The Third Step: Chapter Sixty-One

Thankfully, the Patriarch didn’t take long to dismiss us, as he quickly turned to talking to the crowd and trying to build up hype around the fights, pointing out several of the key individuals in the fight: the mysterious blood mage, seemingly capable of completely shutting off someone’s magic. The woman with the bonded blade whose speed allowed her to blitz through opponents with ease. The indomitable vegetable cleaver who had cast one spell throughout the entire fight. 

Wait, vegetable cleaver? That wasn’t right. I flicked through my memories, focusing on the Cai Dao. That was his name, but it… it was vegetable cleaver. Who named their kid vegetable cleaver?

To my chagrin, as the Patriarch continued to highlight a few other fighters, he pointed out the strange kitsune or phantom fox or perhaps something else, dubbing me ‘the immortal fox’, as from the perspective of the audience, I’d seemingly weathered both the resonating force blade attack and the massive volcano spell without issue. 

I wasn’t sure if I’d made the right choices in that fight. A part of me thought that I’d have been better off just fleeing and letting Kamal wear himself out on other opponents. I certainly would have attracted less attention, and would have shown off less of my abilities in the fight. 

On the other hand, it would have let Kamal advance further in the competition. He didn’t have the same sharp edges that several of the other competitors seemed to have, but he did have a lot of raw power. 

“And now, I will reveal to you the nature of the next round!” the Patriarch announced, his voice resonating through the air around us. He swept one of his sleeves out, and white rubber balls started to rain from the sky. They struck the burnt grass of the arena and rebounded, going wild.

“As is tradition, you shall have three days to rest and train, and on the fourth day, you shall join us once more in the arena. Each person, take one, and only one, orb of absolution and destiny!” 

I was tempted to roll my eyes at the name, but restrained myself, bending over to pick up one of the bouncy balls. What was the orb absolving us of? Guilt at how we were being sorted? Wait, that actually made a little bit of sense. 

“As you arrive in the arena four days hence, your orb of absolution and destiny will change color to indicate which of eight teams you are on. You will join with the others on your team, and will attempt to hunt down those of you on another team by whatever means necessary. Each time you land a spell on someone, their mana will be suppressed for fifteen seconds, and you’ll score a point for your team. After twenty minutes, the four teams with the most points will move on, while the bottom four teams will be eliminated!” 

I arched an eyebrow at that. A randomized team challenge hadn’t exactly been what I’d expected, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. It held a little bit too much randomness for my taste. Then again, I supposed that was why they’d split us into eight teams of eight. If they’d just split us down the middle, the odds that one team would be stacked with top fighters was way too large, and the pretty good fighters on the other team could be crushed. This way, even if there was a team relatively stacked in either a positive or negative sense, it wouldn’t instantly devalue everyone else. I still wasn’t sure I loved it, but I’d deal with it. 

With the nature of the round revealed, we went through a medical checkup, and then were free to head back to our rooms. As I walked through the halls, chatting with Dusk about how we performed, a familiar form approached. A grin spread across my face and I dashed forward, pulling the white suited figure into a hug. 

“Ikki! I was wondering when I’d see you!” 

Ikki patted my head very lightly, as if he was patting a dog, and I released him. 

“What did you think?” I asked. “I’m assuming – or at least hoping – that you were watching.” 

As Ikki and I began to walk, I felt his mana and Title fill the space. This was the first time I’d sensed his Title, at least with such sharp senses, and it felt… wrong. Not broken or bad, inherently, but ill-fitting. It was like someone wearing a pair of pants that were a few inches too short. It wasn’t horrible, but it was certainly a touch off.

“You did passably well. In your place, I would have chosen to remain mobile, rather than staying in one spot and allowing Kamal to hunt me down. I also might have simply snuck away, removed the mask, and hidden the tail, then fought as a pure temporal mage for the rest of the battle. It would have let you avoid the eyes of those who don’t research all of the sixty-four, and those who did would likely have drawn the conclusion I was teleporting with the use of early access to a recall power, perhaps as a result of bonding to a spatially aligned spirit.” 

“Mmm. Still would have shown my face, though, and I’m not sure I want Malachi to have that much attention. Better to let a mysterious fox have it.”

“You have a medal of honor from a rapidly industrializing young nation and have played a part in the restoration of the hudau tortoises, mantle esstragon, and a lesser role with draigg-blaidd packlords,” Ikki pointed out, his tone dry. “People are noticing ‘Malachi’ already. And if you place much higher, people will notice the fox. Not everyone will put it together, but enough will.” 

“I. But. That’s not. Okay, fair point,” I said. Dusk piped up, asking what she could have done, and Ikki nodded to her. 

“You have multiple spells that are reliant upon or enhanced by earth. Notably, the Thousand Hands of Grasping Earth spell is a highly potent focal point of your second gate. You could have easily bound the knight and bard, and done in one spell what took you several. Furthermore, you have enabled your dominion to bleed into your cloud. You can, and should, reinforce it with the durability of the stones within your realm, and potentially even toughness spells from cavern estragon and bwbatch. Your cloud should not have shattered so quickly.” 

Dusk chimed in with a blue jay’s caw, saying that while she fully agreed about the dominion, it wasn’t quite so easy to pull spells in as he implied – but that she would start training to incorporate them. Ikki nodded, before we stopped in the small room they had given me. On the doorstep was a small wooden box, and Ikki gestured for me to take it. I picked it up – it was wrapped in arcanist level protective enchantments, keyed specifically to my mana signature, which had doubtless been recorded by the trial orb. I was impressed at first, until I realized it was a single use enchantment, rather than a defense that could be re-engaged. That was still impressive, but much less so. 

I blinked as I realized Ikki had said something to Dusk. She opened a portal, and Dawn shot out, slamming into my chest and passing into my soul. It was a very odd sensation, but a pleasant one, like a hug. She pulled out, and wiggled happily, indicating that there was company. 

Spawner. Spawncrafter. Pilots, two, now three. More still! Spawncrafter’s hypocrite-unknown-spawner. Spawner’s-spawner! Broodmate. Broodmate’s spawncrafter, and broodmate’s spawncrafter’s pilot-spawner’s spawner. 

I flinched as her words hit my head, but I was impressed at her improved ability to use words. Parsing the ideas behind them, I was pretty sure she meant my dad and Kene, but the others were–

My cheeks started getting really wet, and I realized that my eyes were bleeding. Ikki gave me a very concerned look as I wiped the blood off, and Dusk waved her hand, explaining that this happened sometimes. I pulsed Starfish’s regeneration and stepped through the portal. 

Sure enough there was a whole group around the kitchen table, having pulled the leaves up to extend it. Orykson sat across from Liz’s grandfather, who looked mildly petrified, while Meadow sat next to Kene and my dad, across from Kene’s grandmother and my own. Liz sat between my grandmother and Orykson. On the stove some ways away, I could see large pans covered in foil, and there was something in the oven. The entire place was filled with a delectable smell, but I focused on Liz. 

“How did you beat me here?! How did you do in the competition?” I asked Liz, before noticing she held a similar case in her lap. 

“Orykson and Dusk teleported us in,” she said, nodding to him. “Or, Dusk let him in? And I mean. I passed, didn’t I?” 

“Yes, well, it’s only polite to ask,” Orykson said, before gesturing for me to take a seat. 

I did, and the room quieted for a moment as I placed the case down. Liz put her own case on the table, and each of us placed our hands on the smooth wood. The enchantments dissolved, and I slid the panel off the top to reveal a satin cushion with five objects in it. The first three were vials of elixir: golden soul, nine light, and hollow void potions. Next to that was a smooth gray stone that I didn’t recognize, but assumed was wallsurge stone, and following that, a bronze pill that I recognized as a bronzepick pill. 

Liz let out an impressed whistle, and I nodded. I had known what the rewards were, but I was still impressed. There was a small fortune in the case, at least to me. I studied them for a long moment before sliding the lid back on. Liz, on the other hand, picked up the bronzepick pill and popped it in her mouth. An instant later, I felt her lunar mana jump from mid-fourth gate to peak fourth gate, and she blinked. 

“Primes, that was so smooth! I’ve never experienced anything like that.” 

“Nations tend to spring for high quality when it comes to the tournament,” Orykson commented.

“They do,” agreed Meadow. “I’d advise you both to process the elixirs over the next few days, while–” 

“Stoney stone stone!” shouted the witch. “Give it to me, and I’ll craft potions. Better than the raw stone! Who would eat an omelette with raw eggs? Terrible, terrible business.” 

“She’s trying to say that while a wallsurge stone is powerful, we can refine it into a wallsurge potion, which should have the added bonus of helping burn away a large portion of mist,” Kene explained. “About a seven to twelve percent loss in wall height efficiency for nearly doubling the overall effect by including mists.” 

“Sounds good to me,” I said, slipping the case lid off and tossing Kene the stone. Liz did the same, and Ikki spoke. 

“So, tell us, what do you have planned for the next several days? I know that there are events that Malachi has signed up for. What about you, Elizabeth? And do you have any special plans outside of the tournament events?” 

“Before we get too deep in conversation, we should each take a plate and eat,” Meadow said gently. “I’m sure after all that fighting, our dear contestants are practically starving.”