The Elves of Mount Olive. Legends from Fantasia told stories of a sect of Elves who were unique from their peers. Instead of relishing in their beauty, their carnal desires, and their lazy lifestyle, these Elves banished themselves into the Central Mountain Range of Fantasia.
There, these Elves disciplined themselves to control their fleshly desires, appreciated the beauty of the world, and devoted themselves in all sort of work. Seeing this, the forgotten god of Mount Olive rewarded them with the greatest gift he can give: himself. His powerful presence indwelled each Elf and he promised that he will never leave them with the condition that they never use their power for violence. There was a continuation to this story regarding that promise, but that would be told another time.
In the end, his presence gave the Elves the ultimate power to control the mana in the world. While mages or magical creatures manipulated mana to cast spells or produce a specific effect, the Elves of Mount Olive could literally grab mana and manipulate it however they desired.
The effect of this power was endless and it included what I and Luigi were experiencing. Our bodies were frozen by Gustave as he literally grabbed the mana in our bodies with only his thought.
"You know, disciplining unruly children isn't part of my job description," Gustave sighed.
"It ain't Christina's dad's fault!" one of the girls that surrounded Christina, a Beastman from the Feline Tribe, shouted in my defense.
"Yeah! It's that fire guy who started it!" a Water Nymph immediately added.
And soon, a roaring group of ladies shouted protests at Gustave.
"Alright, alright, ladies calm down," he said gently. "As I said, disciplining children isn't in my job description. However, it IS my job to entertain the guests."
He then opened his hand and the grip on us dissipated. Our bodies crumpled to the ground as he did. Maria immediately rushed to my side while Mariel rushed towards Luigi's.
"So I have a proposition," Gustave continued. "The host of this event told me to make the auction interesting. I've been racking my brains but found no solution. But now, your conflict has given me an idea."
He raised his hands and at once, the entire room was under his conmand. Chairs and tables moved at a flick of his wrists, expensive set pieces flew to a safer place, and for his final act, he strained himself to raise the floor where we stood. And with that, a makeshift arena was assembled at the blink of an eye.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, take your places," he announced. "The auction is about to begin!"
His announcement excited many of the guests and they immediately took their seats.
"As per usual, use the number on your seats to bid on an item you like," he continued. "But! Unlike normal auctions, the highest bidder doesn't necessarily win the item."
The sudden twist on the event sent the entire place into a storm of murmurs. Gustave waited for a bit to let the new information stew, and then clapped his hands to silence the guests.
"Now, now don't be alarmed. It's more fun this way," he said. "As you all know, we have two couples here who have bad blood between them. On one side of the arena, we have Andrew and Maria Roberts. And on the other, we have Luigi Gambino and Mariel Nero. These two sweethearts have a quarrel to settle. And we're gonna use that."
He then snapped his fingers and a pedestal slowly ascended from the floor. There were two toy hammers on it: one red and one blue. They were the type that squeaked whenever a child smacked them anywhere. They were normally harmless, but I just knew that Gustave's gonna pull some twist that'll change everything.
"These hammers were specifically made for children who were showing gifts in magic," he said as he took one. "They're designed to teach children how to control their budding powers. These won't kill since they can only channel small amounts of magic. But they'll sure hurt a lot so make sure to win."
The murmurs started again, but this time, the air buzzed with excitement.
"So what's the game, you might ask," he continued. "Well, good question. First, when you, the audience, want to bid on an item, you must put up the name you're betting on along with your bidding number. You should have a board with either team's name -- Roberts or Gambino-Nero-- on it. Once the highest bid was given, the ladies will then play rock, papers, scissors. Whoever wins, their partner would then get to smack their opponent with the hammer. Magic, is of course, allowed, if not encouraged. This will be done best out of 5 or until someone gives up. In the end, whoever placed the highest bid on the winning couple wins the item!"
The murmurs erupted into electric conversations as the competitive blood of the audience was stirred. Meanwhile, Luigi and Mariel looked at us with savage eyes.
"That sounds great!" Luigi said as he grabbed the red hammer. "You two are not pussying out in front of everyone right?"
The entire venue silenced itself as everyone waited for our answer. I turned to Maria and smirked. She already had fire in her eyes. I thought that I'd be the reasonable one and diffuse this situation, but looking at her made my blood boil.
I stood up and asked for the hammer from Gustave.
"Well, we have a competition!" Gustave announced and everyone cheered at the top of their lungs.
Things were escalating quite quickly and it was only a matter of time before the Pirate's Bell appear. So, I tapped my earpiece to check on our team outside.
"Hey, Han," I whispered. "Are you in?"
There was silence for a bit.
"Yeah, quite a while ago," Mr. Han replied with a slight chuckle. "You know, kiddo, you've always found trouble ever since you met the Rodriguez family. It's good for you."
"Har har," I replied. "Just keep an eye on everyone. I haven't seen a hint of The Miracleworker, but with your eyes and ears, we'll find them if they're on site."
"Gotcha," he said. "The Nerd Team's working on the double. We'll find them. In the meantime, just focus on the game. And if you can, win the bell."
"That's the plan," I sighed tiredly.
"Now, introducing the first, item," Gustave announced as two staff members rolled in something that was veiled with a white cloth. "If you like the weird, the mysterious, the crazy, you would like this!"
The staff members pulled off the cloth and revealed an ancient-looking Aztec mask. It was cracked and chipped all around, but the intricate patterns and design made it into an impeccable artifact.
"An ancient human civilization made this mask. Legend has it that whoever wore this mask suffered from an insatiable hunger that can only be satisfied with human flesh. The starting bid's a million dollars. Now, can I get a million? There, number 27 a million dollars for Gambino-Nero. Can I get a two million?" Gustave's mouth started firing off words like a machine gun as he hosted the bidding wars.
"And there, number 56 with ten million dollars for Roberts! Anyone going for eleven million? Eleven million? Going once, going twice, sold to number 56!" Gustave concluded the first round. "And now, time for the first exchange. Grab your popcorns! This is about to get wild!"
On Gustave's cue, we faced each other in the middle of the arena. With toy hammers in hand, the ladies will decide our fate.
"Now with me everyone!"
"Rock"
"Paper"
"Scissors!"
The ladies dropped their hands and the first bout went to Mariel.
"Ooh! And now, Mr. Gambino can have a swing at Mr. Roberts!"
Luigi licked his lips. "Grit your teeth. This is gonna hurt," he said. Then with just his thought, the hammer burst into flames. He raised his arm to take the first swing and I stood there to accept it.
Impact. The moment the hammer struck my head, the smell of burnt hair filled my nostrils. The temperature was far too weak to cause any real damage, but my skin tingled as the fire singed it.
"Hah! How do you like my flames?" he said. "Be thankful that it wasn't my full power. Or else, your head would've been blown off."
I chuckled. I didn't mean to, but a certain memory flashed in my mind and I just couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny?" Luigi asked with a mix of confusion and anger.
"Oh, nothing," I said. "It's just that when you see someone use a seaweed to beat the shit out of a person, even your flashy attacks just feel weak."
I glanced at Maria and as our eyes met, she gave me a knowing smile.
"Alright, next round!" Gustave announced again.
The ladies dropped their gavel for our judgement and this time, the bout went to Maria.
"Stupid," Mariel grumbled.
"Now it's my turn," I said with an excited grin.
I gripped the hammer, and let the mana flow through. And soon, a cluster of wind rotated at high speeds around it.
Perfect. Just don't let it get out of control.
I raised my arm to swing the hammer. But as my hand dropped, another form of magic sprung from within. It wasn't wind magic, no. It was something that was alien, new.
Time slowed down in that moment. And in the corner of my eyes, I see Christina. Her eyes have turned into slits and they shone bright blue.
Oh no...
I clenched my muscles stop the hammer but it was too late. All I could do was close my eyes and wait for the moment it connected on Luigi's head.
Collision. As soon as the hammer stopped, every molecule around Luigi crawled close to a halt. Frost spontaneously crackled all over him and freezing cold winds burst toward the audience.
"Mr. Roberts with a surprising display of frost magic!" Gustave announced. "Luigi's frozen in place. Look at him shiver!"
The audience gasped and murmured in curiosity and wonderment.
Meanwhile, I turned to Christina's direction.
"Christina!" I shouted so she can hear me from where she was. "Stop that, please."
"No!" she responded. "He's mean. So he dies."
"Christina..." I sighed. "Do you believe in your mom and dad?"
She nodded.
"Then let us handle this, ok? I promise, I'll ask for your help when we REALLY need it."
She thought for a bit and then her eyes went back to normal. She then grabbed a bag of popcorn from Saige and consumed it.
"Good girl," I said with a smile.
I turned back my attention to Luigi who has already thawed himself out. He was functional, but still shivering.
"F-frost magic? Our information said you were a S-sylph!" he said through chattering teeth.
"I'm glad you're not dead," I replied. "I still can't control it so I was worried there for a second."
"Don't patronize me!" he growled. "Use your frost magic again! I'll just melt it anyway."
I sighed. I was exhausted. Every minute I spent with this guy sapped my strength. And as my energy levels went down, so did my patience.
"I'm not planning on being a murderer today, Mr. Gambino," I said. "But you did piss me off when you insulted Maria and tried to hurt Christina. So here's what I'm gonna do: I'm gonna hit you with this hammer over and over on your head until you get a bald spot. And then, I'm gonna draw a pen*s on it with a permanent marker and send you back to cry to your daddy. And when you come back for revenge, I WILL use frost magic until you're barely conscious, shave your head, and then tattoo my name on it so you never forget me for the rest of your life."
After I spewed my threats, there was pin-drop silence.
Luigi just stared at me. The audience didn't stir. Gustave's mouth was agape as he held up a mic near my face. Meanwhile, Maria struggled to hold back her laughter.
With thr mic, the entire place heard my threats and not one soul could say a word.
Except for one, of course.
"Jesus, Roberts..." Mr. Han said in my ear. "Who hurt you?"