“I’m sorry. I might be mistaking things.”
“No, with your cultivation, it would be rare that you think you know someone from the past and be wrong,” Cai Bo said, having overheard their conversation. “There is a hole in our information on Vuzgal. There has to be a power behind it, something working in the shadows. If not, how would they get so many crafters? How would they create a trading network so quickly? They had to have contacts and people they already knew. Look at Lord Rodriguez. He is conversing with Elise, the head of the Trader’s Guild, which manages things for the traders who come to Vuzgal. Also Blaze, the leader of the Adventurer’s Guild. These two guilds, while they might be separate from Vuzgal in name, based on how they interact, Lord Rodriguez is their leader, and they are part of Vuzgal’s power.”
“You mean—”
“Vuzgal is not as simple as we first thought. Where did half of their forces go? Where are these Experts, traders, and fighters coming from? Look into both guilds and see just how deep their roots are.”
Mercy looked from Cai Bo to her granduncle.
Even if they did have deeper roots, they were still weaker than the Willful Institute. She looked around the box the Willful Institute had booked for them. It was a half-step lower than the main box at the peak, where the leaders of associations were talking with trading magnates and sect leaders.
“Mercy, see if you can find out more information on Domonos through your own memories or looking through the records we have on him.”
“Yes, High Elder Cai Bo.” Mercy stood and bowed deeply to her.
Cai Bo nodded slightly. Her eyes had never left the stages where fighters were going all out, trying to make it through the preliminaries.
Never hurts to know more about possible future allies or enemies.
37
Qualifiers
“After three days of fighting, we have our top one hundred competitors for each category! Now it’s time to start the real matches!” Chonglu’s words gathered cheers across the arenas, across Vuzgal. “Let’s begin today’s matches!”
A gong sounded out and fighters walked out to the stages.
Chonglu took a seat next to Erik and Rugrat. People cheered for the fighters they had come to support or who they were associated with—by sect, by business, or by other means.
“So, competitors have to be between twenty and forty years old, use weapons that are of the mid-Apprentice-level, and they have to be within five levels of their opponent?” Erik asked.
“Yes, at reaching twenty, they have been learning to fight for a few years; their fighting methods have matured. By the time one is thirty, one could call them a veteran fighter; at forty, most people who have survived that long are powerful fighters. There are exceptions, but most fighters belong in these ages. Also, they usually don’t have that many resources because they have been training so heavily. Older than this, and they probably have some savings or skills to earn resources and have established their methods of fighting. Duels are a way to train for them instead of a source of entertainment. Keeping them inside five-level brackets means that they can’t use their levels to overwhelm others with too much power. Cultivating one’s mana or body will give them a greater advantage, though these things are gained with effort and are much harder to get than levels.”
“Huh, you’ve really thought this through.”
“We have a lot more people at different levels and skills compared to last year. I just stole the information from Klaus.” Chonglu shrugged.
“Work smarter, not harder.” Rugrat pulled out a seed shell and winced. “Oh, that one had a lot of seasoning.”
“Look—Stephan is going up,” Erik said.
Rugrat took a few gulps of water before he cleared his throat. “Tanya was surprised with how quickly he picked up pure magic. He still needs more education on the basics, but he has a solid foundation and has started to create his own spells.”
“How is your own spellcasting going?”
“With Tanya’s help, I can cast spells faster and four of them at the same time now.”
“Nice. Well, looks like Stephan is up against a bard.”
“A bard? Aren’t those like singers and music players who get into all kinds of shit? I heard about one who accidentally wooed an orc.”
Chonglu spat out his wine and sputtered as he stared at Rugrat. Dude! Come on, just what kind of mental images are you trying to put in other people’s heads?
“Bards back home are more romanticized than here. Yes, bards can use instruments and sing. Some of the best out there, but they are verbal spellcasters. Their instruments and voices allow them to create spells that are stronger than regular mages.”
“Stephan doesn’t look much like a scholar anymore,” Rugrat said.
“After his last fights and a few training lessons, he realized that training and not actually fighting was holding him back. He ran around the realms, completing all kinds of missions to get real-world experience,” Blaze said. “He tightened up his casting, picked out effective spells over flashy ones. Sure, robes make you look cool when you are casting a spell, coming up and moving around with the mana movements. Armor is king, so he got armor and plenty of slots on it so he could have Mana Regeneration potions on hand.”
“He has a short sword as well,” Erik noticed.
“Well, if someone takes you for a swordsman and you’re really a mage, it can be advantageous to you. In his own words, ‘There is no written agreement that people are going to fight me from a distance.’ He’s not a great swordsman by any stretch, but he’s being trained and he has a bunch of buffing spells he can pile up to overwhelm his opponents with power.”
Stephan and the bard walked up to the referee, who explained the rules to them and then sent them back to their own corners.
Stephan pulled out his sword and gathered the surrounding mana. The bard did the same.
“Look at that bow. It has an extra set of strings in front,” Rugrat said.
“Smart. Those strings, if I’m not wrong, are a kind of instrument as well. He can use his bow as a weapon and an instrument.” Erik nodded in approval.
The referee dropped his hand, and the match started.
Stephan’s body glowed as he applied a buff. The air around Stephan’s blade shimmered as he cut out twice, and wind blades shot out at the bard as he started to sing. The bard’s fingers plucked the strings at the front of his bow; he shifted to the side, loosing an arrow covered in lines of magical power.
The Wind blades cut past the bard after he sidestepped, but several others were still coming for him. A mana barrier appeared in front of Stephan, though it broke under the force of the arrow. Another barrier behind it shattered as well, but the third mana barrier that appeared stopped the arrow. Wind blades attacked the bard while arrows slammed into mana barriers.
“Why doesn’t he use his blade to deal with the arrows?” Erik asked.
“He’s fucking up the bard’s spellcasting.”
“You know, you’re this close to sounding like a sage and this close to a redneck.”
“Thank you.” Rugrat winked behind his mask. “The bard, he makes songs or music to create spells, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So, what is the medium for sound?”
“Air!” Erik had an epiphany.
“Right. So, if the air is distorted, it’s going to mess up the spellcasting. If he were to use his air blades against the arrows, the bard could use stronger spells. Look at Stephan—he doesn’t look stressed. He’s excited. He’s holding back to enjoy the fight.” Rugrat’s eyes glowed as he pierced through the realm’s mana with his eyes.
“It is rare to find a bard to fight. This is a fight over mana pool and regeneration.”
“He’s unaffiliated. I’ll see if we can recruit him,” Blaze said.
“You are worse than the Marine Corps recruiters.”
“Except the deal isn’t as shit, and we’re not forcing them to sign,” Erik count
ered.
“What is your hatred toward recruiters? Didn’t you enjoy your time in the marines?” Chonglu asked.
“Yes, but recruiters are...recruiters. It’s hard to explain. They’re sneaky shits who somehow get you into the marines and then, when you’re in, you find out they screwed you over.”
“You did the thirty-day temporary recruiting duty, didn’t you?” Erik asked.
Rugrat ignored the comment, just muttered darkly about recruiters and Temporary Additional Duty as he chewed his seeds into oblivion and watched the match.
Stephan was wearing down the bard. With his attacks messing up the bard’s spellcasting, the bard was looking pale as he was forced to use more mana to compensate.
The bard jumped backward and pulled out a guitar, letting out a couple of fast rifts; electricity appeared around him and shot out like snakes. Stephan frowned and defended with his sword.
“Oh arrow, my arrow, fly for meee,” the bard sang. As he played his guitar, arrows from his quiver jumped up and shot out toward Stephan. His playing became sharper and the notes closer together, like the rising tides of war.
Arrows shot out from behind the bard.
Stephan grinned. The glow around his body increased as he applied more buffs. He used one hand on his sword; the other created spells.
Stone from the ground turned into darts; air turned to blades; mana barriers were his shields and his steppingstones as he was forced on the defensive, unable to close with the bard.
“For my blood and my warrior spirit! Change for me!” The bard left on a high note, and the arrows turned into javelins. “With my power, with my words, enliven the elements, and bring down your righteous wrath!”
One’s heart couldn’t help but speed up. All eyes were on the soul-stirring musician and the battle.
Stephan yelled as tentacles of elements appeared around him, and his attacks sped up again. In a semi-sphere in front of him, his sword flashed; nothing passed his defenses as the ground around him was torn apart.
The arrows-turned-javelins showed elemental properties: lightning, ice, twisting wooden vines. Metal and stone spears rained down in so many numbers and at such speed it was hard to follow.
“My heart goes to the forest and protects me from my worries!”
The ground underneath Stephan cracked as a tree grew around him.
A frost stretched out from Stephan, freezing the air. Stephan cracked the tree trying to bind him with a simple movement. He reached out to his side; lightning extended from his hand into a whip. He snapped it out. Lightning drained from his hand and ran down the length of the whip, letting out a snapping noise. The lightning gathered at the tip into an orb and exploded outward, tearing through the javelins and arrows, raining down on the ground. The bard was forced to retreat.
The stone he stepped on was as soft as water. He yelled; it was strengthened, and the counterforce against the ground sent him backward out of the spell’s range.
A ball of power appeared next to the bard and exploded in light. The bard had a mana barrier up, but his eyes were wide open.
Stephan waved his sword in a circle, stirring up the Wind and gathering the frost. Water was injected into the air, creating snow. The lightning field gathered into the spinning vortex of snow.
Stephan stood there, a god of the elements, watching the bard as he blinked rapidly to recover his vision.
“Do you wish to continue?” Stephan asked, casually spinning his sword, controlling the lightning-frost vortex.
The bard regained his vision; his clothes were ruffled, and his hair was in disarray. Seeing the storm waiting for him, the bard lowered his guitar. “I admit defeat,” the bard said bitterly.
Stephan waved his sword, and threads of energy returned to his body as the spell fell apart.
“Spell Reversal?” Rugrat sat forward.
“Huh?” Erik asked.
“When you cast a spell, you pretty much accept that you are losing that power. People believe that if you are holding onto a spell, you can reverse it and draw the power back into your body so you don’t lose it and don’t have to regenerate it. Most of the people who have tried to do it have been met with disaster. The power turns on them, hurting them instead. Stephan canceled the spell and drew the power back into himself without any wounds.”
“This is the first stage of spell reversal. Stephan has been working with two new techniques called Spell Alteration and Spell Combination. When he combined the lightning field and the frost spell effect, that was him utilizing Spell Combination. The three techniques, if combined, will allow someone massive flexibility on the battlefield. He could be halfway through casting one spell, something changes, and instead of dismissing the spell and wasting the power, he can change it into a new spell through combination, and alteration, or he can take that power back and recast it in a new way,” Blaze added.
“I always thought that spells, once cast, had to be used. I didn’t think they could be changed,” Erik said.
The referee announced Stephan as the winner, and the two fighters walked off their stage. Although it had been an eye-catching fight, there were plenty of other soul-stirring fights happening across the battle arenas.
“Looks like Junior Kaya is going up,” Low Elder Kostic said to High Elder Cai Bo.
“Yes,” she said distractedly, turning her head from Stephan and the bard’s fight. Her gaze reached the Vuzgal city lords, who were talking to the Adventurer’s Guild leader. As the fight finished, they got up and walked around to talk to others.
An aide walked up to Low Elder Kostic, and Cai Bo’s attention turned to Junior Kaya.
Her opponent was a tall man who stood as straight as the fine spear in his hands.
Kaya walked to the middle of the stage, and the referee talked to her as she moved the shield on her left arm, her right hand hooked on the hilt of her sword.
“Are you sure?” Low Elder Kostic asked in a grave voice.
What has him so aggravated?
The aide continued to talk in Kostic’s ear.
He had a dark expression as he dismissed the aide with a wave and turned to Cai Bo. “In the Second Realm, nearly a year and a half ago, a group of Willful Institute disciples ambushed a group of mercenaries. They had some valuable items on them. They killed nearly all the mercenaries, but some escaped to their guild. The guild sent messages to the Willful Institute branch, looking for the attackers to be disciplined.
“The elders dismissed the group. They were just a minor power, and the group who had killed the mercenaries had already used the resources they had stolen and were strong enough to go to the Fourth Realm. The elders disregarded the words of the guild. The Adventurer’s Guild have been harassing our branch through various means, including taking missions from the branch. It came to a head, and the branch challenged the guild directly to showcase their strength and weaken their enemy by taking their resources.”
“The incident in the Third Realm that the Grey Peak sect took advantage of?”
“Yes, High Elder. The same guild that has reportedly allied with the Grey Peak sect branch. That guild is called the Adventurer’s Guild, a simple and widely used name.”
Cai Bo’s eyes moved to Kostic. “Are you saying—? Those idiots.”
Kostic nodded gravely. “That simple guild is the Adventurer’s Guild that calls Vuzgal its headquarters.”
Cai Bo balled her hand into a fist under her sleeves.
What a bunch of incompetent fools! She replayed the fight between Stephan and the bard, and the other qualifier matches she had seen with the Adventurer’s Guild. Her eyes moved to the highest box, and she stared at the Adventurer’s Guild leader, who was talking with several other fighting guild leaders, Chonglu, the leader of the Battle Arena, and powerful trading leaders.
“How could they miss something so important?” Cai Bo hissed.
Her eyes fell on Kaya, but her mind was working overtime.
Kaya and her opponent reached their corners,
and the referee waved her hand, starting the match.
The two fighters charged out. Their bodies glowed as they gathered the surrounding mana, using combat techniques right away. The spear user thrust out; his spear turned into a slippery eel, lashing out. It moved so quickly it seemed to create several copies, layered over one another.
Kaya’s shield was an iron wall, deflecting and shifting the spear attacks away. Her eyes shone as she looked for her opening.
The two figures were hard to watch from the sparks made by each impact. Wind blew over the ground as the spear wielder’s attacks left lines on the floor, even as they connected in the air.
Having a powerful enemy in the Fourth Realm with access to Vuzgal…it remains to be seen whether they want to go all out against the Willful Institute or whether we can reach an agreement.
“Find out just how strong this Adventurer’s Guild is and if the rest of the Institute knows. If we can present this information to the head first and make it appear that other clans are hiding the information, it could be our opening.”
“Yes, Elder Cai Bo.”
In a flash, Kaya moved to the side with a yell, igniting the power of her mana-enhanced muscles.
The spear user’s feet moved in a complicated manner, shifting to his new target. Kaya charged as he shifted; using brute force, she rammed her shield into the man’s spear. He grimaced as the force transmitted through his spear and threw off his attacks, changing the momentum and pace of the fight. He was on his back foot.
Kaya’s shield appeared to grow to twice the size, and lightning covered it. It sounded like a bell from the underworld when the spear struck it.
Lightning danced down the spear shaft, stunning the spear wielder for a half second. Kaya dodged to the side and back in. Her shield seemed to grow heavy as she brought it down on his spear, slamming it into the ground. She jabbed forward with her sword, aiming at the man’s neck.
There was a flash in front of her sword, diverting it to the side.
Sixth Realm Part 2: A litRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 7) Page 44
