"Oh no, that's trouble..." Mason watched as the traiado climbed out of Pandora's Box. That gigantic neckless head and stone-made humanoid monster could not be mistaken for anything else.
"Very much trouble..." Alessia also shared Mason's concerns. The traiado had incredibly high tenacity, especially against sharp things like swords or arrows. Its magic resistance was not something to scoff at either. What's more, Ernie's Vector magic can't directly attack it. There just seems to be no way for him to defeat such a monster.
The thing they were most terrified for Ernie, however, is the traiado's pebble bullets. Those rocky projectiles travel at speeds close to a speeding bullet, although not quite as fast, a single misstep can instantly make the situation ten times as worse. One single shot from those projectiles means puncturing a clean hole in Ernie's body.
Despite standing in the crowd of spectators and watching the battle from afar, cold sweat still formed on the foreheads of Mason and Alessia. They were worried-sick for their friend, trapped in the fenced off zone together with a deadly monster, without a weapon nor any means of defending. All he could do was run.
"How can Ernie defeat that...?" Mason's mouth was quivering in second-hand fear.
"It's hard to see how... will he even survive at all?" Alessia winced at her own words.
In the open space, the battle has begun. The first to move was the traiado, lifting up its fingers as a dozen projectiles exploded out of them. They flew right at Ernie with menacing speed, like a jet going supersonic through the air. The boy reacted properly, though — jumping out of the way in time as the bullets rebounded on themselves and scattered everywhere. Like a chaotic game of pinball, the projectiles were now bouncing around the whole zone in twelve paths that were near impossible to trace.
"I think I'm getting dizzy..." Mason held his head for support.
"Don't look at the pebbles, idiot — look at the traiado — it's launching more bullets!"
At the same time as the girl shouted in distress, a dozen — no, two dozen — more pebbles shot out of the traiado's fingers. They flew in many different directions, adding on to the previous dozen, on flight paths so hyper not even an advanced level adventurer could avoid them all. The battle looked grave.
Ernie was not faring any better. Several cuts and grazes appeared on his shoulders, arms, torso and legs, with more forming every few seconds. It might've been lucky that no projectiles shot through him directly — he would've been dead by then. Despite not being the most agile, Ernie was still able to dodge around the rocks fairly decently.
"He's not half bad, actually. There's no holes in his body yet," Alessia commented.
"Oi, you want him to become shredded cheese, is it?"
"What? Of course not. Can't you tell a compliment apart from an insult?"
"That's not a very good compliment, though..."
She glared at Mason. "What?" Mason asked innocently, to which Alessia sighed.
"Just watch Ernie's fight..."
Inside the barrier, more projectiles were now flying relentlessly. They rebounded and ricocheted in every possible direction, with little to no time to react. Ernie was having more difficulties dodging them now.
"There must be more than a hundred in there flying simultaneously..." Alessia muttered.
"No holes in Ernie yet, though. That's a good thing."
"..." Alessia turned her attention away from the "idiot" beside her and watched the battle in silence.
In a grand twist of events, the traiado stopped shooting more projectiles. It was now shouting at the top of its lungs (?), with several holes present in its body. The monster had somehow miscalculated — or, more accurately, did not conceive — the flight path of its projectiles. Some of them had rebounded on the walls and hit the gigantic monster's body instead, pummelling it with holes that the traiado did not expect.
"Look — it accidentally attacked itself!" Mason shouted.
"I can see that," snapped Alessia. "It stopped shooting as well. That's a good sign, at least."
"Yeah, but I got a bad feeling about this..."
As the monster wailed, the previously ricocheting projectiles were now losing speed. The amount of rebounds they hand on the barriers removed lots of momentum from them, and they're starting to slow down. A good two dozen or so had stopped moving entirely and now rest on the ground, static.
Although the situation was slowly turning around, Ernie was still having trouble dodging the eighty-or-so projectiles still zooming like crazy around him. His face had multiple cuts now, his clothes pummelled mercilessly with holes, breathing ragged and legs starting to give...
The traiado kept on howling, and the projectiles slowly slimmed down. Now, it was back to only twenty pebbles flying. A majority of them had fallen onto the ground.
"There's much less rocks now," said Mason, "but how will Ernie take this advantage? The traiado is still shouting."
"It's hard to say... Ernie can't exactly hit the thing, can he?"
"Oh, but he can," said someone from behind. The duo turned around and came face-to-face with the director, sporting his handsome sunglasses and his silvery gray hair slicked back. With both hands in his pockets, he was casually overlooking the battle between the traiado and Ernie.
"What do you mean, director?" Mason asked, confused but with a glimmer of hope in his eyes for his friend.
"It's not every day you get to see Vector magic at work, Mr. Bruggs. Watch how the tides turn in one single eye blink."
Mason and Alessia both raised an eyebrow at the director's vague response. With intrigue and hope by their side, they watched as the traiado regained its senses and shot out three rounds of projectiles amidst its rage. three dozen, plus another twenty more...
"That's insane! Another thirty more projectiles?!" Alessia cried. "And Ernie's not in his best condition! This is bad—"
"The situation is perfect," the director cut off.
"What?!" The duo cried in unison as they turned to glare at the director. "How is this supposed to be perfect?!" Mason yelled back at the man.
He smirked. "Perfect only for Ernie."
Confusion arose in their minds like a wildfire. What is this lunatic saying? Is he trying to kill the boy?
Inside the caged battlefield, the challenger had stopped moving. He stood still with eyes closed, as the pebbles flew everywhere around him like supersonic bees, occasionally grazing his clothes and the exposed areas of his body.
"What in god's name is Ernie doing now?!" Mason shouted. "He's asking for a deathwish!"
"It's coming," the director's low voice could easily be heard even through the loud gasps of the crowd. They all had the same thought as the duo — had Ernie lost? Is he giving up?
No. He was far from giving up. In fact, this was probably the hardest he had tried. He poured so much effort into his mind it felt like it could burst. But nobody would know. Nobody would foresee how within one single second, everything would come to a halt.
""Ernie!!"" The duo's scream pierced through even the loud, unfathomable shouting of the crowd. They were all expressing their concerns as the projectiles closed in on the poor boy. But then —
"!"
— everything stopped.
All the stones previously launching themselves at Ernie — they had all mysteriously came to a halt. More than fifty pebbles floated in the air, stationary as can be. In one single twist of events, Ernie now had the upper hand. No more projectiles were flying at him. The traiado was utterly confused as well, unable to shoot out any more pebbles from its fingers.
The ear-splitting shouts from the crowd also thinned to an eerie silence. Every single head in the sea of spectators had their eyes locked on the battlefield, wonder and relief flowing all over them as they witnessed the stones stopping in their path, as if time itself had stopped.
With their mouths agape, Mason and Alessia would've thought that time did freeze. It was such a sudden revelation — the miracle was majestic to say the least. Rocks, fifty or so, floated like stars high above and everywhere around Ernie, though without the twinkle and more of the sharp edges.
Slowly, the boy thrusted his hand straight at the still-confused traiado, and in one single moment, every stone floating in the sky flew right at the monster. Like a hailstorm raining down mercilessly upon the giant creature, it flew straight through its body and opened up holes on both sides. The rocks pummelled the traiado whole, holes puncturing its now-lifeless body like cheese. In another moment, the traiado fell onto the ground, disintegrated, and everything was at peace again.
They couldn't believe it. Mason and Alessia couldn't believe it. The crowd couldn't believe it. What they saw just know sent chills down their spine. Did that boy just command those rocks to attack the traiado? He won? Just like that?
Confusion took over them for a second, but then it turned to relief, as they all had been on the edge of their seats (they were all standing). Then excitement came, and with that an ear-splitting cheer rang throughout the wide field — even the rippling barrier couldn't withstand the cheer's force. It wobbled and rippled like water.
"Ernie!! You did it!" Mason shouted, though the boy inside the battlefield could not hear.
"You defeated a traiado, Ernie!!" Same with Alessia's shouts, they were muffled out by the thunderous roar of the spectators, applause and whistling alike adding on to the chaos.
Slowly, the boy walked away from the field, away from the lifeless, disintegrating traiado, away from the wretched Pandora's Box which caused so much scars to appear on his body. As words of praise consumed him, the only thing he could do was grin like an idiot at his two friends. And just like that, the analyzation event was over.
***
"You seriously had me worried!" Alessia punched my shoulder. I couldn't do anything — not even apologize — as I was still shaking to the core. The cheering had died down and the crowd dispersed, but a sizable amount of people were coming towards me with many questions in their head. I felt bad for ignoring them, I really did, but my brain needs to settle down first.
"But that was insane!" said Mason. "The way all those rocks just stopped all of a sudden and shot back at the traiado — it sent chills all over me!"
"I can back you up on that, for once," said Alessia. "You should've seen it from the spectator's side — it was one hell of a spectacle."
"Was it that amazing?" I asked in surprise. All I did was gain control of the projectiles shooting towards me and sent them back at the traiado. That doesn't sound like anything impressive.
"Oh yeah it was," Mason exclaimed. "I didn't know Vector magic could do that. Didn't you say it can only change the movement of objects that are already moving? Those pebbles weren't moving when you shot them at the traiado, were they?"
"Come to think of it," I repeated the scene in my head, and also realized the strange occurrence, "that is quite the mystery. How did I do that, exactly?"
"Because," a low voice came from behind the three of us, which unmistakably belongs to the director of the camp, "you overcame the large hurdle, that is overpowering the thought of absolute hopelessness while facing an enemy levels beyond yourself."
"...What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means," he readjusted his sunglasses with his index finger, "that you have gained experience. Overcoming challenges grant us life lessons — they teach us what we previously did not know. As we grow, our magic does as well. During that fight, you took the liberty to not do anything while immediate danger is ahead, instead opting to prepare for a bigger and better consequence.
"That action of yours proves that you have grown. Had you not stopped and concentrated to break that limit within you, and instead used a more rushed method as you usually do, the traiado wouldn't have been defeated. You showed yourself, and everyone else here, that danger is not something to be scared of when the solution is right in the grasp of your hands.
"That single revelation was the last boost you needed to break the chains binding you," the director ended his explanation. What that did, conversely, was raise even more questions in the trio's minds.
"But why did it do that? Why couldn't I have done that spell earlier?" I asked again.
"Mr. Neswitt," the director began, "you must see that limits are meant to be broken. And as we progress in life and gain more wisdom, rewards are bound to come. Your overcoming of instinctual action has moved the spirits binding your magic, and they released the hidden potential from within. As I've said, magic grows with you. The spirits within your body awakened new magic inside of you for, in a sense, levelling up."
"...Is levelling up a thing here?" A thought of intrigue popped into my mind. Is the magic system of this world similar to a game?
"Sorry to disappoint you, but that is not a thing," the director said flatly. "But growth does equal levelling up, and you've done that right here. Do you feel any different from before, may I ask?"
I took a breath and analysed myself. I didn't feel any different than I was before the fight — except for the numerous cuts on my body and the exhaustion slowly creeping up. The mana I sensed in myself was not any more powerful as it had been before either. Nothing seems to have changed, really.
I shook my head disappointingly. "No, I don't feel any different. Is there something I'm doing wrong?"
"No," the director said. "Nothing's wrong — you're perfectly fine. Growth comes in slowly, Mr. Neswitt. It is only normal that you do not feel any more powerful than you did before. Nobody can grow ten inches in a single day — everyone does it slowly, and you're no exception. But compare yourself to before — a long, long time before. Maybe you can sense that growth in that way."
I thought back to when I first came to this world. Back then, I was still new, with a mind unknown of the mysteries of Elhera. I knew no magic, no combat skills, no knowledge of monsters — I used to be completely clueless. I laughed self-deprecatingly as I remembered the times I lashed out at people for talking about my sister. It felt stupid and incredibly selfish.
So I really did grow, I thought. My magic improved, I'm better at fighting, my thoughts are more stable — everything about me has changed. I changed.
I smiled wryly amidst my own daydream. Director Elshire's voice snapped me back to reality.
"Do you see now? What you have gained after stepping foot in this world? In this camp? And in this single event?"
I nodded with vigor, eyes ablaze with hope and hunger for the future alike.
"Good," he continued. "Now then, how about one last piece of change? Mind following me? Your friends may come as well."
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Where else?" the director turned and started to walk. The three of us quickly followed suit. "To get your weapon sorted out, of course."
The smiles on our faces only became wider. I'm finally getting my unique weapon!
***
In the court where Alessia and I previously had our duel, an assortment of weapons was laid out on a long, rectangular table on the far left. Two dummies stood like scarecrows, lifeless and without a care as to their fate.
The variety of weaponry did not disappoint — from basic swords to more eccentric weapons like spike balls on chains and wooden wands longer than myself, it was practically endless. The director gestured towards his direction and myself, along with Mason and Alessia came to his side.
"Now then," the director said, "I have a few notes prepared after watching your battle with the traiado."
I gulped. "Notes? Are we studying now?"
"No," he said flatly. "It is for determining what weapon suits you best. Ah, you did request for something that your magic can control, yes?"
"Yup. Something ranged, maybe?"
"Then that makes things convenient. Your Vector magic suits to be used with objects that like to move. Swords and any other melee weapon can be crossed out — you definitely aren't going to enjoy those. That leaves a few semi-ranged weapons and fully non-melee ones. How about a bow?" He picked up a wooden bow amusingly, but I already had my fair share of experience with that kind of weapon, and it did not turn out great.
"No thanks. I've already tried shooting an arrow, and almost shot someone in the process."
The director laughed. "Then, a crossbow? They seem to be more accurate."
"Anything but bows, please." The director placed the crossbow back down and looked at the weapons for a moment, pondering upon his choices with his hand on his chin.
Alessia and Mason had already wandered off to look at the weapons lined on the table. What happened to moral support?
"Hm... then, how about a throwable weapon? A javelin, perhaps?" He threw the long, green stick with a pointy tip and a leather pad at me, which I clumsily took, accidentally bumping the heavy thing on my forehead a little too hard.
"...This is way too heavy," I rubbed my forehead as the director took the javelin.
"There are lighter ones, you know?"
"Maybe I'll pass."
"Ah — throwing knives? These are lightweight. It should fit you nicely."
I took the small dagger-like knives, which came in a pair. They were certainly light and easy to carry around. "Try throwing them at the dummies," the director suggested, and I followed his instructions.
I made my way to the training dummies, putting a good twenty-or-so feet between myself and the inanimate object. I took one of the throwing knives by the hilt and aimed at the centre of the dummy, then chucking the dagger as hard as I could. The small knife flew forwards, flying in an arc with its silver blade glinting brightly below the sunlight. It hit the dummy, but didn't quite land where I wanted it to — I severely misaimed and penetrated its left shoulder instead.
"Oops," I muttered to myself.
"Hm, maybe not throwing knifes," the director came beside me. "Tomahawks, perhaps?" He pulled out an axe-like hammer, which by just glancing at it, feels heavier than what I'm capable of casually holding.
"Perhaps not."
The director shrugged. "So be it. But then, Mr. Neswitt, it seems my available weapon types have thinned to the point of no return. Is there no weapon of your liking in the range of non-melee weapons?"
"No, I want a ranged weapon, definitely," I said with finality. "But nothing seems to work here. The throwing knives were great, but it just doesn't 'click' with me, you know?"
The sunglasses-man nodded slowly. "I have no idea what you mean. However, if there is truly no weapon that is of interest to you here, you also have the choice of suggesting your own. Have anything in mind?"
A suggestion of my own... I thought about the type of weapon that would suit me. Ranged, lightweight, and feels right. Something that I can throw, most preferably. A weapon that can pair up with my Vector magic, yes. Something like that... what could it possibly be?
I looked around the court for any clues or spark for inspiration. Most of the students here use swords, but a few had bows, whips, throwable knives, hatchets, and even muskets. But those don't align with my tastes. I need something different, something that can fit me.
I let my eyes wander off into the field right beside the court. A lot more campers were playing around, some fighting, a bit of them warming up, doing practice swings, and even relaxing...
I turned to the group of five or six people huddling around two short poles, which were chucked into the ground like the stakes that keep a tent's strings tightly stretched. Horseshoes were lying on the ground around them, and I watched as a girl threw the red horseshoe and flew in a beautiful arc as it spun chaotically, landing itself tight around one of the poles. It spun around it as the inside-part of the U-shaped horseshoe locked itself to the pole.
Then, an idea struck me. An idea so bizarre, yet so befitting at the same time. It was and outlandish suggestion, but I think it might just work.
"Director Elshire," I called for the man in sunglasses.
"Mm? Have you got a suggestion?"
"Yes, just the perfect one, I think."
"Great — what is it?"
I paused for a moment, bracing myself to sound out my request. It sounds very farfetched, but I had to try. I won't be satisfied until then.
"A boomerang."
"..."
A silence passed between us. Behind those black lenses, I'm certain the director was eyeing me, bemused. I could see his eyebrow raising up slowly, forehead wrinkling.
"Your reasons?" the director asked.
"Well," I began with a breath, "it's throwable, light, and I can use Vector magic to control its path of movement. It's quite the unexpected weapon, isn't it?"
"Yes, very much so," the director put his hand on his chin, "but how exactly do you intend for it to deal damage? At most I'll think a boomerang would just cause minor bruises."
I thought for a moment. "Something similar to those rocks I controlled? Maybe make the boomerang edges sharp?"
"That is plausible, yes..."
Another string of silence came. Then, Director Elshire walked out of the court and into the main building without saying a word. He returned back a few minutes later, by which I was having a conversation with Mason and Alessia.
"Terribly sorry for walking off like that, but something very coincidentally popped into my mind." The director held up a circular silver-colored ring that could fit his head comfortably inside, and below dangled five brass banana-like objects but with sharp edges — boomerangs.
"What are those?" Mason stood up and observed the keychain-like thing. It was enormous, but nothing spectacularly large like the shields displayed on the table. The boomerangs were about the size of a textbook — big enough to look menacing but small enough to hold comfortably.
The shape of the boomerangs was standard: crescent-like but with sharp, straight edges; the middle part of the arc is almost twice as thick as the edges. Small holes were punctured into the two tips of each boomerang, presumably for placing them in the keychain. The brass in these boomerangs shone like crusted jewels.
"Boomerangs," I answered Mason's question. "I suggested them as my choice of weapon."
"A boomerang, huh?" Mason looked at them more closely.
"That's certainly unique," Alessia chimed in.
"Very much so," the director said. "Never before has anyone requested for a boomerang as their weapon. This is an anomaly, if I must say so. But I can see how this would fit you, Mr. Neswitt. Very flexible in their use, unpredictable, almost. Try imagining what you might be able to do with these boomerangs when paired with Vector magic."
Various strategies and tactics came into my mind — making the boomerangs fly in untraceable paths, combining the multiple weapons to confuse my opponent, overshooting the boomerangs to let my enemies off-guard, then commanding them to fly back and hit them from behind... the possibilities were limitless.
"So much ways to use..."
The director nodded. "It all depends on how you use them. Now, how about trying them out? Throw one of these and try to control its flight path."
I took one of the boomerangs and threw it at a dummy. The brass object flew in a curvy arc, not directly above me, but steering ever so slightly to the right then ricocheting back to its left. The boomerang overshot its target and flew behind the dummy, but it was all according to plan.
I created a mana link with the boomerang as it turned and slowly passed the dummy's right shoulder. When the link connected, I visualized the boomerang launching itself backwards all of a sudden and hitting the dummy in the head.
As expected, the twirling boomerang adhered to my command and did just that — spinning backwards and chucking itself onto the dummy's featureless head. It wobbled a bit from the force, as boring as it can be, while my boomerang fell to the ground with a surprisingly high-pitched clang.
"Woah, that was weird," Mason said. "I didn't expect that at all."
"Yeah, I didn't want it to be expectable. Maybe I'll make that my attack style — sudden and abrupt. I'll catch my enemies off-guard."
"Cool. It might work well with Alessia's Dark magic."
"Don't go assuming things," Alessia snapped.
"...What is her problem?"
"Children," the director suddenly exclaimed, "this isn't time for bickering. Mr. Neswitt is trying to find his unique weapon."
"I think I may have just found it, director..." My hands twitched in delight. That feeling of letting the boomerang go felt so perfect. I felt connected. It felt right. The way it curves is so unpredictable. And with my Vector magic, I could do so much unexpected moves. Nobody would be able to see it coming.
"Then," the director suggested, "how about a trial fight? With Mr. Bruggs, perhaps?"
"I'm down for it." Mason made his hands into a fist.
"Fine for me as well." I took up the challenge with enthusiasm.
"Great — Mr. Bruggs, take your weapon, and both of you prepare. I'll overlook this match, and end it when I see fit. Do you accept the rules?"
""Yes!"" We both cried.
***
Mason stood a good thirty feet away from me as we stretched our bodies. He had his steel straight sword with a purple-tinted hilt, along with his pattern-filled shield, which also had purple streaks going around the perimeter. I, on the other hand, had a single circular keychain with five brass boomerangs attached. I could not have looked any more abnormal than possible.
"Ready —" the director clapped his hand, and Mason and I got into a battle stance; "Set —" another clap, and I braced myself for this fight, hands barely hovering over the five boomerangs hanging by my waist; "Shalatte!" The last clap resounded, and off did we go.
Mason launched himself forwards, sword and shield by his side. On my part, I quickly held out my boomerangs and threw them in random directions, all of which still aimed at Mason, of course. His blade came dangerously close to me, but I managed to escape by jumping backwards.
"I won't fall for you tricks!" He bellowed, as more strikes came from his sword. I concentrated on simultaneously side-stepping his attacks and connecting myself to the five boomerangs flying in the air.
One directly above him, two towards his south-east, one towards his left, and one more directly behind. I connected my mana with all of them, and gained control immediately. I commanded four out of five of the boomerangs to launch at Mason, keeping only the one directly behind him slowly hovering.
As they all concentrated into Mason's direction, he sensed incoming danger and instinctively rolled backwards. The four boomerangs missed, but just as Mason started to get up from his roll, I made the boomerang behind him fly at his back. He couldn't react fast enough and got hit right in the middle of his backbone. Thud, came the sound, and "Ow..." Mason muttered.
"Sorry," I apologized under my breath.
The battle was not over yet, and I had to continue with my attacks. I commanded the rest of the boomerangs to fly at Mason again, this time from the front. Mason, in response, held up his shield to block himself, but it was futile.
I commanded the boomerangs that were flying straight at him to curve around his shield and fly at him from all sides instead. Mason managed to hastily block one from above, but three other boomerangs from his left, right, and bottom right all hit him square in the torso. He recoiled back as I called the boomerangs back into my hands.
Mason coughed before standing up again, this time determined to charge at me like a high-speed train. "AAAAAAAA—" he bellowed as our distance closed. I moved my boomerangs in front of me to act as a shield, but keeping two of them near me in case anything unexpected happens.
"Let it burn hot and bright — Ablazio!" Mason chanted shortly, then forming fire on his blade. It was coated with a red inferno, the silvery-white of the blade now turned hot red. He lifted the fire-coated sword above himself and then sliced down.
I parried it with one of my boomerangs. After that attack came another, which I parried with a different boomerang. Our dance of strikes and parries continued for a while — I kept side-stepping and letting the boomerangs do the defending, all the while keeping watch on any abnormal developments.
Then it came — "Graze!" Mason shouted his chantless spell, and with his left hand outstretched a blazing fire erupted from his palm and flew straight at me like a fireball. He had shot the fire at me from my right, which I had kept one of the boomerangs with me. I used that to cover for the attack, blocking and absorbing the fire before it reached me.
"Gaia Spike!" Another spell came, this time an Earth type spell. The ground just in front of me rippled, and suddenly a stake-like piece of land jutted out at my face. I wanted to backwards in pure instinct, but I felt like that was too easy to predict. Instead, I jumped upwards and landed on one of my boomerangs. I carried myself upwards and away from the rock spike that Mason conjured and landed behind him.
"Wha—?!" Mason turned to look at me, mouth agape, as three boomerangs flew straight at him. Without time to react, the three brass boomerangs pummelled him, though he used his arms for cover.
"Alright, the match is over. Mr. Neswitt is the winner!" The director shouted, and both of us sighed heavily. This battle had been too hard to fight.
"You are too hard to guess, Ernie," said Mason as he came up to me, hands outstretched.
"Like I said, my attack style is the unpredictable," I replied with a smirk, taking his hand and shaking it.
"Too unpredictable. I wouldn't have guessed you would jump onto one of those and flew away."
"Heh," I chuckled, "it's just my style. Your face when I did it, too — it was priceless!"
"Oi!" We laughed it off and cleaned up the court.
I called it a day after that. Too much action for one day, I must say. But hey — at least I have a unique weapon now, right?
...
Wait... I feel like I'm forgetting something...
RIGHT! I forgot to name my boomerangs!