Sol-Regis Academy Main Arena. Noon – 12:00 PM Sharp.
The sun stood directly overhead, baking the white sand in the center of the mini-colosseum.
The stands were packed. Thousands of students, professors, and even outside nobles had come to watch. Illegal bets were circulating wildly.
East Side: Valerian Morvath.
He wore gleaming light silver armor (expensive Mithril Alloy). His sword, Solaris, glowed with thin magical flames. His silver hair fluttered in the wind; his face was handsome and brimming with confidence. Cheers from female fans echoed for him.
West Side: Lady Rhea Sudrath.
She wore no iron armor. She only wore a black Leather Armor uniform that hugged her athletic frame. Her hair was tied in a high Ponytail. Her weapon was just a plain, slender Rapier. No magic. No cheers (except from Roland screaming through a megaphone in the corner).
"Remember the rules," said the Referee. "Until one surrenders or cannot rise. Killing is prohibited. BEGIN!"
GONG!
Valerian attacked immediately.
"Hyaaa!"
He swung his sword. A wave of fire (Fire Slash) sliced through the sand toward Rhea.
The audience held their breath. Long-range attack?! Cheating!
Rhea didn't panic. Her eyes were calm.
She ran sideways (Sidestep), dodging the fire by mere centimeters. She felt the heat on her cheek.
"Slow," Valerian mocked.
He dashed forward. His speed was incredible thanks to leg-strengthening magic (Haste).
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Swords clashed.
Valerian's sword was heavy and strong. Every impact made Rhea's arm tremble. Rhea's rapier was too thin to block his strikes directly.
Rhea was forced to retreat constantly.
"Why? Can only run?" Valerian sneered. "Where's your big talk from yesterday?"
Valerian executed a flurry of stabs.
Rhea parried, deflecting Valerian's sword to the side.
She saw an opening!
Rhea executed a Riposte (counter-attack) toward Valerian's shoulder.
TING!
The tip of Rhea's rapier didn't penetrate Valerian's Mithril armor.
"Useless!" Valerian laughed. "My armor is resistant to physical attacks! Without magic, you can't hurt me!"
Valerian kicked Rhea's stomach.
THUD!
Rhea was sent flying, rolling onto the sand. Her clothes were dirty. The corner of her lip bled.
The crowd cheered for Valerian.
In the VIP stand, Sir Rianor adjusted his (imaginary) glasses. His face was expressionless.
"Calm down," Rianor whispered to Elara, who looked anxious. "She's measuring the distance."
In the arena, Rhea stood up. She spat blood onto the sand.
She stared at Valerian.
Okay. Mithril Armor. Fire Sword. Speed hack using magic.
Your weakness is only one: You're a pretty boy. You don't want your handsome face scratched.
Rhea changed her stance. She lowered her body. Classic Fencing Stance.
Left hand behind her back, right hand straight forward.
"Come here, spoiled brat," Rhea challenged.
Valerian was furious. "I will burn you!"
Valerian gathered all his remaining Mana. The sword Solaris shone blindingly like a small sun.
"Die! SOLAR FLARE!"
A giant wave of fire erupted, swallowing Rhea completely. The audience screamed. Roland stood up, his face pale.
But behind the roaring fire... Rhea raised her left hand.
Now! Rhea thought.
The Nullifier Bracelet on her wrist glowed bright blue, screaming shrilly as it withstood the overload of energy.
VWUUUM...
Valerian's fire wave was sucked into the bracelet's radius, then vanished without a trace as if extinguished by force.
CRACK!
A loud shattering sound was heard. The silver bracelet broke into pieces, falling into the sand. The skin on Rhea's wrist was slightly blistered from the heat of the burning circuit.
"W-What?!" Valerian's eyes bulged, unbelieving that his strongest move had just disappeared.
Rhea smirked, ignoring the stinging pain in her hand. Her protection was gone, but the enemy's defense was now wide open.
"My turn," Rhea whispered.
Rhea stepped forward (Lunge).
She didn't stab the chest armor.
She stabbed at the only point unprotected by armor.
The Helmet Slit (The Eye).
ZWING!
The tip of Rhea's rapier stopped exactly—very precisely—one millimeter in front of Valerian's left eyeball.
Valerian's eyelashes even touched the cold metal tip.
Valerian froze. Cold sweat the size of corn kernels dripped down.
If Rhea pushed just a little bit... his brain would be skewered.
The arena fell totally silent. The music stopped. The audience gaped.
Valerian trembled. His sword fell from his hand. Clang.
Rhea leaned her face closer, staring into Valerian's terrified eyes.
"Your armor is expensive," Rhea whispered. "Your magic is cool."
"But if you die before you can chant... all of that is useless."
Rhea pulled her sword back.
Then, with a quick motion, she slapped Valerian's cheek with the back of her hand.
PLAK!
Valerian fell onto his butt in the sand, in severe shock.
"The winner is... LADY RHEA SUDRATH!" the Referee shouted.
"WUUHUUU! THAT'S MY SISTER!" Roland screamed from the stands, jumping up and down while collecting betting money from his losing friends.
Rhea didn't celebrate the victory. She walked over to Valerian, who was still dazed on the ground.
She extended her hand.
"The Tower Key," Rhea demanded. "A promise is a promise."
Valerian looked at Rhea. His arrogance was shattered, replaced by fear... and a strange bit of admiration. (Trope: Arrogant Young Master Tamed by Fierce Girl).
Valerian reached into his pocket with a trembling hand, handing over the golden key.
"Y-you... cheated. My fire went out earlier..."
"That wasn't cheating," Rhea took the key, then whispered. "That was Science."
Rhea turned, walking out of the arena accompanied by applause (which was initially hesitant, but slowly turned thunderous).
Night – Academy Weapons Tower. Highest Peak.
The night wind blew hard. The view of the entire Sol-Regis city twinkled below.
Rianor, Roland, Rhea, and Elara stood on the tower roof.
They had just finished installing the Transmitter Antenna (shaped like a copper and Mithril lightning rod) at the tower's peak. The cables were hidden neatly in the cracks of the stones.
"Device ready," Elara said, checking the crystal indicator. "Signal is super strong at this height. Should reach the Border Relay."
Rianor pulled out his Telegraph device.
"Let's test it. Call Northreach."
Rianor tapped out Morse code:
Calling Wolf HQ. Check. Check.
Silence. Only the sound of the wind.
One minute passed. Roland started biting his nails.
Suddenly.
Tick. Tick-Tick. Tuuut.
The receiver beeped.
Incoming message:
Wolf here. Signal clear, Boss. Riven is eating noodles. Over.
"YES!" Roland and Rhea high-fived hard.
"Crazy, we can chat across cities!" Roland exclaimed.
Rianor smiled with satisfaction.
"Communication network secured. Now we have eyes in the Capital and ears in the North."
"But..." Elara pointed toward the King's Palace in the distance.
"Rianor, look at that."
Rianor looked toward the Palace.
In one of the dark palace towers, there was a Green Light flickering.
"That's not a lamp," Elara said, her face pale. "That's Necromancy (Undead Magic). Someone is performing a forbidden ritual inside the King's Palace."
Rianor narrowed his eyes.
"Morvath?"
"No," Elara answered. "Morvath is a Dark Element mage. This is different... this is older. This is magic from before the kingdom was founded."
Rianor remembered the Golem in the Northreach cave. Ancient technology. Ancient magic.
"Something is wrong with this country's history," Rianor muttered.
Suddenly, the telegraph beeped again. This time the tapping was fast and frantic.
Tick-tick-tick-tick!
Rianor read the code. His face turned pale.
"What does it say, Nor?" Rhea asked, seeing her brother's expression.
Rianor looked at them.
"Message from Riven. Emergency."
"Our factory exploded. Not an accident. There was sabotage from INSIDE. One of our employees is a traitor."
Rianor clenched his fist.
The enemy wasn't attacking from the outside anymore. They were attacking from under the blanket.
"Who?" Roland asked furiously.
"Unknown," Rianor answered. "But Riven says... the perpetrator left the symbol of the Black Sun."
Morvath was moving again. And this time, he was attacking their wallet.