Published at 16th of February 2024 2:21 pm

Chapter 33. It's Not Nice To Play With Your Food

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“The gods may have fallen, but their followers have not. Once religious zealots now function out of the shadows, leading or serving cults. They wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t so desperate to win divine favor. The fools don’t realize that sacrificing innocents does little more than feed a vicious cycle. When we see a Dungeon Lord gorging on mana-rich folk, we only target them harder. The gods suffer a net loss, and the idiot cults don’t get it.” -Kennit Kotechek, Leader of Silver Seekers Guild.

Professor Wolfhammer spread the students across three adjacent terraces. He didn’t stop there. The man displayed his most powerful summon yet. Seven-foot-tall men stood on the sidelines of each arena. Giant grey-black wolf furs hung from their shoulders and wore the giant canine heads as helmets. They each held a hammer that stood as tall as them and carried almost the same level of detail as the professor’s weapon.

“They’re my eyes and ears,” the professor said. “I see what they see. I hear what they hear. The standard dueling wards will prevent killing blows, and we’ll follow the standard format. Three breaks determine the winner. My babies will stop the fight if something goes wrong, like a failed ward or someone decides to keep going even after the last one shatters. Remember. The focus of this exercise isn’t killing your opponent but defeat and capture.”

“Are crippling blows acceptable?” Edward asked.

“The wards will prevent dismemberment and count it as half of a death blow. If we find you trying to subvert them and intentionally cripple your opponent in other ways, you will be removed from the course and perhaps expelled from the university. However, it can’t be helped if your magic is destructive. We have emergency healers on the field if the wards fail for any reason.” Professor Wolfhammer nodded at a man and woman with green, curling vine motifs on their coats. They carried staves with flowers growing out of the nobbled top, leaving Nox to wonder whether it was a part of their uniform or they built similar mana systems which tied into their equipment. “They’ll keep an eye on the fight, too, but won’t interfere unless you ask for help.”

Then the three fights began simultaneously. Nox and Louis both had the same thought. They wanted to watch Edward and Lillin face off before starting their duel. Students stood on the connecting passages between terraces or on the roof's edge closest to Ygg’s stem.

Both Edward and Lillin stared at each other for several seconds after the duel began. Neither party made a move for what felt like an eternity. Then the sound of crumpling sheet metal filled the air. It started as a distant crackling hum and then grew louder until the smell in the air reminded Nox of bathhouses that went heavy on cleaning powders. Then Edward broke into a Haste-empowered dash, blue energy enveloped his sword, and the blade changed shape. It gained length, width, and an unsteady curve. When he swung his sword, a crescent lightning blade shot at Lillin.

The projectile never reached its target. A black disc blossomed from Lillin’s outstretched left palm. It was darker than any black Nox had ever seen before. It reflected no light, and looking into it filled Nox with a deep unknown terror. The projectile disappeared into it. Then Edward was on her, slashing through the conjuration. The disc shattered, but most of the lightning-coating the sword went with it.

When Edward attempted a follow-up slash, he found a gravity orb waiting for him. It shot from Lillin’s right hand and flew into his shoulder. He attempted to dodge, but the sphere stuck to him. It shot away from its conjurer, dragging Edward away. The gravity orb disappeared as soon as it left Lillin’s mana zone, and he landed on his back, coughing.

Nox wondered for a second why the spell didn’t inflict more damage. Lillin’s gravity orbs were most destructive when she conjured multiple and used the conflicting attractive forces to rip apart whatever got close. Solitary spheres weren’t particularly powerful, but their high-speed rotations often ripped clothes and left shallow lacerations. Edward showed no signs of injury. Then he realized she had altered the spell. The gravity orb got close but never touched Edward. She combined its natural attractive force with the Polar Manipulation she stole from Victor. Nox planned on asking her about the details of the spell once alone.

“I see why you avoid rifts and dungeons, Edward,” Lillin said. “You’re pretty pathetic.”

Instead of answering, Edward jumped to his feet and sprinted at Lillin. The sound of crackling intensified, and a dozen lightning spheres manifested, revolving around him. It occurred to Nox that his stepbrother was at the cusp of ascension, and Manipulation or Animation was likely his next planet’s focus.

When Lillin sent another gravity orb at him, three lightning spheres darted forward to meet it. They formed a triangular formation in the black projectile’s path. When it passed through the gap between them, lightning tendrils assaulted the gravity orb, and it dissipated.

“That’s spell nullification!” Alexander exclaimed. A trio of squirrels stood in front of him. Two of them held open a journal, and a third scribbled in it.

“How does that work?” Nox asked. “Isn’t that a product of antimagic?”

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“Not necessarily. Lightning essence is one of the most volatile forms of magic. It also generates multiple fields, and research on the subject is questionable and incomplete. I reckon that the triangular formation creates an essence net that destabilizes passing spellforms.”

“So, it's not true antimagic or spell nullification but disruption?”

“I suppose spell disruption would be a more accurate term,” Alexander commented. The pair kept their eyes on the fight as Edward and Lillin both lost one of their three dueling wards. Instead of using her high-power attacks, she kept throwing her opponent off-balance or flung him across the terrace. Nox couldn’t tell whether she was toying with him or testing new control techniques and defenses.

“Are you with the research department? You seem pretty familiar with lightning magic.”

“Besides the compulsory courses and summoning theory, I’m with the dungeon studies department full-time,” Alexander answered. “Ratotaskr—or the iteration of him I contracted, at least—uses lightning essence. I’m not powerful enough to summon that aspect of him yet, but I’ve been researching and preparing spellforms when the time comes.”

“How does spell casting for summoners work?” Nox asked. “Shouldn’t your spells focus on empowering your summons?”

“Not necessarily. Most practitioners who are summoners from the formation of their star end up storing a fragment of the contracted entity in it. As the star grows, the connection between the two beings improves, and you get access to their essences and spells.” Alexander nodded at the creature overseeing the fight. “Professor Wolfhammer’s hammer comes with empowering essences which enhance the strength and durability of the wielder. He passes this on to his wolves. However, they don’t benefit from its minor Stone Shaping, snow, and frost magic. Only Professor gets to use them. If his star ever ascends to Archmage, perhaps he can pass those onto the wolves, too.”

“What rank do you need to reach before Ratotaskr gives you lightning?”

“Journeyman, I think. Despite his mythology, the squirrel isn’t the most communicative of partners. Either way, I’m focusing on a Life core to enhance the little guys.”

The pair fell silent as the fight intensified. Nox’s initial hypothesis proved correct. Lillin was toying with her opponent. Pale face. Ragged breathing. Sweat dripping from nose, ears, and chin. Edward had burned through almost all of his mana. Meanwhile, as a journeyman, Lillin had significantly greater stores than him. Victor’s magic, combined with gravity, had significantly improved her mobility, too. Edward appeared to only get in melee range when she wanted to let him.

Edward displayed more of his arsenal. It occurred to Nox that his stepbrother wasn’t as useless an individual as he thought. Galvanising Touch occupied Edward’s star, and Lightning Shaping helped him mold it around his sword and crescent projectiles. He used Haste to increase his speed. Meanwhile, his third cantrip wasn’t as obvious. Since Edward could launch his lightning crescents during the tournament, it meant the spell wasn’t connected to Manipulation. After all, he didn’t have nearly enough mana to start on a new focus, let alone a planetoid dedicated to it.

Lord Gedge or Queen Mercer got him a rare cantrip that specialized in launching Shaped Essence. Now, the lightning spheres and spell disruption defense suggested Edward had either designed a new spell or paid someone to do it. Either way, he needed to be close to journeyman to dip his toe in the new pool. Executing something so nuanced without some modicum of talent or hard work was no easy task. Unfortunately for Edward, it mattered little against his opponent.

Lillin destroyed the second dueling ward but kept giving up opportunities of claiming the third. Instead, she tossed gravity orbs behind or next to Edward, throwing him off balance. His disruption spell struggled with anything that didn’t come directly at him. In the end, he collapsed from exhaustion and surrendered. Edward’s face suggested he was too tired to feel humiliated. In fact, his grip on consciousness appeared fragile.

“She’s tenacious,” Alexander commented, taking notes.

“You’ve seen nothing.” Nox laughed. “I suppose this is what Professor meant by control mages stalling forever. She’s used nothing but the most basic control spells. Her attacks would be too devastating to use in practice.”

“I can imagine conflicting gravity fields inflicting irreparable damage in seconds. The fight would be over before it even started. Why doesn’t she use them?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps she wanted to frustrate Edward or found joy in tossing him around. Maybe she doesn’t want to show the class her full strength.”

“Why not?” Alexander asked. “A display of strength will win you more party offers.”

“Look where that got us,” Annabelle said. “Victor picked you because of your display on the first day. You picked us after watching our coordination. A party needs trust and harmony to function effectively. We didn’t have that even before Nox and Lillin came along.”

“I see you’re sticking with them now.” Nox spotted Caitlin hovering within hearing distance as Alexander spoke. He guessed she’d heard most of their conversation.

“Because unlike my brother and fiance, they’ve won my trust. We worked together without making it about subservience or familial standing.”

“Does that mean you’re sticking by us?” Nox asked. “I hope you’re aware that I’m banned from delving until my mentor says so.”

“I guessed as much when I saw you without your badge,” she commented. “After the last delve, I’m in no rush. I’d rather we get stronger and faster first.”

“We need a vanguard, too,” Nox said. “We won’t get much done as three ranger-fighters.”

“Or you could get lucky and find a summoner,” Alexander said. “Finding one with a contract capable of front lining could be challenging, but I hear the war mage department is full of them.”

Their conversation was cut short when Louis marched to the terrace’s center and drew his rapier. It was Nox’s turn to fight.

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