BattleGround, 5th Floor, 10:00 PM
"Now that I think about it...it really isn't a good idea to fight just after having a dinner. Listen to me, big sister! This really isn't an excuse you hear me! This really will affect my health later-"
"You can give your excuse later, little brother! You already agreed to my proposal and I decided to take responsibility if you get destroyed and that was on. fair. means. Understand?" said Alice in a mischievous tone as she dragged Artis around throughout the ship taking him to the ship's main training arena.
St. Annie had everything one can ever dream of. Including a gym and a training arena were passengers can train, test out their skills, learn and develop new skills, and battle each other to the fullest.
Currently, Alice was dragging her brother to that Training Arena. In the continents like Aurosia and Inloen, duels are an important part of their culture starting many events and tournaments throughout the year.
Varhard University where Artis will work at has a dedicated field just for its students to combat and Artis had to go through a lot of screening so that he could be selected.
Artis liked watching those tournaments on his television but taking part in those wasn't really his cup of tea. He just liked how to perform tricks and make others smile.
Ever since he met a Magician, when he was young, who was able to distract him from his thoughts and let out his deep and genuine feelings of laughter and entertainment, it became a goal for him to want to spread entertainment and fun with his performance.
"Yeah but-" began Artis.
"No Buts!" Alice cut him off sternly, "I know you will say something how it isn't in your nature to fight and how you want to perform in front of an audience. But how long will you be a passive observer, Artis? You have to step up in the world someday, you know?"
Artis looked down in frown as he continued to follow Alice either way, "...Since when did you started to care of how I live my life? Weren't you always busy with your work and duties that you weren't able to give me any time?"
He mumbled softly, under his breath making sure Alice didn't listen to him as they continued taking turns until they rounded a corner and entered the Training Arena.
The St. Annie's main training area was vast, designed with high-tech features that accommodated both beginner and advanced combatants. The arena was spacious, with multiple zones marked for sparring, skill testing, and even a recovery area for post-battle recuperation. Sleek silver walls lined the place, and artificial lighting cast a bright but natural glow over the entire area.
A few passengers and crew members were already in different parts of the arena, some sparring with others, some training their skills while others were a part of the audience. One thing Artis noticed that all the people who were sparring wore a tracksuit as his eyes widened with different people practicing their skills and mastering their weapons.
One was surrounded by a storm of crackling lightning, while another had tendrils of vines growing from her hands, moving with a life of their own. One was using a sword made of bones while one used a bomb-like structure to stun his opponents.
Alice pulled Artis toward an empty sparring area, finally letting go of his arm. "Alright, here we are!" she announced with a proud grin. "This is your chance to show what you're capable of. We'll start with something simple—a mock duel."
Artis was immediately filled with horror and dread, as he realized what his sister meant, he observed Alice already activating one of her skills as she was surrounded in a misty terrain, "Sis, just… go easy on me, alright?"
She chuckled, giving him a wink. "No promises. But let's see what you've got. You know the rules: no serious injuries, and if either of us wants to stop, we stop. Got it?"
Artis nodded, as he took his fighting stance to position himself for any attack. He took deep breathes to calm himself down as he observed Alice, who still had a smirk plastered on her face.
He took a step back as he mumbled the words, "Select- Magician!"
With saying the word, Artis felt that the energy stored in his Gate has changed as he felt his movements getting lighter and faster. With a swift duck, he charged forward thinking various scenarios of what trick he should use on her.
"Alright, Magician," Alice taunted with a smirk, mist still swirling around her, "Show me what your tricks can do."
Artis got under her in a few moments and launched a direct uppercut aiming for her chin. Alice looked at the coming punch as she simply closed her eyes, her hands behind her back and took a step back making the punch miss as Artis was fully open.
Alice's eyes hardened as she launched a back spin kick aiming at Artis's abdomen region. The kick was so fast as Artis couldn't get the time to react as he was pushed back, eyes wincing from pain.
Alice folded her arms, a look of disappointment visible on her face, "Come on, Artis, you can do better than that. Where's the confidence from earlier?"
Artis gritted his teeth, a wave of anger and determination rising within him. He wasn't just about to get defeated in a single hit, his pride wouldn't allow that. Standing up again, he wiped off the sweat forming in his brows and straightened up, "Alright, I will come with everything I've got now!"
Murmuring under his breath, he charged ahead again, and activated one of his tricks, as the ground around them was covered in smoke, the Smokescreen! Blocking both Artis's and Alice's point of view to obstruct their vision.
Alice remained still as her eyes darted around, looking for any potential attacks coming from any direction.
But to her surprise, she felt a tiny bit of jolt strike her arm as that jolt spread as she was zapped causing her to wince in pain.
As the smoke cleared, she could see clearly as her vision restored from the initial shock, and seeing Artis standing up with a cold look and determination etched on his face, a black wand in his right hand.
What Artis did was simple, he first obstructed her view making her tense up and be ready for any potential attacks from any direction. But, Artis never moved from his spot at all and used [Magician] to summon his wand, and used one of his Attack Skills, [Shock Wave] to zap her.
Alice's eyes narrowed as she saw the wand in his hand. A slight smirk of pride crept onto her face, "Well, look at you, finally using your tricks not just to entertain people," She brushed off her clothes, as if the shock hadn't affected her at all, "But don't get cocky. I'm just getting started."
Artis readied himself again, as he started running circles around her. Alice turned slowly, tracking Artis as he dashed around her, her smirk growing wider with each step he took. "Running in circles now? I thought you'd learned a thing or two, little brother!" she taunted, her tone playful but with a hint of challenge.
Artis ignored her taunts, as his mind was focused fully on the battle coming up with potential attacks. He released another smokescreen as he charged ahead, wand at the ready, as tiny streak of embers started emitting from the wand as the tiny embers were released from the wand, becoming a stream of embers.
As Alice was thinking, what his next move would be, from within the haze of smoke, a sudden flash of red light caught her eye, and she instinctively ducked, just as a burst of fiery embers shot out, sizzling through the air where her head had been a moment before. Artis was using his wand's [Fire Flicker] spell, a low-grade fire technique he'd practiced for performance but never used in combat.
"Adding some flames to our fight, eh?" Alice muttered as she kept dodging gracefully from the streak of embers aiming at her.
"That was a good show, Artis! But don't you think we should end this spar now?" said Alice as she completely stopped moving, allowing the spell to hit her. But not to Artis's surprise, the attack did no damage to her, as she flicked the ash away with just a wave.
Artis's was breathing heavily, as he was running out of his tricks soon but he couldn't give up until he landed a punch on his sister's face. Alice continued to smile, as the mist enveloping her spread around them as she took a single step, making Artis startle. This was the first time Alice was launching an attack in the whole spar!
Realizing what was about to happen, Artis ducked down and took a sidestep to dodge a potential attack coming to his direction. At the very instant, Alice appeared in front of him, her punch hovering in air with a hair's breadth between her fist and Artis's cheek.
Alice smirked as she began her explanation, "I knew you would realize I would use [Flash Step] to close our distance and take you out. So I also made a gamble at which direction you would move. And looks like the gamble paid off, it's my win!"
Artis let out a shaky breath, his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't tell if he was more relieved that she'd stopped the punch or that he had managed to dodge it in time. His legs felt like jelly, but he forced himself to stand tall. "I... I wasn't going to let you get me that easily," he said, trying to keep his voice steady.
Alice's smile softened as she crossed her arms, stepping back. "Not bad for a 'Magician' who only wanted to put on shows, huh? But remember, Artis," she leaned in, lowering her voice, "fighting isn't always about beating someone. Sometimes, it's about learning what you're truly capable of."
Artis blinked, as he absorbed her words about the spar. Taking a deep breath, he nodded, indicating he understood her lesson.
"Alright then, spar's over!" said Alice as she clapped her hands, "Let's get rest now. I have to say, you have improved quiet a bit, not bad for someone who says he doesn't like fighting but was fully focused on it the whole time!"
Artis blushed from the compliment, as he turned away in embarrassment, "Yeah, Yeah...I know. But I'll definitely punch you next time!"
With a grin, they both left the arena together, retiring for the night.