Sorey Atherion's Point of View
---------------------------------------
"What's going through his head? After seeing all that about the Metaryons, how can he be so confident?" whispered a student.
"I don't know, but what rank did he get in the power test, again?" responded a second, intrigued.
"Doesn't matter. If he went unnoticed, it's probably because he's not that powerful," the first replied with scorn.
"The others don't seem to trust you," said Troy with an arrogant smile, raising rocks from the ground. He then violently hurled them at Keldo.
"Keldo, move!" I shouted, trying to warn him.
"Relax, I've got this," he responded, his gaze determined. With a swift move to the left, he dodged all the rocks thrown at him in one go.
"How did he dodge that far!?" exclaimed Yoko, amazed.
"Look, he's got wheels on his boots!" an elf cried out.
"Rollers? Is he serious?" Zayren, one of the new Devas in the class, said with an amused smile.
"Rollers? What's that? A human invention?" Yoko asked, intrigued.
"Uh... yeah, it's a mode of transportation among humans, mostly used by the young," I explained, trying to stay neutral.
"That sounds cool! I want some," she said, suddenly enthusiastic.
"Ahah! I'll see if I can get you a pair," I said, scratching my head, a bit embarrassed.
"You would do that? Thanks, Sorey!" she replied with a radiant smile. Kaiser and Areyos shot me sidelong glances before refocusing on the fight. Maybe they had a protective instinct towards her, like big brothers. Anyway, the fight continued, and Keldo was still dodging Troy's attacks with impressive speed. I noticed he had small thrusters on his ankles. With his rollers and thrusters, he moved incredibly fast, though he hadn't attacked yet.
"You know, it's pointless moving if you don't attack," Troy finally said after a dozen unsuccessful attempts.
"I'm coming, get ready," Keldo responded enigmatically. He then threw a small metallic ball which Troy caught without difficulty.
"Are you kidding me!?" Troy shouted, but as soon as his voice echoed, a beep came from the ball. Then another. And a final one. A violent explosion sent Troy flying backward, reducing his health bar by 30%.
"Explosion bending?" Kaiser wondered.
"Ahaha, is he serious? It's a grenade!" an amused human exclaimed.
"Exactly, C-4, for brutal explosions!" another added.
"What is that?" asked students from other races, confused.
"To simplify, it's a bomb made of explosive materials that can be triggered remotely," explained Zyriel Versalys, Zayren's twin sister.
"And how does he trigger it remotely? Does he have a specific power?" Arwyna asked, curious.
"No, he uses a detonator, probably working with magnetic waves given there are no visible electrical cables connected to it," Zyriel specified, with a smirk.
"Detonator? Magnetic waves? Electrical cables? What are you talking about?" Arwyna exclaimed, even more confused.
"It's complicated to explain, let's just say technology is to humans what magic is to elves," Zyriel intervened, amused. Troy got up, furious, his face twisted with anger.
"You little runt! I'll crush you!" Troy roared, propelling himself towards Keldo with his firebending. But once again, Keldo dodged, leaving another small C-4 charge on the ground. As soon as Troy came within range, Keldo triggered the explosion, and a new shockwave sent Troy flying, reducing his health bar to 40%. I was impressed by the Metaryons' resilience, able to withstand such blasts.
"Not so smug now, Troy?" Keldo taunted with a grin.
"Don't underestimate me!" Troy yelled. Suddenly, a stone hand shot from the ground, grabbing Keldo's leg.
"Perfect... 'Fire Torrent'!" declared Troy, arm outstretched, before a deluge of flames rained down on Keldo, trapped. His health bar plummeted, but just as he seemed close to defeat, a strange gas rose around him, instantly extinguishing Troy's flames.
"Extinguishing gas!" I exclaimed, astonished.
"How does it work?" Yoko asked.
"It reduces the oxygen in the air, which stops the flames from burning," I replied.
"He's doing well," Areyos approved, his eyes fixed on the scene.
"But won't he run out of air himself?" asked Yoko, slightly worried.
"He must have taken precautions for that," Areyos answered. Suddenly, Keldo emerged from the smoke, holding some kind of high-tech crossbow. He shot an arrow that moved so fast Troy couldn't dodge it. The impact electrified Troy, who fell to his knees, paralyzed. Keldo had arrows with various effects, then.
"Let me introduce you to my first transformation: 'Base Gear Mode'," Keldo declared. Emerging from the smoke, he wore a metallic chest plate covering his torso and shoulders. Combined with his metallic gloves and greaves, he had formed an armor where all parts were connected by electrical cables.
Electrified, Troy redirected the electricity from the arrow through his fingers, releasing it as a lightning bolt that struck Keldo head-on, slightly reducing his health bar.
"Oh no, Keldo!" I cried out. His armor, having absorbed most of the lightning, overheated, and sparks crackled around the cables. Troy had probably used all the arrow's energy in one go before removing it.
" 'Giant Fireball' !" Troy yelled, raising his arm to create a massive fireball.
"You did well, human, but you were born into the wrong race." He then launched the attack towards Keldo.
Quickly, Keldo pulled a net filled with metal spheres from his dimensional bracelet and threw it at the fireball.
"What's he going to do now?" Arwyna exclaimed.
"Probably another net of extinguishing gas," Areyos murmured. A few meters from the fireball, a smoke screen burst forth, dissipating the attack in an instant. Areyos was right.
"Impressive, he's doing well," Areyos said, satisfied. "But it won't be enough."
"Why do you say that?" Yoko asked.
"Because he pissed off Troy," Kaiser replied, his grave tone foretelling what was to come. Before I could understand what he meant, Troy armed himself with a seething rage and enveloped himself in thick stone armor, leaving only his eyes visible. Keldo was about to shoot another arrow, but Troy stood tall, arms wide, challenging Keldo to shoot. Keldo then shot his arrow, hitting Troy straight on, causing an explosion and a shockwave that cleared the dust around them.
"Well done, Keldo! Show him who's boss!" a human shouted.
"Yeah, show him the strength of humans!" another chimed in.
"Go, Keldo, you can do it! Metaryons aren't invincible!" I yelled, before shivering under Kaiser's piercing gaze, which made me look away. I had forgotten he was right in front of me.
"Ah, you humans are always so noisy," remarked Troy as the smoke cleared.
"Wait! His health bar! It hasn't even gone down!" Arwyna exclaimed, surprised. The human cheers faded, leaving shocked faces.
"Given the noise and size of that explosion, I expected more damage than that," Troy said confidently, although parts of his earthen armor had shattered.
"He reinforced his armor with Ki!" Yoko analyzed.
"Crap, I forgot he could use Ki," a human murmured, looking desperate.
"This isn't the turn I expected," Keldo admitted, trying to hide his concern behind a confident smile.
"I must admit you defended yourself well... but you seem to have forgotten one detail," Troy declared, an aura of fire gradually enveloping his body. "You humans are incredibly fragile," he concluded before propelling himself high into the air.
"What's he doing?" I wondered.
"Watch out! It's Troy's special technique!" one of his friends shouted.
"Go, Troy! Destroy him!" the Metaryons cheered excitedly.
"What's he planning?!" Yoko exclaimed.
"I have no idea," Kaiser answered, watching Troy. After reaching a certain height, Troy dove headfirst like a meteor towards the ground, hands forward, creating a devastating shockwave upon landing. Keldo was thrown several meters away and crashed, shaken by the impact.
"Keldo!" I shouted, worried.
"A powerful technique, especially effective in a confined space like an arena," Areyos observed.
"Look at the mana screen, Keldo's health has dropped to 25 percent," Kaiser noted, his expression impassive.
"Oh no, he'll manage it," I said, worried.
"Get up, Keldo! It's not over!" a human girl yelled. The human cheers resumed, though fear was visible on their faces as they saw Keldo stand up.
"No... he's not going to..." Arwyna started as Troy rose slightly higher into the air than before.
"Move away, Keldo!" I shouted. Troy dove again, hitting the ground violently, creating another shockwave that sent Keldo crashing against the arena wall despite his attempt to move away from the impact point. Like the last time, a huge crater formed in the ground at the arena's center.
"No, Keldo!" I cried out, increasingly worried.
"He won't make it... Troy is way too strong for him. Metaryons take no fall damage on rocky, metallic, or crystalline surfaces. He could keep this up indefinitely until Keldo is exhausted," Kaiser explained.
"And with his health almost at zero, the next hit will be fatal anyway," Areyos added, glancing at the giant mana screen.
"Hey, Troy! Don't think this is over! I haven't said my last word!" Keldo shouted, struggling to stand. He took off with his rollers and thrusters, charging at full speed towards Troy.
"He's going for suicide," Corvus murmured.
"You're pathetic. It's time for the final blow," Troy declared, launching much higher this time and dodging Keldo's attack. To the astonished looks of the students, he began his destructive descent, lighting up the sky with his flames. Keldo, in the crater at the center of the arena, looked up without moving, determined.
"It's over for him," Yoko murmured. But against all odds, Keldo pulled something from his dimensional bracelet.
"What is that?" Kaiser asked, confused.
"A sniper?!" I exclaimed.
"Looks like a firearm, I've seen them before," Areyos noted.
"And what exactly are these 'firearms'?" Yoko asked, intrigued.
"Metal devices that propel projectiles at high speed," Areyos explained.
"But even if it pierces through Troy's enhanced armor, I doubt it'll be enough," Kaiser evaluated, confident in his analysis.
Areyos's eyes suddenly lit up, and an enigmatic smile touched his lips. "He's not aiming for the armor..." he murmured, letting his words hang for a moment, before revealing with assurance: "He's aiming for Troy's eye."
"Troy's eye?!" Yoko repeated.
"That's clever indeed, Ki is based on physicality, so when used defensively, it's based on the physical resistance of each body part, and thus, the reinforcement won't be uniform across all parts of the body," Kaiser analyzed.
"Exactly! The muscular areas will have better reinforcement than softer areas like the eye!" Yoko exclaimed.
"And the brain," Areyos added. "If that bullet goes through his eye, his brain will be touched." His sniper aimed upward, Keldo presumably with Troy's eye in his sights, pulled the trigger. A loud noise echoed through the arena, and under the astonished gazes of the students, Troy's health bar emptied instantly. Troy, letting out a scream of pain, lost control of his trajectory and crashed far from the center, sparing Keldo from the shockwave since he was sheltered in the earlier-formed crater.
"Troy... lost?!" the Metaryons exclaimed, shocked.
"Impossible! Against a human?!" murmured others, stunned.
"And the match ends with Keldo Stark's victory ! Congratulations," the professor announced, deactivating the protective system. The giant screen displaying the fight and each fighter's health bar now showed Keldo as the winner of the match.
"Thank you, professor," Keldo said with a victorious smile.
"I warned you you'd bite the dust," he taunted Troy.
"Damn human..." Troy growled, getting up with a clenched fist. He was about to strike Keldo, and without the protective system, a direct hit would have killed him.
Just centimeters from Keldo, Troy suddenly froze.
"Huh... what's this?! I can't move!" he screamed. His arm twisted against his will, then delivered a violent slap to himself, destabilizing him. Fear and confusion were evident on his face.
"He won fair and square. We Devas are human too. So watch your behavior when we're around," Zyriel declared, causing a heavy silence among the students.
"Bone bending...?" the professor said, observing Zyriel with a hint of astonishment.
She just smiled silently, letting the mystery linger. A shiver ran through the crowd; glances were exchanged, hesitant, fascinated.
"That's not exactly it," she murmured, savoring the anticipation. "My specialty is a bit more... discreet."
The whispers intensified, the students trying to guess what that could mean. Zyriel leaned slightly forward, her eyes glowing with an enigmatic light.
"So, what is it?" the professor insisted, a trace of nervousness in his voice.
She stared at him for a moment, then finally whispered:
"Blood bending."
To be continued...