' Wait, we all fought for nothing' I was exasperated
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Once all the people had arrived at the Ceremony, Our principal, Headmaster, Guildmaster, whatever you feel like calling him, Stood before the first year students.
" Welcome Everyone to the First Years beginning of the year Rank battles. Or in your cases the First of your Rank battles. Today you all will be taking part in, you guessed it, Rank Battles." He started laughing to himself and we all looked a little less than pleased
" Now, now I know what you all are thinking, ' Didn't we already do the ranking tournament?' and while yes you are correct about that point, it was found that this is better for determining the strength of each individual as it pertains to all of your peers not just the ones in your bracket." He looked around and people were nodding their heads, reasoning that the way the competition was didn't give individual ranks.
" The rules are as follows, Each of you will be given a rank and a number, this corresponds with your ranking and round you achieved in the Competition. There will be rounds 1-7 and ranks 1- 100. Every 15 minutes the next round of children will be added to the group of fighters and their ranks will be open for grabs to those who can take it. This will go on for 120 minutes. Whatever rank you have at the end will be your final rank and will decide what class you will be placed in. The last and most important part is you are only able to fight people within five ranks of you. If you are lower rank than your opponent and win you swap placement if you lose you stay the same rank and your opponent goes up one rank themselves. You may not challenge anyone twice and you are only allowed to refuse three fights throughout the competition."
" Those of you with a low rank, this is your time to show your tenacity and prove yourself, show us where you truly lie in comparison to your peers, those of higher rank I warn you to never underestimate those of lower ranking. The most terrifying person is one with nothing to lose but everything to gain, Remember that."
"As for a reward, Everyone in groups three and up will be rewarded, with group three getting 1 item from the Guild Vault. Group two getting 2, and group one getting 3. With that said, Let the battles commence" The Guildmaster then left and another person came up telling us where to get our rank.
I was rank 1 of group 7 so I didn't have to worry about fighting for a while, but the battles started. Not having predetermined opponents allowed for a more even field when fighting. Those who were quickly eliminated in the early rounds now had their time to shine. It was now that they could use hard work to triumph over luck.
In last three groups there were only Eight people, the competitors of the final rounds of the competition. and the lower ranks had little time to take our spots. The best option for people to do is to wait until their opponents have fought at least once to exhaust them and take their spots, saving their passes until they can challenge the top, or their goal, and attack at the end preventing another opportunistic person to take them. Not that I had to worry, I pretty much could keep my spot and they couldn't do anything about it. I either skip their matches or dodge for the remainder of time.
I sit with the others who cannot fight still, more specifically, a group that comprised of Gram, Tanya, Lyric, Emmy, Caroline, Eric, and Julien, were sitting.
" Hello everyone" I say with a small bow.
"Hello Alice " Gram, Tanya, Emmy and Caroline responded.
The others had an assortment of reactions. Lyric shivered, Julien went white, and Eric looked like he was suspicious of something.
Tanya, who was sitting with Lyric noticed him shiver and grabbed his arm bringing him down to meet me. ' The wolf is, scared of the cat' I amusedly thought
"Lyric this is Alice, Alice this is Lyric. You both are demi - humans and that's pretty rare here so don't be shy."
" Nice to meet you" I smile and raise my hand for a shake, which he cautiously accepts.
" Nice to meet you" He timidly whispers
" What's wrong" I ask, he did seem rather reserved from afar but this seemed completely different. Why was that?
" Nothing, but theirs something off-putting about you, it puts me on edge. Sorry if that sounds rude" He said quietly but managed to look me in the eyes.
" It's okay, I'm not offended if that's what you were concerned about, but I won't hurt you ... Intentionally" I say as I look over at Tanya " We'll just have to get past a few things first. I would love to be your friend, if you'd have me of course."
He smiled and seemed to relax a bit, and we returned to the others. Julien started shaking when I got closer and Caroline just laughed.
" Coward, you scared of a little girl" She howled on laughter, for a moment before I ' silenced' her with a punch to the stomach.
" Greetings" I say as I appear behind Julien
" Ah, s-s-stay back m-m-m-monster" He was Quivering
" I'm a monster now?" I say with a wicked smile " Well I have always liked the taste of terrified young souls" I then stare at him," I think I'll take yours."
He faints and I break character " Sorry, didn't think that would happen" I say turning around laughing sheepishly
Caroline was wheezing on the ground partly because of my punch and her laughter didn't help. The others were laughing too, even Lyric had gotten I was kidding and was smiling
I walked over to the guy on the floor and made sure he was okay. I decide to try and wake him up, but with no suggestions I pick him up by the shoulders and start to shake him like the unopened 2 liter bottle of soda you give to the friend who just pissed you off.
He woke up and I put him on the floor. He was dizzy from my shaking but he managed to see straight shortly after and became the same fearful child he was before. Calling me things like demon and monster.
" Ok who the hell told you I was a monster" I say my patients running thin. I was beginning to get irritated by his name calling.
" M-m-my mother" He said and I just rolled my eyes
" She said, you talk to yourself, and were one for causing chaos and destruction. She said you were a disgusting creature and I needed to stay away from unstable demons." He said
"And you just believed her why?" I asked, getting more angry
" B-because she's always right." He said flinching
" Whose your mom idiot" Caroline pitched in
" Granada Herplin" He said and Caroline and Emmy visibly gagged
" You believed that witch?" Caroline voiced harshly
" Witch?" Julien was confused and so was I.
" She's an alchemist like mother but is nothing but a con artist and a gossip center. She sells faulty products at exorbitant pricrs and half the things out of her mouth are derogatory lies about things she finds odd." Caroline said with disgust
" She's a lying, scheming, slimy creature who cannot be trusted." Emmy added
Julien looked in disbelief and I was mostly supprized Emmy would badmouth someone, it didn't seem like her.
" Well there you have it, I'm not a monster just someone you've been lied to about" I say
" But ..." Julien didn't finish, he seemed like he wanted to defend her but not for her but himself.
" Sorry" He mumbled " I need to stop listening to her. I know she lies a lot but I still want to be a good child and trust her"
" It's fine just don't call me a Monster again and we'll be fine. Shake?" I said, trying to brush off his comments. They really hit a weak spot and I was about to crush him. He reminded me of the people from school who tormented me. I only kept composure because unlike him, they didn't cowar away from me.
I turn to Eric and give him a sloppy salut " Salutations" I say. He gave me the whole solider vibe so I thought this would be funny.
He did too as he cracked a grin and returned one, his being better in form. " It is a pleasure to meet you"
" I saw your fights yesterday, and they were something special, unrefined but truly remarkable for someone our age."
" Same, you kept Emmy on her toes and seemed to be prepared for anything." we shook hands, his was firm, so I likened mine to match.
Everyone calmed down and we sat watching the fights from afar, talking about ourselves and commenting about the matches we were watching, what we hoped to be and what not.
Almost everyone wanted to be an adventurer. It was a job full of opportunities and adventure, that put stars in the eyes of many children. Eric however said he wanted to be apart of a military brigade like his grandfather. Appearantly he was taught by his grandfather the way of the sword from the time he could hold one. It was admirable the resolve he had. We all wished him well.
We also got to know more about each other's personal lives. Lyric was a child of two loving parents that were also wolf demi - humans and he had a little sister Harmony. He said that he was driven out of his home as a younger child and they came to Elysium because it was a place more accepting of other races. He wanted to be an adventurer for the freedom and money it gave him to explore the world and the strength to protect those he holds close it would provide.
I had gotten supprized responses when I asked but Apparently we live in the Holy Kingdom. A human kingdom where non-humans are prosecuted and looked down upon.
Tanya, as I had been told had a mother father and brother that she lived with and loved with all her heart. She wanted to become an adventurer to stick it to her brother who always called her weak and to be able to leave the crusty old town she was so used to. She loved her brother but you could tell they were at odds at times like a normal sibling relationship.
Emmy and Caroline had about the same story they had been found by a local alchemist they call mom and they wanted to be adventurer's to be strong and have independence from the wants of others.
Gram was from an adventurer family that decided to settle in Elysium. He said he hopes that one day he could find love like his father and live happily with whomever he fell for. They would have their adventures and tell stories of them every night to their children just as his parents did, only he had ambitions like slaying a dragon and clearing a calamity class dungeon. As they always say aim for the stars so you can at least say you did your best.
I figured a dungeon was something that would be covered in school and by the reaction of others it seemed like a pretty big deal. I didn't want to come across as a total idiot so I kept quiet.
Julien said he was born from the so called witch and someone he had never met. He loved his mother and her many flaws saying she always looked out for him and even through all her nonsense he could tell she loved him. He wanted to be a tamer, someone who takes mythical creatures and trains them to be friendly. His goal was to Create a haven where monsters and humans lived in peace, even if he had to find a remote place to do it.
It was now my turn to speak and everyone was looking at me.
" I'm not sure what I want to do. I cannot remember my past much and I have no knowledge to base my ambitions, I guess I want to become an adventurer to find myself."
" And the six or so inches you lost, shorty" Tanya snorted playfully, She was just happy she wasn't the shortest, but two can play at this game.
"Oh, Lyric please tell your Girlfriend to stop harassing me." I say as I jump, hide behind him and hug him, causing both of them to blush and yell " He/She is not my boyfriend/girlfriend"
Everyone started laughing and we had a nice time their after.
" So does anyone know what the Guild vault is? They seem to be giving things out like candy." I say out of random curiosity
" You know I was wondering that too" Lyric asked and we got nods from almost everyone else.
" It's a vault in the guild with treasures" Gram replied, and we all just looked at him as if he were an idiot
" Obviously but what's in it" Caroline asked
" I wasn't finished, In it is a collection of random crap the guild has collected over the years. My mother and father told me that during the rank promotion tests all items found in the task was placed into the Guild vault for motivation for others to listen to the guild and so people don't try to kill each other and the proctors during the tests. Like a lottery of some sort, it could be a load of crap or you might find some rare items from the higher ranks." He said
" Oh so that's where it was from, I heard something about a guy who got a magic sword from the Vault from my brother" Tanya said
" Those are super rare, aren't they" Julien asked
" Yes, it is said only the highest rankings of military forces are able to wield one because of its value" Eric said
" I don't think his was on that level, but it is still is cool" Tanya said
" Agreed" Was spoken by the rest of us unanimously
" I challenge you Julien" came from a voice in the arena. Appearantly we were talking for a while longer than I had though, their was now only twenty minutes left, and people were going for the top spots.
They walked out onto the field and got into position and started their fight.