Suhurlodst Academy of Arcane Learning and Understanding that had chosen to take part. The worst of the worst as some might say.
Even for a place as storied and revered as this...
"What're we going to do?" one person asked.
"That spell still lingers in the sky!" another said with awful fear. Her shaking finger spreading into others as despair settled in.
"WE NEED TO RUN FOR IT! GET TO THE END!" one cried before I grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him to stay still.
"No! If we march out like that, we'll just get picked off by House Oddity as well!" I tell him just in time for another great explosion to happen.
"TO THE OUTSKIRTS!" someone roared before more buildings started to collapse when the shockwave came by again. Yet, I could not find the courage to move, and, instead, I found myself trapped under brick and steel.
"Hey! HEY!" I began to shout as it became clear I was one of many left behind in the chaos. Then, when I could only hear the pain of the newly trapped and retrapped. I fell to the ground and hid my face behind my hands. Maybe, if I was lucky, the Exceptional would ignore or miss us.
"Someone, please..." I heard a girl cry. It was as if I could here her body convulse and bleed. All around me was just the sounds of pain. I just did not know what to think of it all.
I knew coming in here would've exposed me to unpleasant sights as this was an arena of battle. I even thought I would be able to stomach it as I have seen what Nin can do. I've been with him as he tore apart animals so we could then eat it the coming night or that morning. Yet, hearing the voice of people made it different.
"IS ANYONE STILL ALIVE!?" I heard Michney roar in question before the rubble began to move. Cries of thanks soon drowned out the pain as others began to beg for aid. And, soon, I was face-to-face with him again. Yet, unlike the others, I was just trapped, not injured.
"I wasn't able to do what you asked." I tell him with a rather flat tone given my circumstances. Yet, he did not seem to care. Instead, he just focused on getting me out until a gloved hand reached in for me.
"I'm not done with you yet, Baltanthan. Traditional House still needs you." he confidently spoke to me as I took his hand and was pulled out. And, what I saw when we got out only made me want to get back in there. We were left with even fewer people who could help.
"How many of us are there?" I asked when I noticed how others were beginning to file in.
"Eight-hundred fighting witches." Michney answers before he begins the process of making us march out of this village.
"N-No, hold on!" I complain before I slip out of his grip.
"It can wait." he says calmly before he rests a leg on a pile of bricks.
"No, it can't. You ran off to do something, and now you're back!"
"I am, I am here to make sure my House wins." he says after getting on top of the rubble.
"ARE YOU BLIND!?" someone roared up at him before all the injured began to remind him of their state.
"I AM NOT, BUT YOU ARE! ALL OF YOU CAN STILL FIGHT! ALL OF YOU CAN STILL CAST AND CHANT! DO YOU NOT REMEMBER THE SONG!?"
"THAT'S JUST A STORY YOU IDIOT!"
"YES, A STORY OF HOW THE WEAK BROUGHT DOWN THE MIGHTY WITH WILL! WITH DETERMINATION! UNLESS YOU MEAN TO TELL ME EACH ONE OF YOU ARE COWARDS! BECAUSE I NEED BRAVE MEN! POWERFUL WITCHES!" he roared, shaming us all while provoking us all.
"WE ARE NOT COWARDS! WE WON THE BATTLE FOR THIS VILLAGE!"
"And now you will win the Inter-House Talent Display." he tells us before he hops down and walks off. Yet, he did not do so alone, because steadily, people were filtering in after him. I myself was amongst these people. I had been a victim of his leadership, after all.
I had seen that he could, in fact, lead us to some kind of victory. And, even as a few spells flew by him, he kept his head high as a small army gathered around him. Quickly, I then made my way to the front to speak with him. Maybe I could at least get some details about this.
"Wouldn't it make sense to go with your plan, to hold the line?" I ask him before he tsks and shakes his head.
"No, I went off to see what that spell was like. We would just get wiped out if we held the line in a town." he explains as we came up upon a ridge. His hand spanned out to the horizon that was dotted with vast craters. And, all I could see was a single person walking amongst the debris. No doubt the Exceptional who had done all this.
"So what is the plan now?"
"We make way for the arena exit. Bottleneck them into a place they cannot run from." he tells us, but, his plan took us straight past them...
"That exit?" I asked him, hoping he would clarify it to be a different one.
"No, that one." and his words made my fear right.
"Okay, h-how do you propose we get there?" I ask him. Some despair made its way out of my dried out lips.
"Under the cover of fools." he says before his pipe gestures to the group made up by her cronies... He was willing to let her group be wiped out just to beat one Exceptional...?
"And when they are wiped out?" I ask.
"You come with me, just like before." he tells me before he pats my back and smirks.