As expected, Leopold capitalized on my seemingly helpless state by launching magic at me. The torrents of water were something I was familiar with from my father, and I knew firsthand that if one of those hit me, I would have my bones crushed.
But those torrents of water would never reach me. My stomach lurched as I flipped head over heels. I "fell" in another direction and easily avoided the spells. The crowd roared in both confusion and excitement, and I didn't miss Leopold's stunned face.
To the casual onlooker, my body had made an impossible movement and suddenly jerked to the side despite being in mid-air. Leopold continued trying to snipe me out of the air, but I either sliced down his spells or changed my gravity to avoid them.
I sent a flurry of large stones and dropped them directly on Leopold's head, forcing him to defend himself with a ball of water magic. Using the time I made for myself, I altered my gravity once more and forced myself to the ground.
I hit the ground running and closed the distance on Leopold. The spinning vortex of wind was not enough to deter me, and I would easily strike through it. That was until I felt the hair on the back of my neck rise.
I forced mana into my legs and rolled to the side as a blinding yellow flash impacted the spot I had just rolled away from with a deafening boom. I had no time to think about the Lightning Bolt that nearly struck me as I felt the spell core form and the air buzz with power.
I dodged, rolled, and did everything I needed to avoid the lightning spells. By the time Leopold was finished, I had been forced to the halfway point of the arena. I figured Leopold was withholding his true strength, but to think he could muster so many Lightning Bolts in quick succession. He was indeed royalty of Tel'an'duth.
When the smoke cleared, Leopold was hunched over slightly. Sweat dripped down his handsome face, and he wiped the debris and dust from his blonde hair. In his other hand was a small wand with an orange gemstone, no doubt a dungeon core shard of considerable quality judging by the mana emanating from it.
And for the first time, he seemed to look me directly in the eyes. Was it that he had finally acknowledged me or something? Had I passed his little mental test?
I don't know, and frankly, I don't care.
Despite using gravity magic, running at full speed, and dodging spells by a hair's breadth, I wasn't the least bit fatigued. The truth was this was nothing. I had trained far harder and been through far worse. Leopold was strong. There was no doubt about it. With his wand and dungeon item, a battle of attrition was not in my favor. Leopold also had an immense mana pool that surpassed mine.
Even still, I am far stronger than him. And my experience doubles his, which is why I see his trick. Thankfully, I had already been through something like this because of a certain clever fox many years ago.
The ground below me raised upon my command. I sat atop a stone pillar and watched the water below me spark and come to life with yellow lightning. I would have been rendered unconscious if I had been standing in those various puddles Leopold had laid out throughout the match. I'm a lot of things, but I am not shockproof.
Leopold clenched his jaw, and I raised my hand at him. Stone from the ground rose into the air and launched at Leopold with frightening speed and accuracy. Unlike before, I didn't let the barrage up. I kept forming more and more spell cores as I ate away at the stone platform underneath me.
I forced Leopold onto the defense, his spell core electrifying the water, failing as a result. Not to be caught off guard, I summoned tiny stone pillars and used them to safely cross the puddles as I kept my barrage up.
That was until the sky darkened behind me. I looked up and found a menacing dark cloud swirling and growing in size. Yellow lightning pulsed in the cloud, and as I looked at it with my Dragon eye, I could see the massive amount of mana being formed into a large spell core.
That is…not something I can dodge or casually block. It seems Leopold can maintain a defensive spell core and form a massive offensive one at the same time. And he may be combining water and lightning magic to make a storm cloud? Is this what a young inexperienced but future Grandmaster is capable of?
Well, no matter. I suppose I'll have to respond accordingly.
I pointed my spear directly into the sky and, with the help of my Dragon eye, located the exact location of the spell core. Yellow lightning snaked around the end of the spear as the clouds rumbled in anger. An intense flash of light shot out with a thunderous boom, but the lightning from my spear was prepared.
The two Lighting Bolts collided mid-way, warping and electrifying the air. But before the cloud could produce another bolt, I launched my own spell into the cloud. The yellow bolt arced through the air, clearing a direct path toward its target. My magic hit home, directly impacting the spell core and crushing it to dust. The cloud disappeared into nothingness, the phenomenon gone like a whimper in the wind.
I couldn't hear my own thoughts over the roaring crowd. All I did was look at Leopold. He was on his knees, drenched in sweat but not defeated. The orange gemstone at the end of the wand had cracked down the center and had lost its luster as it lay helplessly on the floor. Yet the Prince did not seem angry nor dismayed. No, he just smiled.
I closed the distance on him as quickly as possible, cutting down the few meager blades of wind that had lost their gust. I arrived in front of Leopold, and instead of ramming my spear through his chest and killing him, I simply grabbed his face.
Leopold's swirling blue eyes watched me with an unreadable expression between my fingers. "The rumors don't do you justice…" he mumbled just loud enough for me to hear over the roaring crowd.
I didn't respond to him and instead forced his face directly into the ground with enough force to crack the stone. I made sure not to kill him, but I wasn't done. Even if that knocked him out, it wasn't overwhelming enough.
I dragged Leopold across the floor and tossed him off the platform. His body bounced once, then skipped and bounced again, only to helplessly roll off the side.
The crowd responded to my brutality with deafening cheers of support and approval. Did it lack honor, and was it unsportsmanlike to treat a nation's prince that way? Maybe.
But he just got unlucky being my opponent. Leopold and Tel'an'duth were not my targets.
"Kaladin Shadowheart has won his match with overwhelming prowess! Look at him! He hasn't even broken a sweat! The Dragonslayer means business, everyone!" the announcer yelled into his dungeon item, letting his voice carry above the deafening crowd.
—
Sylvia Talgan's POV
"Kaladin was rather rough," Adria Sandervile murmured from beside me. "To think he could use lightning magic as well…and how did he move his body like that while in the air?"
We were in the old staging room watching the battle. It would take some time for the stadium to be repaired by earth mages, so I was in no rush to go out. I just honestly wondered why she was so close to me all of a sudden…
"That was nothing. That's basically just another day in Kaladin's life," I said, disinterested.
Adria Sandervile laughed weakly. "I suppose you are right…"
Come to think of it. This girl has seen Kaladin when he is truly fighting. It's not something someone can just casually forget.
Truth be told, I don't know how to feel about the girl known as Adria Sandervile. On the one hand, she was Kaladin's slave master and the heir to a nation that directly opposed what our future stood for. Not only that, despite knowing what she had done, she continued to try and interact with Kaladin. On the other hand, she seemed like a kind, gentle girl.
It felt hard to hate her, and even if Kaladin has forgiven her and I understand that she was a naive little child that understood little of the world…a part of me will never be able to see her as anything other than an enemy—an enemy of the past and the future.
I looked down at her as she nervously fidgeted with her fingers. But the moment I turned my head, she was already looking me in the eyes. To most people, it was only natural to look at the face of the person you were speaking with. But that wasn't the case for me, something I had simply gotten used to.
Even with everything I've done. All the fame and praise I've garnered. It wasn't enough. People who are not familiar with me refuse to look me in the eyes.
But not this girl…she isn't afraid of me, but I think she is afraid of what I'll say…there mustn't be a single hateful bone in her body.
"I don't know what you want from me, but I'm not Lin or that dumb fox whose brains went to her chest. But if you want something from me, you better say it," I said in a low voice.
She looked taken aback by my words, but a frown formed on her tiny pink lips. "I—it's nothing like that…I just wanted to speak with you, that's all…"
Oddly enough, I actually believe that completely. But I can't admit that to her. If no one is willing to be skeptical of her, I will.
"I'm not sure if you feel bad for what you did to Kaladin, but he has already forgiven you. Just know that I won't forgive you," I said calmly.
Adria Sandervile's mood soured in an instant. She bit her bottom lip and furrowed her brows, not in anger but in unmistakable sadness. It was the kind of look that couldn't be faked, and I knew that.
"I…I'll always regret what I did…I'll always feel bad about it," she muttered.
Damn…I'm actually starting to feel bad for her at this point…
"Then do something about it," I simply told her.
She raised an eyebrow. "Do something? Do what?"
"Something."
She blinked at me and tilted her head. "Like…what?"
"Anything really," I said with a sigh. I looked Adria straight in the eyes. "I don't believe that you are some sheltered princess anymore. You may not know precisely what is going on, but you understand the gist of it all. If you feel bad for something, then just make it right by helping Kaladin out," I said vaguely.
But Adria Sandervile knew what I meant. The recognition in her eyes was there. "I'm trying," she muttered softly. "It's difficult for me to do… anything."
"Then try harder. Kaladin was unable to do anything at one point," I said as I pointed to the field being repaired by the mages. "But look at him now. He didn't get here by wishes and hopes now, did he?"
Adria followed my finger with empty eyes. She slowly nodded her head. "Yes, you're right."
"I know I am. So just know that when the time comes and you have to make the decision. If you make the wrong one…I'll make sure Kaladin doesn't have to do anything." Adria's eyes widened as she slowly looked at me. "That's right. If that time comes…I'll just kill you myself."
"Is that…a promise?" Adria asked me, her voice as quiet as a mouse.
"Yeah, it is." I let out a long-winded sigh and turned to walk toward the room I needed to go to. "Just try not to let it come to that. I might not like you very much, but I don't think you're a terrible person. And…"
"And?" she asked me expectantly.
"It would make Kaladin sad if you died in such a way, even if it needed to be done," I said honestly, turning my head slightly to catch a glimpse of her.
Adria balled her hands tightly and held them to her chest. She had a determined look that I could only hope meant she would do something.
Had I succeeded in turning a princess against her nation? Would she have done something even without my words? I don't know…only the future knows what's really going to happen.
—
"Vampire priestess, huh? That's a new name," Varnir said with a snicker as we stood in front of each other.
"Yeah, well, it's better than being just Varnir Shadowstone," I shot back.
Varnir frowned but chuckled anyway. "Harsh but not wrong…but won't that name cause some problems with a certain group of people?"
I shrugged. "Probably, but who cares? They probably yell at their ceiling in the morning, knowing I'm just breathing in the same city as them."
"Yeah…" Varnir trailed off as he flicked his braided hair
Mhm, I think Kaladin said that branding was for good luck in war. Or was it a fight? I can't remember exactly.
"You know this really does suck. Going against each other so early," Varnir said.
"It does, but what can you do about it? It was bound to happen one way or another. You can look at it as the same results as our first day of school," I said with a grin.
Varnir raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh? Does that mean I'm going to lose?"
"Naturally. You can't beat me, and I wouldn't let you even if you could," I told him. "It would be a lot easier if you just surrendered so we didn't have to do this at all."
"I guess we both have our reasons to win this thing, huh? But I can't just give up. Too many people have helped me to do that," Varnir said with a hint of sadness. But his face turned stern as he eyed me with a cold glint. "But you know Sylvia…I'm starting to wonder if there is more to you than you let on. After seeing Malachi and hearing rumors about Vampires…why are you so different? Nobody seems to have the guts to ask you."
"As they should. Poking around in places they don't belong often leads to missing limbs. But don't worry, since we are friends; I'll make sure to regrow yours."
Varnir grinned back as he scratched the back of his head. "Good to know…just don't hit me as hard as Malachi. I might not make it to the healing process."
"Yeah, yeah, you'll be fine," I said with a wave. I looked out to the crowd and extended my hand. "It looks like the onlooker is getting a bit frustrated with us. We should get this over with, yeah?"
Varnir shook my hand. "Just don't get mad when things don't go your way this time."
"Yeah, same to you," I said as I turned to walk to my starting position.
Well, I don't think Varnir will hold anything against me after I win. It's unfortunate, but what can I do? I can't let him win….even if I have a rough idea of what he wants as a reward, because I have my own wants as well.
"Now! Let this match begin!" the announcer shouted.
I unsheathed my sword and held it in front of me. The long silvery-white blade gleamed with polish, and the red streaks running down its center were beautiful. That sword has been with me through thick and thin. It's saved my life and the lives of my loved ones a few times now.
And even though I knew there was something more to it, I could never unlock the sword's potential. The phenomenon that happened to Kaladin in the dungeon has never happened again, and I can't seem to replicate it.
I've even turned to try different types of blood from other races, Dragon included. No matter how hard I tried or what kind of Blood Sorcery I used, it all led to nothing in the end.
Grandpa…what is so special about this sword…what are you hiding from me even now?
I was snapped out of my moment of reprieve as a root snaked toward me. With a single thrust, I stepped into it and exploded the wood into tiny splinters that scattered across the arena floor. Hot blood coursed through every vein in my body. I could feel every inch of myself surge with power.
My skin tightened and expanded, pressing against my clothes. My breathing steadied, and I felt more alert and in tune with my surroundings. My control over my body enhancement has gotten better ever since I started practicing with purpose.
Thanks to Kaladin's teaching and ideas, I've improved so much. But it's been a long time since I've been able to prove myself. I always have to hide my true abilities. I just play it off as having freakishly powerful body enhancement. Something that can easily be explained away because I am a "strong" Vampire.
But the truth was far more than just pure strength.
The ground beside me ruptured, and more tentacles of wood attempted to wrap around my legs and pierce my legs. With a single swing and a downward kick, I sliced and decimated the roots with flesh and metal.
The view in front of me was a sea of slithering and snaking roots. It looked like a forest filled with living and breathing monsters. It was the first time I had seen Varnir manage to muster so many roots before.
Is this what he has been practicing? This is a massive difference between his fight with that prince…we only spared a little after that match, but he never showed me this ability. I guess even he was holding back something, huh?
Yet the plethora of tendrils didn't come my way but remained nestled in the center of the arena. When I closed my eyes again to try and focus on my hearing, I scowled. The stadium was too loud. I couldn't hear a damn thing.
But the stadium also reacted to what I couldn't see.
I anticipated the movement and brought my sword into a thrust position. I caught Varnir grinning while being covered in the tendrils, deep in the mass. Perhaps he was testing me, or I had genuinely surprised him. Either way, he made no move to attack me again.
Well, that's fine. If you want to stay hiding forever, I'll just come and rip you out of there.