"Wap! Wap! Wap!"
A kookaburra slammed a lizard into the gum-bark, snapping its spine and tenderising its flesh before swallowing.

A breeze followed, casting dappled shadows that swayed rhythmically to the thrill of cicadas. The occasional bird of paradise hopped from wattle to wattle, stripping the brushes of their sweet nectar between the walled sanctuary of the native garden.

Abruptly, the sound of wheels crunching loose gravel silenced the serenity. The kookaburra looked up from its search for skinks to see a young man in a wheelchair, pushed by an uncommonly pretty maid and accompanied by another.

"Kooo-kuku-ku-ku-kua-aaaah!" the butcher bird thrilled, then took flight into the blue.

The chair-bound young man shot the bird a look of annoyance. A tendril of near-invisible dust lashed out, snaring the panicked kookaburra. Its feathers instantly moulted and fell, leaving behind a skeletal frame that fell hopping, obscene and naked, to the ground.

The young man chuckled.

The pretty maid who pushed the wheelchair sighed, then placed a hand upon the young's shoulder. A surge of positive energy flowed between them.

"You should control yourself, Young Master."

"Why?" The Young Master coughed to clear this throat. "That's why you're here, ain'tcha?"

"Indeed, but as a favour to the Mistress, and only to the Mistress."

"Bah!" the Young Master scoffed. "You're such a prude, take me in, it's almost time for our conference."

A few turns throughout the native garden and the landscape changed to that of blue lawns overshadowed by a colonial manor that soared, white and dazzling against a vista of Sydney's tablelands.

"Sir." A guard, grey-haired and severe in his black suit even in the Australian summer, bowed his head smartly as the wheelchair approached. His eyes lingered upon the Young Master, feeling such resentment at the young man's suffering that his moustache shook.

Almost nine months ago, the young Master had teleported into the Manor, mortally wounded, missing both his right limbs and a portion of his face. Even the best healers the Master called up was unable to restore the lost flesh, coax the stump to regrow its appendage. It was as though the essence of the Young Master's limbs had ceased to exist— or that they had never existed in the first place.

The young Master himself, likewise, had become a recluse; no longer the sunny, wonderful boy that the old guard had raised - a young man who joked and laughed and hunted when the mood caught him.

Now he seemed a husk of the man he used to be. They had begged the young Master for knowledge of what had occurred, but all his attempts were rebuffed. It was all so strange.

"Going to the chamber, Sir?"

"Yes, Burham, get me fitted before we go in. I need to appear my very best before the Mistress."

"Sir.' Burham reached in gently and picked up the young man from the wheelchair as though he were a babe, cradling the young Master in his arms. In a moment, his eyes moistened.

The Young Master, a Dust Mage, a rare bloodline, the scion of a peerless lineage - now reduced to this. Who could have done such a thing? Who could dare? He wanted more than anything to find out, to give his Young Master satisfaction.

"No need to be so sentimental, Burham." the Young Master comforted his servant.

"Of course not, Young Master." Burham straightened his back and took the young man toward the armoury. There was a long oaken table there, atop which was a set of prosthetic arm and leg, both right-handed and footed.

Burham placed the young man upon the table and buckled on the arm and leg, wrapping the soft leather straps around his waist and shoulders. He then pulled open a hidden draw set within the table, retrieving mana stones the size of duck-eggs, each worth at minimum four thousand HDM crystals. The cores clinked into place, and the limbs whirled into life.

The Young Master sat on the table and moved his new Dwarf-forged mithril-limbs. They possessed no sensation, of course, they were not his own, but at least he would regain mobility. Slowly, he felt the mana from the stones mingle with that of his own body, the limbs becoming more responsive as the lag between command and movement synchronised.

"Dress me," he commanded. Burham materialised a Mage's robe stitched in the archaic style and pulled it carefully over the Young Master. A belt and a few adjustments later, the young man was once again a handsomely representative of the arcane brotherhood in its glorious yesteryears. How like his great-grandfather he seemed, like the very painting come to life.

"Let's go."

They exited the chamber and were joined by the two maids, making for the basement level. Upon reaching the heavily warded bronze door, they paused.

The Young Master placed his hand upon the surface and incanted some indistinct commands, simultaneously drawing secrete glyphs upon its surface. The door yawned open ponderously, revealing the soft glow of arcane lights within.

The group moved forward, but one of the maids stopped at the entrance. It was the youngest one, the one who'd stayed silent the whole while.

"Young Master," she begged, her voice choking. "Please, I can't. I am not allowed."

"Nonsense!" the Young Master said kindly. "You're as much a part of this as any of us."

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"Please," the girl begged, her eyes wild with panic. "I don't want to. I— just— Pl-Please let me serve you in other ways."

The older maid, the one who had spoken earlier with such disdain for the Young Master, impatiently pushed her into the room. The doors boomed close behind them.

The young maid shivered and could say nothing. She followed silently.

"Thank you, Nephres."

"The Mistress is a busy woman," Nephres replied with a voice short on patience.

Nephres ventured into the room and activated the conjuration portal.
The silver conjuration glyphs of the chamber glowed with a fierce light. A dark hole formed within the centre of the magical formation, spewing out a thrashing volume of strange, eel-like vermin. Half serpentine, half insect, wholly faceless and utterly alien, the strange creatures piled upon one another until they formed into the shapely form of a cowled, female Mage.

From underneath the low hanging cowl, all they could see were a pair of shallow red lips on pale white skin, so pale it gave the impression of fresh snow painted with a dash of sanguine blood. There was a sensuality about it all that made their audience hold their breath.

An aura unique to Void flooded the chambers.

Burham felt his old blood pumping, and Edgar felt his young body engorge and broil with strange desires. Nephres moaned.

"I commend you on the recovery of the Shielding Core, Edgar."

Her voice was distant and echoing, giving the impression that she was speaking from somewhere otherworldly.

"As you wish, Mistress, I live to serve."

"How fare you with my gifts? Have the artificers performed their duty to satisfaction?"

"They have, my Lady, I feel as good as a new man with his limbs wholly intact."

The female figure seemed satisfied with that response.

"You have grown, Edgar. I was looking forward to chiding you for exacting zealous revenge and endangering our designs, but it appears you have unexpectedly heeded my advice."

She turned to the older, more comely maid.

"Nephres, how is his condition?"

"Adequate, my Lady. His affinity has improved, in fact," Nephres admitted sulkily. The Mistress was showing too much deference for the boy.

"I am pleased with both of you then."

Both Nephres and Edgar felt overwhelmed with motherly affection.

"We live to serve." They both bowed.

"How is our other wayward child, the one without a face of his own?"
Edgar tensed. He could feel cold sweat beginning to drench his back. The Lady had asked for information on Faceless as well three months ago, but Edgar had achieved nothing of note. It was as though his partner had evaporated into thin air.

"I fear we have no news," Edgar confessed, awaiting the inevitable admonishment.

"No matter, he... is alive," the Lady answered nonchalantly. "Children will return to the fold, in time. They always do."

"Nephres," the Lady was unexpectedly kind. "How proceeds our negotiation with the Mermen?"

"As if they had a choice in the first place, your Grace," Nephres smirked arrogantly, chuckling to herself. "Did you know they use your Grace's name to silence their misbehaving children? One mention of your exploits and even the rowdiest school of fingerlings would hide in their coral caves."

"True enough, but I want assurances," The woman in black intoned. "No more unforeseen circumstances like last time. Right, Edgar?"

Edgar fell to his knees and knocked his forehead against the pavement. He performed the kowtowing supplication three times until he was dizzy and bleeding.

"Nephres, heal him."

Nephres grumbled and shot Edgar a beam of green, nourishing energy.

"There will be no failure." The Lady commanded. "Until next time."

Edgar watched the sigils fade, feeling his wounds heal. He felt so pent up, so unfulfilled, so filled to the brim with emotions that tore at his rational mind and stroked something dark and malignant within.

"You, come here," He commanded the younger maid, who shook her head, her small face white with fear and dripping terror. She had believed the rumuors.

She should have.

"Please, young master Edgar. Please. I just wanted to work here. I am not from anywhere great. I'll be useful to you. I'll do anything, just spare me, please…"

Despite the presence of Burham and Nephres, the girl tore at her maid's uniform, revealing her still developing breasts, two gentle swells that glowed palely in the dim light of the spent conjuration ritual.
Burham looked away. Poor young Master— reduced to this.

Nephres' eyes glowered with sick pleasure.

"Come here. Now."

"Please, no…"

The maid dropped to her knees and supplicated, as Edgar had done, smashing her head against the pavement. The skin on her forehead split, splattering blood all over and ruining her good looks. It was a gamble, she knew, maybe the Young Master would lose his interest if she was ugly, no longer the beautiful girl hand-picked by Mr Burham. If she was foul, what would be the sport?

"You think I am interested in your body?" Edgar almost choked on a fit of passion. Instead, he began a riotous explosion of laughter. Edgar fought the tightness in his pants, constrained by the prosthetic limb's leather bands and understood the misunderstanding. It was pretty funny, Edgar had to admit. "Nothing of the sort, little bird."

"Dusty!" he commanded. A whirling Dust elemental materialised, its comical name betrayed by the horrific vision of a malignant dark shape looming over the girl.

"No! Anything! I'll do anything!"

Her cry went unheeded. Dusty was upon her in an instant. The bleating maid's flesh instantly rendered, and her blood flowed freely. The pressure of Dusty's powerful grasp wrung her body; her fluids drained and mingled with the swirling Devil until it became a whirl of crimson.
Edgar felt his mana pool grow just ever so slightly.

"That was an excellent choice, Burham," he commended his manservant. "Where did you dig her out from?"

"Near the Hills District."

"I would like a few more of the same quality. If you are able, I feel stronger already."

"Of course.' Burham bowed. The Master would not approve, but if the lives of these worthless NoM-turned Mages meant that the Young Master could regain his health, then so be it.

Edgar meanwhile, continued to drain the poor maid until all of her Essences ceased to be, leaving behind a corpse of dusty death where a lively young woman had once existed. His mind, however, could barely register the final, whimpering moments of the victim whose life force nourished him. At this moment, Edgar's consciousness was elsewhere, dreaming of another time, another place.

He dreamt of a pair of lithe, long legs trembling in the firelight, eyes speckled with emerald-on-amber, dilated with fear and trembling with unspeakable loathing.

Edgar was again tasting the girl's mind, her astral soul, split in twain, light and dark, separate and yet whole, like the yolk and the egg white.

He had been so close. Edgar recalls it as if it were happening still, himself towering over the staggering girl, her mind caught in his dark web, strands upon strands of Enchantment woven into illusions, overpowering her mind. Her nape caught in his rough-hewn palm, his hands had caressed the shy, white skin of her shoulders, brushing away the dust and sweat to reveal the pallid flesh below. She had pushed him away, but how could her terrified, vague fingers resist? He had touched her, entered her in a way that no one else ever would. He could feel her resistance failing, the unclenching of her loosening thighs— his ultimate victory.

Edgar felt a sudden shudder engender in the loins.
Nephres, who'd been watching the whole ordeal distastefully, choked on her saliva. Even Burham was embarrassed by Edgar's unexpected passion. The guard instantly materialised a new robe.

"Would the Young Master perhaps consider drawing a bath?" he noted without altering his tone, suppressing a dash of dire redness flashing across his old face.

"Please." Edgar smoothed out his robe, his face likewise glowering with renewed vitality. "Do clean up here as well."

_Wait for me._

Edgar promised himself with untold vehemence, inexpertly fighting his impulses with trembling limbs that jangled.

_I am coming._


“So that’s how it is.” Gwen finished explaining the situation to her gathered compatriots at the cafeteria while Alesia stood sheepishly beside her, nursing a cup of hot Milo.

“So,” Yue rapped her fingers on the table. “You telling me that we get to skip all the boring stuff? That sounds alright to me.”

“I am afraid it’s sink or swim, all the way," Gwen reminded everyone, just in case they had yet to understand the scope of their new deal.

“I don’t see a problem with that,” Yue grinned confidently. “Boom, straight to the Top 8! You're here to make a big splash, right? What could be bigger than that?”

“Reckless, but I agree.” Debora nodded beside Yue. “I want to show off my abilities, a real showcase, and that can only be achieved by challenging the best.”

“It’s all choice to me, bro.” Whetu made his opinions known. “Nuffin's getting by my punamu in a hurry.”

“I’ll do my best!” Elvia uttered cutely, joining the circle of affirmation.

“Alright!” Gwen extended her hand and place it on the table. "We're cool then?"

"Cool,"
"Good."
"Yep."
"Let's do it!"

Gwen took a deep breath, she'd been waiting for this moment.

“All for one!”

“Together!”
“As one!”
“For us!”
“Team Blackwattle!”

The group cheered.

Gwen felt profoundly sad that this world had no Alexander Dumas. So many missed opportunities! She’d really have to tell the story to the girls someday, convert the Musketeers into the Three Magus, or something.

“So, when do we bring the pain?” Yue inquired.

“Thursday noon, the Rosebay Private Girl’s Academy,” Gwen affirmed. “Public exhibition match for the seeded position in the top 8. There’s going to be a sizeable audience, I am lead to believe.”

“At the very least, Magister Kilroy and Ferris will be there,” Alesia butted in. “Two of the highest powers in the land. There's no better audience than this! There will be a number of high ranking Magus attending too, but they're mostly the Magister's entourage.”

“Oh,” Elvia's small face turned paler than her bedsheets. “So many powerful and famous people. Master Kilroy is the leader of the Tower! Master Ferris is very famous as well for her Divination and Illusion!”

Debora’s eyes glowed with anticipation.

“So, how are we doing the matches?” Yue asked. “I know we’re doing a 5v5, but who's doing the 1v1 and the 3v3?”

“Gwen will be fronting the 1v1,” Alesia stated. “That was a part of the agreement.”

“Wouldn’t they just buff their Mages with Lightning Resistance?” Debora noted. “That’s what I would do.”

“Not with Master Kilroy there. No pre-match buffs. No way to gain an unfair advantage.”

“What if she had to fight an Abjurer who's specialised in Earth? That's a terrible matchup for Gwen. What if they're an illusionist and Gwen makes a mistake or misfires a spell?”

Alesia shot Debora an exhaustive look.

“That's for Gwen to overcome. Out there in the real world, you don't get favourable match-ups. Your enemies will try to counter you at every turn. How we play the hand we're dealt with is the mainstay of what differentiates a skilled mage from a bad one. Not to mention that out of all the people here, Gwen has the least problem with flexibility.” Alesia intoned from personal inexperience, her voice unusually solemn and stern. "If Gwen couldn’t even overcome that, she’d have no place fighting for top dog at the apex of the Inter-high pyramid."

“Ma'am," Debora acquiesced.

"How about the 3v3?” she pivoted the topic and proposed instead.

Alesia grinned ominously.

“We only need to win best of three, so I was thinking of having ya-self, Yue and Whetu standing in for the three-man. After all, I dare say that chance of Gwen having to blow her 'ability' is pretty high if Rosebay takes this seriously.”

The Debora and Yue regarded one another with surprise.

“I am game.” Debora declared instantly. “So long as she’s capable of controlling her friendly fire.”

“I am game too,” Yue replied. “So long as she’s capable of not walking into my Fireballs.”

“Ah~ Youth.” Alesia shook her head wisely, giving, the impression of an all-knowing zen master. “You girls will be spending tomorrow with me on the Training Field. You better not embarrass Gwen out there, she’s counting on you!”

“Yes, Master!” Yue saluted.

“Ma’am!” Debora inclined her head affirmatively.

"If there's nothing else, go and get some rest." Alesia brushed her hair back luxuriously. "Dismissed! We'll gather here first thing Thursday morning. I'll have transportation sorted out by then."

The rest of the crew affirmed the order and went their separate ways. Gwen and the girls returned to their dorm room.

"How do you feel about all this, Gwen?" Yue inquired, landing on her bed with an expression of gaiety.

"What must come, will come, the readiness is all," Gwen replied confidently, it was a saying she was truly taking to heart these days. Her confidence wasn't unfounded either, for she had theory-crafted many scenarios and outcomes with Alesia, the vast majority of which demonstrated that victory for Gwen was assured.

"So, what happens now?" Elvia asked carefully. “Does this mean we win and then we’re in the competition?”

“Yep, pretty much. First stop, Rosebay, next stop, Stadium Australis.”

“Eeep! I thought as much!” Elvia hugged her pillow and rolled around her bed, messing up her sheets. “All those eyes watching! I’ve never shown my spells in front of so many people, you guys! What if I miss a healing spell? What if I embarrass everyone?”

“Oh, Evee,” Yue hastened over to the adjacent bed and pushed Elvia toward her bosoms. “If anything, it's that exhibitionist Debby who’s going to embarrass us.”

“Has Debs got her element imbued clothing yet?” Gwen asked. Debora's used Blink a dozen times in training but had always ended up in a gross state of undress. Alesia had said that it took exceptional expertise to Blink without damaging one's attire, and Debora was still working on her tier 3 foundations.

“Master said she’ll source it by Thursday,” Yue replied confidently. “We have our own uniforms too. They’re supposed to be resistant to spell-force, dirt, heat and cold.”

“Nice,” Gwen wondered what they’d look like, imagining the green and gold uniforms that classic Australian Olympians used for international competitions. Something in that style would be wonderful.

“Well, good night,” Yue said. She wiggled under her summer blankets, closed her eyes, and was instantly asleep.

“That amazes me every time,” Gwen noted in a suppressed voice.

Gwen tried to sleep for over an hour, but the scenarios of the competition kept playing over and over again in her head.

“Gwen,” Elvia whispered softly in the darkness.

“Yeah?”

“I can’t sleep at all,” Elvia paused nervously. “Do you think…”

Gwen opened her blankets.

“Come on over, plenty of room for a cute little Evee.”

She felt Elvia’s soft, boneless body slid under her thin sheets. The petite blonde girl was wearing pyjamas, but Gwen just had on a singlet and her cotton shorts. With Elvia's entry, her sheets were instantly filled with that scent of life which suffused the healer at all times.

“You smell so nice.” Gwen breathed in deeply.

Elvia giggled, but her mirthful immaturity quickly metamorphosed into a voice that was trembling with uncertainty.

“I didn’t want to say in front of the others, Gwen, but I am awfully nervous.” Elvia crawled a little closer and whispered into Gwen’s ticklish ear. “I am so scared right now. What if I can’t heal you guys? What if someone stops me? What if I am too slow and one of you gets seriously injured?”

“You’ll do fine, Evee, you always have. When have you ever failed us?” Gwen hugged the little girl closer, feeling her soft breath against her neck. She felt so nice, like holding a little kitten in-between one’s arms. Her oxytocins must be going crazy at the moment.

“Please don’t let this be the time I screw up.” Elvia prayed to the empty room.

“It won’t, Evee. I promise you.” Gwen affirmed. She lowered her lips and kissed Elvia on the forehead.

“Can I stay?” Elvia begged, it was still the summer and the room had no cooling unit, but Elvia’s hands and feet were ice cold.

“Of course, Evee, I’ll warm you up.” Gwen cuddled her.

Elvia sheltered in the warmth that permeated from Gwen, whilst Gwen herself was half-drunk on Elvia's intoxicating scent of life. The two of them laid side by side and were soon fast counting kookaburras on the old gum tree.

Gwen wasn’t sure what to make of Wednesday.

At Alesia’s behest, the group didn’t have class, but Yue and Debora were both absent due to their 3v3 training with Whetu.

Elvia likewise, had gone to see her uncle, wondering if Hans, who had served as a combat medic, had anymore last minute wisdom to part.

Gwen didn’t want to spend the day alone. Having spent three-months constantly surrounded by people had established a feeling of collectivism which made her momentary isolation more pronounced than it really was.

So after some deliberation, Gwen called Richard.

“Oh hey!” his voice answered from the other side of her Message device. “Am I free? Not yet, but I can be. One sec.”

“Richard! No! This was wholly unplanned, I don’t want to bother you if you are busy!”

From a distance, Gwen could hear Richard announce with certainty that was he leaving.

“Okay, I am free. Where do you want to meet?”

"Richard! Really! I don't want to inconvenience you."

“I am not inconvenienced at all. My schedule is clear for the rest of the day.”

“…”

“City or something quieter? I know a new place that was just built, lovely Wildland ingredients. Want to try?”

“Sure, I want to ask you some stuff about Rosebay, if you have any idea.”

“Of course, I’ll tell you what I can.”

“See ya.”

The address which Richard had given was too far from the station and so Gwen had to take a Taxi. She kept her casual attire of jeans and a white-tee, keeping a minimum profile as she ventured into Alexandria.

When she’d arrived, she was surprised to find that an industrial area had been converted into some sort of a farm-house cafe. It was as though someone had taken an old warehouse and gentrified it with aged oak and industrial-chic. Business was booming when Gwen stepped in, but she quickly found Richard in the crowd.

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“Gwen.”

“Richard.”

They exchanged cheeks, drawing eyes from the passerby.

“Let’s head in.”

Gwen was surprised that Richard had already booked a seat.

“It’s so busy, Richard, how did you get a table so quickly?”

“My brother-in-craft’s family at Prince’s owns the place.” Richard laughed, tapping his storage ring. “I got a VIP insignia. They reserve a few tables for friends and family of the place at all times.”

The waitress as cute and her skirt was short. She cast a few doe-eyed glances at Richard before taking their order.

Coffee was first to arrive. Richard had his cold-dripped, a classy choice. Gwen stuck to her pedestrian iced coffee drenched with condensed milk.

Gwen told Richard what she’d already see at Rosebay, as well as Alesia’s dossier on who she thinks might bet Gwen’s challenger.

Richard shook his head.

“Not that Alesia is wrong, but Rosebay is hardly going to face you with students that you already know. Most schools have a few students that they reserve for events just like your one. These kids are typically ones who go on to become core members of the school's alumni, typically, they're talented scholarship students without big backings from their own clan, so their loyalty is foremost to the school itself."

“How do you know this, Richard?” Gwen asked out of interest. It was highly unusual that Alesia hadn’t mentioned any of this, she had been meticulous with the details of the top students in Rosebay.

“Because I am one of them.” Richard smiled and sipped his coffee carefully, letting the robust flavour roll over his tongue. “Even though I am ranked no.1 in the school of Conjuration, I have never participated in public matches for Prince’s. My position as a Prefect also comes with the role of Praetorian, someone who sets the record straight if an overwhelming force comes to challenge the school. I am not surprised Alesia is unaware of this, as she’s neither involved in Spellcraft competitions nor the private school scene.”

“Isn't this a big secret then?” Gwen asked, a little surprised. “And you just told me, just like that?”

“Just like that,” Richard tapped the table with his nails. “What’s a few secrets amongst chums like us.”

“I am very grateful then,” Gwen said seriously.

“Call it a favour then.”

“What do you recommend I do? I’d have no idea what to expect then?”

“Well, there’s a method which you could try, if you’re willing to put some faith in me.”

“Shot,” Gwen affirmed. “I’ll tell you what I can.”

“I need your spell list.”

“…” Gwen wasn’t sure about that. To give away her spell list would mean that Richard knew exactly what she could be capable of. What if he leaked it to Prince's?

“Trust me.” Richard reached out and took Gwen’s hand. “I’ll never betray you. Not in this lifetime.”

It was at this moment that the waitress arrived with their food: Wildland pheasant in cranberry reduction, and South Atlantic bluefin tartare in lime-pine ponzu. The waitress eyed their hand-holding wordlessly and carefully laid down their plates before retreating with a defeated expression.

Gwen felt defeated. Perhaps it was the look in his eye. Perhaps it was their shared experiences so far, but Gwen wanted to believe in Richard.

“Okay, I trust you.”

“Wait up, let me set up a private Message.”

Gwen meticulously told Richard of her spell list, but only her Conjuration, Evocation and Transmutation.

Richard’s hand shook a little when sipping his coffee.

“Gwen, how are you learning tier 4 spells so quickly?”

“Not my secret to give. Sorry, Richard.”

“Of course. Forget I asked.”

Richard analysed Gwen’s spell list.

“Wow, to think you have access to that already. I think... I would recommend this…”

After another night of cuddling a nervous Elvia, the girls were awakened by Alesia banging a pot-lid of some kind. Where did she even get a pot-lid? The woman doesn’t cook!

They stared bleary-eyed at the dark-haired beauty, who then materialised individual bundles of clothes atop their beds.

“Ta-da! I had the order rush-made. Cost me half a bag of crystals! Damage resistant, self-mending battle dresses! I’ve given Debora and Whetu theirs, and these are your own. All in Blackwattle colours.”

“Aww yeah!” Yue leapt from her bed and tore through her package.

The paper wrapping pulled apart easily to reveal a smart looking short sleeve blouse in white, with the right breast pocket blazoned with Blackwattle’s Heraldry. The skirt was pleated and chequered, with a silver-grey tartan crisscrossed in black and white. There was a blazer as well, but only the blouse and the skirt were enchanted to cut costs. They were still a government school after all. Even with Alesia’s string pulling, the school couldn’t afford to give five students a full regalia of gear. Gwen had asked her grandfather if he was willing to contribute, but Surya had told her that competitive items were limited to specific types, such as those that preserved life. Her elemental-absorption scale, for example, could only be triggered when she received damage, but most matched ended with the breaking of a Mage’s mana shield, signifying that a Mage was OOM or no longer capable of self-defence. His other reason was far simpler. Magic items weren’t cabbages! You can’t just ask for five sets in three months from an artisan! It would take a major fabrication division months to weave the self-mending fabric necessary to craft a damage resistant suit. Each strand had to be transmuted individually and then woven together. Surya wasn't a tailor, he was a trinket maker.

The girls suited up. They looked smart and preppy in their pleated skirts. They had their existing school-shoes, which were polished pairs of oxfords. Gwen opted for her 'glamoured' Mary-Janes, whose black leather befitted the outfit and had the added benefit of matching the damage and dust resistance of her new uniform. A simple tie finished the accessory department, creating a cute bow from their finger-width, silver-trimmed ties.

“Hey!” Yue uttered with surprise, stretching her chest out and bending her elbows. “The shirt! It shapes itself!”

“That it does,” Alesia gave her pupil a thumbs up. In certain departments, Yue was peerless.

“Not a fan of these?” Gwen questioned Alesia, seeking a confirmation to a question she’d had for some time. “Your Djinn form shreds everything you wear.”

“I could, but then I’d have to wear the same outfit all the time.” Alesia nodded her head sagely. “Where would be the fun in that?”

The rest of the team met in the elevator lobby. It was interesting how their uniforms had subtle differences. Elvia's blouse had long sleeves for better protection. Debora's shirt was sleeveless, her skirt was shorter, allowing her to perform more acrobatic movements as well as accentuating the toned curvature of her athletic legs. Whetu's shirt was like a second skin against the hilly terrain of his pectorals. His personal uniform had a tie which he wore loose, it's black material matching his long pants, which had been converted into a straight-cut pair of regular-fits. They noted that Whetu wore instead heavy, steel-toed leather boots with an impressive array of metallic studs.

When the members had finished inspecting one another's new uniforms, they were greeted with the unexpected sight of the academy's staff waiting for them in the atrium.

Principal Bartlett was waiting for them, along with their tutors and instructors. The morning students all gathered to gawk at the spectacle as the team of five emerged into the atrium in their new attire.

“Gwen! Elvia, Yue, Debora, and Mr. Taranga. I bid you fair tidings for the journey ahead. It brings me much joy to know that despite what little contribution the school could provide, you are now going out there to challenge the world in our name."

Gwen bowed low and the others followed.

A murmur broke out amongst the student. The fact that Blackwattle would be challenging a top 8 academy had yet to be spread amongst the students. Gwen and company had kept it amongst themselves.

“That is not true, Sir. We owe so much of what we have today to you, Sir and Madams, whatever the outcome of this competition, we shall not forget all that you have done for us.” Gwen replied formally without a second thought, bringing broad smiles to the instructor’s faces.

Before the other students, teacher and student clasped hands with firm shakes.

Mr Rawson even made a rare appearance with a Lumen recorder, taking an account of this sacred moment when Blackwattle, a government high school without a rank, is going to challenge one of the top 8 schools in the state. How would history remember this moment? If the girls succeed, would they become a Selective School? What of the students here? Would they receive the necessary training and funding to become the elites of the Mageocracy?

“Alesia, take care of them!” Bartlett intoned emotionally to Alesia. He still recalled the first time that he’d called upon Alesia to help Gwen. The girl had been taken hostage by her family, ready to be showcased and sold off to join some private school. Bartlett was at his wits’ end and had called in all the favours he could, including an old associate of the war, Henry Kilroy. Unexpectedly, Kilroy had responded, and after series of escalating events, Gwen had become something that exceeded his wildest expectations. What would people say in the future when Gwen had her own Tower? Would they say, ‘Ah, she came from Blackwattle, the Selective School who was headed by the late Principal, Edward Bartlett?’ How would history remember him if Gwen were to become a Mage that opened up more living space for mankind? Would they muse, ’Oh, did you know that it was Bartlett who first recognised her talent and gave the legendary Magister her first taste of privilege and power?’

“Oh, they’ll return safe and sound! Else there wouldn’t be a single brick left standing in Rosebay!” Alesia laughed and the instructors followed awkwardly. They weren’t sure if the Magus was kidding or she was serious. With Alesia, anything she said could be taken either way.

"You guys ready to head out?" A familiar voice called out.

"Paul!" Gwen waved excitedly. It was Alesia's Conjuration specialist who had appeared at the door.

"Hey Gwen, looking mighty fine there! You eighteen yet?"

"Soon, Paul," Gwen smirked winsomely.

"Not old enough to be dating, but old enough to killing," Paul lamented a cardinal truth of their cruel world. "Well, if you ladies are just about finished, I got the Rosebay Tele-Circle fired up and waiting."

Motes of Conjuration mana drifted through the air, falling like dandruff onto the student’s new uniforms.

Alesia coughed.

“God! What is with this archaic incantation! That efficiency! My God, when did they build this thing?”

“Looks like something they did when the school was constructed, feels like the 70s,” Paul the Conjurer answered. “We get this a lot in the older institutions.”

The rest of the teleported crowd gawked at the soaring Cathedral before them.

The sea!
The cliff!
The open sky!
Yet more impressive was the scene before them.

Their gaze fell from the impressive building toward an ocean of blue pleated skirts and dark penguin habits that faced them.

“Welcome to Rosebay!” Mistress Stone greeted them with open arms.

“WELCOME TO ROSEBAY!” The crowd of girls behind them announced at once.

There was a muffled explosion in the sky and Yue ducked out of instinct, causing a few laughs to break out amongst the crowd of younger girls. Debora shot Yue a look of consternation and mockery, which was returned by a 'hmmph!'

Above Gwen and the others, a cascade of rose petals began to fall, conjured by an incredibly useless but highly aesthetic signature spell.

“Cor Unum!” Stone commanded in archaic latin.

“HEARTS AND MINDS!” The girls answered, their sweet voices filling the courtyard.

Just as the Blackwattle crew had thought the show of force was over, the younger girls began to sing, their angelic voices divining joining the falling of the petals. They were soon joined by the older girls in the chorus.

" _Alleluia Alleluia,_

_For our Lord God Almighty reigns_

_Alleluia Alleluia,_

_For our Load God Almighty reigns_

_Alleluia,_

_Holy holy,_

_Are You Lord God Almighty!_

_Worthy is the Lamb,_

_Worthy is the Lamb!"_

Gwen and the crew felt frozen to the spot. What kind of reception was this! It was the grandest, most impressive thing they had ever experienced in their lives! How do they even begin to respond to this?

Then Gwen became distracted by the layout of the training field behind the girls. She saw silhouetted upon the VIP platform, two austere, seated figures. One sported the familiar tweed jacket and vest, attended to by the slim figure of a woman with bark-like skin and autumn leafs for a head of air. Beside him, was a middle-aged woman with two streaks of white hair running through her crowned hair, piled atop her head into a kind of high-piled braid. She had a severe look about her that radiated power and competence - this would unmistakably be Magister Ferris, one of the ten and the patron of Rosebay.

The choir fell away, and Magus Stone opened a path for them.

“I am looking forward to working with you, Gwen Song. Magister Ferris is very interested in you herself. When you rise in the world, please remember my humble service.” She spoke as Gwen passed, walking in front of them.

Gwen thanked the mistress but said nothing more. Exposing the bet would only make her companions unnaturally nervous. The stakes were plenty high already. Besides, she wasn't sure if Debora or someone might see her 'deal' as some kind of betrayal. Afterall, anyone would probably be incredibly pleased if they were scholarshiped in a school like Rosebay - full of a promising future, potentially averting the disastrous Military Service.

The Blackwattle crew felt like a trope of exotic beasts, watched with fascination by four hundred girls all dressed in blue habits tipped with emblazoned red roses.

“Oh my goodness, look at that girl’s skirt! It so short I could see her knickers!”
“The leading one is so pretty! Master Stone seems to have taken a liking to her.”
“Oh my, look at that one, she’s so solid! Those muscles! Is she a wrestler?”
“Who knows, I heard that regular students have to do manual labour to pay for tuition!"
“Eek, how dreadful!”
“Hold up! Look at the short Asian one.”
“Who cares, she’s just some migrant, I want to know about the tall one.”
“No! Look closely!”
“Holy hell, her… bust! Is it real?”
“It’s padded! Padded I tell you!”
“Woa! What’s that thing?”
“The big guy? Maybe he’s a manservant.”
“He’s so big.”
“I think he’s kind of dreamy.”
"No way! What is on his face? A tattoo?"
“Look at his feet! It’s bigger than both my feet.”
“You know what they say about men with big feet, fufufu.”
“What do they say?”
“They say…”
“Shush! Mother Superior is coming.”
“… that they need really big shoes!”

They were escorted into the courtyard and placed before the audience.

The duelling platform itself was a generous field about a hundred by fifth metres, halved in the middle by a dividing line. The exterior of the platform was lined with enchanted blocks of magic dampeners and portable shields which prevented the battle from spilling onto the observing audience. Gwen noted that the ground itself has been additionally inscribed with Conjuration and Transmutation glyphs, indication that it could be repaired or transformed at the whim of the administrator into different landscapes.

On the oppositional side, a team of girls shuffled in. They were all so indistinct, virtually all wearing identical blue habits with the red rose chest pin. Gwen could only tell them apart by their height as well as the mana that radiated from them.

“Detect Magic.” She muttered under her breath.
There were motes of Divination magic on the other side as well. The teams were getting an edge by checking one another out.

Gwen measured the mana emerging from the other side.

Fire Evoker.
Ice Conjurer.
Earthen Abjurer
Air Diviner
A positive energy healer.
Another Evoker, Earth again.
Then there was a girl clearly different from the rest, whose elements were a strange mix of fire and earth, and whose school appeared indistinct. This must be a member of the reserves, the so-called Praetorian of the school's fortunes.

Gwen knew what that meant - much like herself, whose sigils gave off a chaotic confusion of mana, the girl was likely a Magus-in-training, capable of tapping into at least two schools. At any rate, the other team had both regular members and reserve members. Gwen's team had only five. They could not afford to lose a single member, nor expose too much of their abilities before the 5v5. Richard's advice resounded in Gwen's mind. She had a decision to make.

The teams gathered before Kilroy and Ferris, who nodded affirmatively as they all made the supplicating gesture of deeply bowing before the superior Mage.

After all that hubbub at the teleportation gate, the rest of the contest seemed rather spartan on ceremony. Inspections were carried out by Alesia and Stone on oppositional team members, satisfying the requirement that the students did not carry contraband items. Their Storage Rings were confiscated for the time being as well, in addition to any portable devices, as well as healing, buffing, or mana potions. Stone had paused when she saw Gwen’s scale but said nothing as Ferris herself chose to remain silent.

When all was stated and done, the two Magus, Stone and Alesia, presented themselves below the Magisters and announced that they were ready to proceed.

"Transmute Terrain!"

Some form of a lottery must have taken place, for the field transformed in the next instant into small crested hills and wild grasses that looked fully capable of tangling an unwary traveller.

Magus Stone turned from the platform towards the two teams.

“Gwen Song, Blackwattle Bay! Versus Julia Fiore Muller! Rosebay!”

Gwen stepped into the field and watched her opponent do the same. It was the tall girl with a para-element and two schools.

Julia removed her habit-like outer uniform to reveal a form-fitting bodysuit in blue and red, skin-tight against her athletic form. She looked well muscled, giving the impression of a Debora who spent far too much time in the Gym. Her hair was cropped short, leading Gwen to suspect that she likely had a full-body effect.

Gwen breathed in and out, calming her quickening heart. She had one shot at this. She had faith in Richard. She had faith in herself.

Above, the command to initiate was given.

“May the best Mage win the day!”

“Commence!”


Julia was supremely confident she could defeat a Lightning Mage no matter how skilled or talented they were. There were just too much of a difference in their elemental compatibilities.

First of all, a Lightning Mage had little to no protection against her Magma attacks, for Magma were the perfect combination of all-consuming heat betrothed with the force and power of the earth. Her basic catapults pulverised even an Earthen Abjurer's shielding. Combined with Transmutation, she could Jump, she could Blink, she could throw small meteors of devastating destruction. During Rosebay's Field Trip, Julia single-handedly took down a two hundred green-skinned Goblinoids. She even wrestled an Ogre and had beaten it into the ground.

_If so, how the hell did she lose?_

Her defence was impeccable! Her instructor had attuned her Magma-Skin Transmutation so that it warded against electrical attacks. Additionally, she had prepared Resist Lightning, Absorb Lightning, and an assortment of effects designed negate Gwen Song's abilities.

Julia tried to think, attempting to recall the last ten seconds.

Her opponent had first-strike— that had been assured. After all, Gwen was a Lightning Mage, possessing the fastest acting element next to Radiance, while Julia was as slow as Ooze. So long as Julia endured Gwen's first spell, however, it was over - for Julia knew that it was nigh-impossible for the mana expenditure of an offensive caster to match the efficacy of a defender. Either through defeat by becoming OOM, or by submission, Julia was sure that the Lightning Mage would fail her challenge.

_If so, why was she the one lying on the ground?_

Julia propped herself up on her right arm, looking around the duelling field for an answer. Her chest hurt. Her whole body hurt. She was thunderstruck, but how had Gwen Song penetrated her defence?

Around the arena, the Rosebay cohort was full of bewilderment, disbelief, and confusion, all mashed into a single moment of dismay. Julia looked up, feeling anger and resentment rising in her throat. Did Gwen Song cheat? Was she an illusionist?

An illusion?
Julia's brow broke out in cold sweat. Was she trapped in an Illusory Phantasm?

Julia concentrated her mana, feeling the lingering Magma on her skin boil and crackle, turning red and liquid.

"Julia!" The one and only Magister Irene Ferris, Master of her Master, called out. "Stand down!"

She didn't want to, but the voice was like an iron whip against her mind. The Magma Skin fell from her body and sizzled the turf. The transmuted landscape faded, returning to the grey-dark concrete of the unglamoured training field.

"Ma'am." Julia croaked. She was in disbelief. She wanted to tell the Magus that Gwen Song had cheated somehow.

"This is no illusion," Irene said kindly. "You were simply outmatched."

Julia shuddered. Bested?! Outmatched?!

She turned to look at Magus Stone, who was frantically waving at Julia, commanding her to return.
What else could she do?
The Magister had spoken.
She lost.

Irene Ferris didn't much like the man next to her. Deathless Henry, they called him— Henry Kilroy, the Master of the Ten. She didn't like that moniker one bit. No man was a master of Irene Ferris, especially not an old relic from bygone wars.

There were other reasons why Irene didn't like Henry, but those were more pragmatic. As a Diviner, her auguries had often told of impending opportunities and wayward risks that the Tower faced. Sometimes, Henry heeded her words; other times, he ignored them. The man seemed to operate on a level that the other nine couldn't question, and she didn't like that one bit either.

Was it because Henry Kilroy was a part of the Great Generation? The folks that initiated the Tower system, aiding the Great Reclamation? Sure, the once August Kilroy had lowered himself to govern a Tier 2 Tower, but it didn't mean that he should be above the Rule of Law, right? As the Tower's Oracle and Diviner, surely she had more say in the matter of defence.

Yet, the old man persisted in his "Middle Path" of isolation.

Develop the human cities, suppress the Demi-humanoids. Lockdown all inter-species trading and control the level of contact between the races.

How could Sydney progress if its ruler enforced stagnation?

Herself, Walken, and Lin, they were all like-minded in their belief that Mages and Men were quickly drifting apart, that the NoM would inevitably bury the Mage in an avalanche of incompetence. She was inclined to believe that Mages, so steeped in mana and magic, had more in common with the magical demi-humanoid races.

In that case, why not open up trade with the Mermen? Get to know about their culture and language? Why not do as the Europeans do, and create envoys to and from sapient races like the fabled Elves and the Dwarves? Who's to say that Orcs and Hobs were only useful for their Creature Cores?

Ferris knew the dangers of opening Human cities and its civilisation to the malevolent races but also knew that they had much to learn from the ancient elementals. The Elder Races, such as the so-called High-Elves or their cousins, the Dark-Elves, all possessed Spellcraft surpassing humanity's own. Even the Dwarves, so isolated in their unseen, underground cities, had contributed the art of Golem making.

But Kilroy would have none of that. Over his dead body, he'd say.

So imagine Ferris' surprise when her protege told her that Kilroy's dog, Alesia de Botton, had come with a proposal—

— one by the name of Gwen Song.

Ferris had known about Gwen Song since de Botton had brought the girl to the Tower to see Kilroy. During the fated encounter with Walken's guards, Ferris had watched from her chamber until Gunther Shultz had arrived to diffuse the heat.

She hadn't kept much stock in the girl until Gwen began to show up on the regular three months ago. Then both Walken and herself decided to keep an eye on the girl. Irene could Scry the girl if she wanted, of course, but Kilroy would know, and that would trigger a level of insubordination Irene was ill-prepared to face. As far as she could tell, Gwen was Henry's new pet project. The man had done the same with Gunther Shultz, long rumoured to be his apprentice, and then again in the late-80s with the unlikely firebrand Alesia de Botton. Now, he was working on a third. She knew that Gwen was a Lightning Mage, and she had heard from secretive sources that she might be a talented, prematurely awakened Magus as well. That was impressive, of course, but not good enough for Irene to contest Deathless Henry. Why was Henry so keen on the girl? That was the question to which she wanted answers.

Now she knew.

She really should have risked that Scry.

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When it'd happened, Ferris had thought herself caught in a glamour— an impossible affair, as a master of the School like herself was virtually immune to illusionary effects. Yet Ferris nonetheless just witnessed something she'd only heard about in the old war stories.

A flash of darkness that consumed all light. An eruption of sickening mana that gave all who bore witness to its monstrous birth a feeling of sickening vertigo.

She felt the distinct distortion of space itself, a lurch of the stomach, a split second of terror that came from the bone.

A blast of Lightning followed.

Then it was over.

Gwen knew she was well and truly in the pits the moment she ran a focused Detect Magic over Julia. They had a bad elemental match-up. Even with an alpha strike from all her conjuration spells and evocation spells, it was likely that Julia could survive. As a Magma Mage, Julia's heat resistance reduced Lightning's impact, and her earthen body dissipated its paralytic effects, nullifying the best components of Gwen's spells.

When she stood upon that field, Gwen could further feel the resonating effects of the girl's Transmutation magic, far more powerful and practised than Debora's. There was something else there as well, hidden inside the girl's mana signature.

If she had to take a guess, then Gwen's Divining bones would venture that it was Abjuration. Only a school that directly countered her Evocation could give her such a hair-raising, ominous sense of foreboding.

Richard was right. Rosebay had sent out their Praetorian, supreme in the confidence that they had countered her every move. She had no choice but to use her Void abilities; her only recourse was to minimise exposure while achieving maximum effect.

"Commence!"

There was no more time to think.

Now, she must act.

"Molten Armour!" Julia incanted, and her skin began to boil with flowing motes of fire and earthen mana, forming into a hardened carapace. If given the few seconds it took for the spell to mature, Gwen knew her opponent would be unstoppable.

"Dimension Door!"

To the surprise of all, Gwen vanished from where she stood.
She re-appeared in the next second, violently barging into the unsuspecting Julia, a semi-circle splash of dense darkness flickering for a fraction of a second.

Her opponent couldn't see nor sense Gwen teleporting within a few centimetres of her. It was an absurd move, insane even. The temperature that surrounded Julia was almost several hundred degrees! It was enough to set Gwen's uniform aflame.

Yet none of that happened. The girl who suddenly appeared in Julia's vicinity flickered, then Julia went tumbling into the dirt.

Gwen felt her offensive Dimension Door connect, with her Void mana instantly eating into the Magma Mage's still-forming Molten Armour.

She immediately felt her vitals drop like a stone, but kept up at attack for a fraction more, feeling it crunch through the Magma and touch on the raw mana below. As Julia tumbled, falling onto her back foot, the central plating of the Molten Armour scattered; the spell overloading and dispelling, causing unformed sheets of smoking stone to fall from her body.

Gwen then thrust both hands toward Julia's; one upon her shoulder, while the other struck Julia's solar plexus, forcing the air from her lungs.

Gwen's inner metronome counted seconds until her mind was ready for its next incantation.

"Lightning Bolt!"

Before Julia even landed, Gwen materialised a bolt of electrical plasma from her lower hand and shot it toward Julia's chest, feeling the satisfying shunt of the energy conducting violently through the Magma Mage's body. Julia's Earthen constitution absorbed much of Gwen's spell, but enough of it had passed through Julia's torso to paralyse her opponent.

When Julia finally landed, it was with a limpid thump.

The crowd was stilling waiting for something to happen when the fight was already over.

"What happened?" Someone asked.
"Where's the Molten Armour?"
"Why's Julia on the ground?"
"Why's the Lightning Mage standing over Julia?"

Their voices soon turned frantic, anxious, filled with questions and emotions to which no one had no answers.

Gwen turned to examine Kilroy and Ferris. Master Henry had a grin that was beyond entertained; his old face screwed up into a mask of untamed mirth. Ferris herself had made an 'O' with her lips so round she could fit a quail egg.

The murmuring of the crowd below grew in intensity, then suddenly Julia sat, bolting upright from her horizontal position.

By then, she had already lost consciousness for a good five to six seconds.

Gwen turned, then bowed.

Julia dejectedly returned to her corner of the field, still staggering with disbelief. How did she lose? She didn't even get her armour up! Surely if she could get her armour up, then she had a chance. Somehow, Gwen Song had used some sorcery to penetrate her impenetrable armour, but why did Master Ferris say nothing.

"Mistress Stone," Julia protested.

"Shush!" Magus Stone shot her a stern warning with her eyes of cold steel. She was taking a private Message from Magister Ferris and had no time to deal with her student's unexpected failure.

"… I suspect this Gwen Song may be tapping into the element of the Void or at least something like it." Ferris warned her protege. "It's an element that is said to be hugely prohibitive due to its cost in life force, which would explain why they have a healer of such low tier with them. In the group combat, take out the healer first, or alpha-strike the Void Mage. Do not let Gwen near Julia! Give Julia time to use her best spell, and you have this in the bag."

"Understood, Master," Stoned replied silently.

"Make no mistake. I want this girl, Mildred. I absolutely must have her, do you understand?"

"Ma'am!" Mildred Stone replied with absolute certainty.

On the opposing field, Gwen returned to her teammates. She had kept up an illusion of good health upon receiving her victory.

Her companions had clapped and applauded, but their ruckus was alone in the eerie silence of four hundred pairs of disapproving eyes. If Gwen had defeated Julia in mortal combat, then sure, they could applaud the challengers, but what had occurred had been too absurd.

"Gwen!" Elvia rushed over to Gwen and clasped both her hands, channelling across a steady stream of vital mana to keep up Gwen's health.

Gwen had only her Master's Dimension Door to thank, that and a half-manifested Void Shield. It was a gamble in more ways than one, for if Gwen had lost control of the spell, or if she had overestimated the power of the armour, then her Void-blast may as well have cut through Julia and severely injured the girl. If she had failed to penetrate Julia's defence, then the match may already be lost.

What seemed to outside observers like a simple manoeuvre, therefore, was the culmination of Conjuration, Evocation, Void and Lightning.

Gwen felt elated. With the success of her gamble. She had exposed very little of her capabilities; yet, her enemy was defeated but alive and well. It was win-win for all accounts.

The cost of using two consecutive Void spells, however, was dire in itself. The Dimension Door was a tier 4 spell, far more demanding than the tier 1 bolts that Gwen usually used. The Shield had likewise taken a toll on her body. When she had touched Julia in the final moments, the lingering heat from the Molten Armour further made a mess of her hand.

Breathing heavily, Gwen received the healing energy from Elvia and felt the vitality restored to her body. A minute later, she no longer felt dizzy, drained, and overcome by a sudden sense of vertigo. Her hand, likewise, was restored to its full function.

"Nice one, Gwen!"

"Sweet ass, sister!" Whetu applauded her. "That was fully sick ay!"

"My God!" Alesia embraced Gwen, enveloping her in her arms, crushing her violently, picking her up and performing a celebratory jig. "You are going to be famous! What the hell was that? Who taught you to use Dimension Door as an offensive spell? It's not on your lesson roster yet."

Gwen glanced over at Henry, twirling his beard expertly and gloating over a furious Magister Ferris.

"I had a chat with Richard, my cousin from Prince's. He told me that against a bad match-up, I should burn my trump card and end it so quickly that I have nothing to give away. If it doesn't work, I'd likely lose anyway, so no losses there."

"What irresponsible advice!" Alesia snapped. "Only for competitions, Gwen! Never do this in the Wildland! It's suicide!"

"Yes, Ma'am," Gwen replied earnestly.

"Oh! My little sister!" Alesia embraced Gwen again. "Good work!"

A loud tap came from the direction of the podium, drawing their attention. It was Magus Stone.

"Congratulations to Gwen Song, Blackwattle Academy, for taking the first duel."

She continued.

"Now, we move onto our 3v3. Members of the team, please make your way to the stage."

Gwen looked over at her friends, who nodded confidently.
Yue, Debora, and Whetu moved to the stage.

From the Rosebay's stage, out came Julia yet again, followed by the Ice Conjurer and the Earthen Abjurer.

"Stage 2, Team Challenge. Three versus Three. From Blackwattle: Yue Bai, Debora Jones, Whetu T. Taranga! From Rosebay: Julia F. Muller, Helen Carter, Beatrice A. Dawson!"

"Initialise Terrain!"

The field shifted and transformed into an urbanscape with short, stunted walls and obstacles in the centre, preventing line of sight.

Yue cursed under her breath. This was the very worst for her fire spells.
The girls opposite bowed, then took up their positions.

"No Gwen Song?" Irene Ferris questions her compatriot.

"No." Henry Kilroy smiled. "Is that a problem?"

Ferris tsked.
There was no use crying over spilt milk.
Below, Magus Stone gave the signal.

"Commence!"


"Fireball!"

Yue opened up with a barrage of suppressive fire, opting for full coverage spells to mitigate the troublesome terrain of stunted walls and make-pretend buildings.

"Sand Armour!"

Debora cycled her supplementary skills, attempting to reach the critical mass of self-buffs required for melee-mode.

"Resist Elements!" Whetu reinforced Debora, hoping his Aburation was enough to mitigate the searing heat of the Molten Armour when Debora inevitably met the Magma Transmuter in combat.

"Earth Shield!"

On the other side of the arena, Beatrice the Abjurer conjured an earthen barrier around Julia as the magma Mage likewise self-buffed with Molten Armour.

"Julius! Ice Aura!"

Behind her, Helena the Ice Conjurer summoned her Familiar, whose halo of cold instantly diminished the vigour of Yue's fire. From a distance, the girls could see that Julius was vaguely avian in shape, likely a gull of some sort.

"Shit!" Yue swore. "She's got a low-tier Spirit!"

"Ice Storm!"

Following the final invocation, a blizzard rained down upon the Blackwattle team, manifesting as a hail of frost-white daggers cutting through the air in whistling shrieks.

"Pounamu Shield!"

Whetu's unique ability caught the opposing team unaware. The hardened surface of his greenstone shield blocked the ice shards, deflecting the missiles with a large, dome-like structure that formed over the trio. With the cover offered by the low walls and their overhead space sheltered by the hexagonal lattice of the Pounamu, Blackwattle was well-protected from the Conjurer's twin-storm.

"Sugars!" Helena cursed. "They got a Mineral Mage too? Are you sure they're a team from the boonies? They're better provisioned than Lilith's!"
Meanwhile, the self-buffs from both team's Transmuters continued.

"Haste! Magic Weapon! Enhance Strength!" Debora invoked.
"Haste! Enhanced Agility! Elemental Weapon!" Julia followed suit.

From the sidelines, Gwen perceived that there were subtle differences between Debora's and Julia's magical-enhancement, indicating the difference in Spellcraft. Magic Weapon buffed the natural damage of Debora's strikes, but her physical blows were weak against Molten Armour. On the other hand, Julia's heated Elemental Weapon worked wonders against Debora's Sand Armour. Furthermore, while Debora opted for heavy-hitting strikes, the agility used by Julia ensured that she could both dodge and strike, as Elemental Weapon did not require direct force to achieve maximum potential.

"Oh no, Debora..." Gwen muttered anxiously. She wanted to call out or to Message her teammates, but external communication during a duel was forbidden.

Meanwhile, a battle for AOE supremacy took place between Yue, whose Affinity ensured she had efficient and expeditious spell casting - against the Conjurer Helena, whose Ice Spirit was dealing a double dose of elemental damage with every chant.

Fire and ice clashed overhead, forming into clumps of superheated steam. Where their spells had crossed over without a volatile interaction, they were intercepted by their respective Abjurers.

For the moment at least, Rosebay and Blackwattle equally matched. The obstacles of this mock urbanscape were limiting both their options. If Yue used single-target spells such as rays, her opponent could simply duck behind a wall. Likewise, Helena was just as frustrated. Her familiar was not the melee type, and like Yue's fire, her ice spells needed line of sight.

Luckily for Yue, Whetu was tanking like a champion.

"Get a load of this!" Yue impatiently clamoured as Whetu's Shielding ricocheted another volley of icy shards. "Empowered Fireball! Quickened Fireball!"

Yue had been training on the weekends until she was spewing blood. Alesia had been teaching her apprentice a way to over-channel her spells to achieve meta-effects. As a result, simple spells took more mental capacity to cast and drained double or triple the mana but possessed meta-enhancements could change the course of the battle.

The twin fireballs took Beatrice, the Earthen Abjurer, by surprise - for the first empowered spell had hidden the smaller ball behind it. A split-second later, initial blast exploded across the surface of her earthen barrier, shattering a part of its stony carapace, after which the second blast bit into the crumbling dome. The force of the concussive blow was such that it blew away the brick and mortar cover, revealing the girls from Rosebay.

"Fudgesickles!" Beatrice grunted, redoubling her effort, attempting to repair her damaged barrier before Yue could drop another bomb. "Helena! Keep her off me!"

"Sleet Storm!"

Twin gusts of slippery frost washed over Yue and Whetu.

The Maori wasn't even breaking a sweat. He'd spent the last three-month taking barrages from the girls. Compared to Gwen and friend's desperate bid for lunch, the Conjurer's Sleet Storm felt like a gentle, cooling breeze.
Beside them, Debora was ready.

In opposition, Julia was likewise ready to rumble.

"Blink!"
"Blink!"

The two Mages were both orthodox students of the junior Conjuration school, preferring melee combat stratagems over ranged attacks.
They clashed in the mid-field among an eruption of brick and mortar, crashing through the Transmuted landscape with impunity. The first few exchanges saw the two well-matched, Debora dropped an axe-kick onto Julia's shoulder, while Julia pummelled Dobra with a right hook.

Their difference in methodology, however, began to show as the exchange grew heated. With enhanced agility, Julia could dodge one or two of Debora's strikes, while Debora's defence was wholly incapable of stopping the elemental barrage that came from Julia.

_Clang!_
 _Wham!_

Grunts and howls punctuated the meeting of flesh. All around the girls, chunks of molten lava and gouts of sand-turned-glass scattered like violently shattered china.

"How barbaric…" Ferris, whose own vocation was Divination, Illusion and Enchantment, muttered to herself. "They look like two mindless elementals jostling for a mana node."

Henry chuckled.

It was true that Mages who brawled as their primary occupation were rare and far in between. Close combat with humanoid Magical Creatures was viable, but how does one punch a Kraken, kick an Abolith, or wrestle a Chimera?

"That girl, she's Tier 4?" Henry mused. "Saving the best for last, perhaps."

"Who knows?" Ferris said nothing. She still felt peeved that Gwen Song had caught Julia flat-footed and cheated a victory from her Praetorian candidate.

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Yue scoffed at the pitiful Sleet Storm hammering away at her, harmlessly countered by Whetu's Pounamu shielding.

Rosebay's Earthen Mage was barely keeping up— Victory was within her grasp.

"Empowered Firestorm!"

The immediate space above the Conjurer and the Abjurer filled with the red and glowing mana of the Elemental Plane of Fire.

"Absorb Elements!" All the Abjurer could do was ready herself for the incoming assault. "Helena! What are you doing! Run interception on that Evoker!"

"I am trying to, damn it! Their Mineral Mage's sturdier than a brick outhouse!"

Helena redoubled her efforts.

"Icy Sphere!"

Two gigantic spheres of ice materialised and launched themselves towards Yue. If they struck, the oppositional element would severely injure the Evoker. At worst, Helena hoped that Yue would flinch and fumble the spell.

Instead, Yue showed no sign of fear.

What Helena didn't know was that Yue had already been blooded by two months of live fire combat with the Murlocs, that she had experienced hundreds of moments where her life was not in her own hands, but the that of the Abjurer, Taj.

Yue couldn't even be bothered to glance at the ice boulders. In her mind, there were only two outcomes. Either Whetu blocked it, and she nuked these bitches. Or she nailed these two bitches first, then got railed by two giant blocks of crushing ice. The important thing was that she managed to disable two enemies for the price of one.

The Rosebay girls helplessly watched the spell above them continue to manifest. They didn't have access to any translocation spells and couldn't dodge the empowered Firestorm. In a desperate bid, Helena recalled her elemental spirit and used it to lower the temperate around them, filling the localised area with a crystalline barrier of ice.

Yue made a motion with her hand, forcing the Firestorm to accelerate. In the very same instant, a Pounamu shield appeared before her unerringly, deflecting both giant boulders.

The Fire Storm struck.
It took only two seconds of bombardment from the meteor shower for the half-shattered Earthen Shield to fail. The ice elemental was likewise consumed within a few seconds, retreating to its pocket dimension.

"I yield!"
"Yield!" The two girls from Rosebay cried out dejectedly.

Yue ceased her channelling, felling a dizzying weakness as her mana dropped from half-tank to almost out. Whetu caught her as she stumbled backwards, then turned his attention towards Julia and Debora's duel.

Another chunk of Debora's Sand Armour had spent its resilience, instantly turning into molten glass as it fell from her body. Moving motes of earthen mana replenished the sandy carapace, but Debora wasn't doing well.

Adjacent Debora, Julia formed both hands into a hammer. She struck the surfer girl a mighty blow, sledgehammering Debora with a shockwave of raging heat that exploded sent her reeling.

As Debora stumbled backwards, Julia took the opportunity to advance, bring up a left-right combo that caught Debora square in the gut. Her opponent was stronger than the average private academy student, but her Apellcraft was far below her Affinity with the sand.

Just as Julia was about to go for the killing blow, Yue's Fire Storm had landed and taken out her teammates. Julia glanced at her two teammates as their shields failed, furrowing her brows. It was down to her then. Unlike the spoilt rich-girls, she was a Praetorian, the reputation and honour of Rosebay rested upon her shoulders.

"Catapult!" Julia shot a lava clump at Debora, fully expecting the girl to perish.

Instead, she was thwarted by a green-stone shield that instantly formed in front of Debora, blocking her explosive payload. Julia's offensive power was still impressive though, for she crushed the Pounamu down to its honeycombed lattices.

"This chuck's off fence is off the charts!" Whetu grunted. "It's like I am getting pounded by two-three Mages at once."

Debora recovered, her expression unknowable behind her mask of sand.

"Minor Stone Shape!"

Pillars of sand which instantly wrapped around Julia, anchoring her to the ground.

"Yue! Do it now!"

Julia growled menacingly and raised her shield, a solid wall of hardened magma.

But there was no alpha-strike. Yue was OoM.

"Looks like you're out of luck, surfie girl," Julia gloated.

"You still gotta get through me." Debora retorted.

"Oh, I will, don't you worry." Julia pulled at the sand encasing her legs, surprised that she was in fact, fast-stuck. The surfie girl's Affinity was impressive, even if her spells were lacklustre. "You have a Spirit?"

Debora didn't reply. From the expression on her face, it took all her effort to keep Julia pinned.

"Your Spirit is wasted on you." Julia grinned at Debora. "Let me show you how a true Transmuter fights."

The girl's eyes smouldered. Her grin turned sudden Draconic as her canines distended and her face elongated.

"Polymorph!"

There was an explosion of magma, the shockwave sending Debora stumbling backwards, shredding her Sand Armour, revealing skin that was raw and scorched beneath. Gwen gasped from the sidelines. Neither Resist Elements nor Sand Armour had been sufficient.

"Eek! Debora!" Elvia placed her hand over her mouth,

Gwen likewise stood from her seat, her heart hammering at her throat. Debbie's wounds looked like second-degree burns. Gwen couldn't even begin to imagine the pain Debora must be feeling right now.

There was no remedy for Gwen's anxiety though; for Debora, Yue and Whetu had a bigger problem of the pseudo-draconic variety.

When the spurt of magma faded, the Blackwattle Team was staring up toward a wyvern a full three-meters tall and eight or more meters in length, dripping with magma and snorting gouts of superheated plasma. It was Julia, of course, anyone could see that - but the crowd still began to scream and shout, some with jubilation, others shrieking with fear and panic. The younger girls, especially, were screaming their lungs out.

"Oi, fuck me dead!" Yue whined.

"FUCK!" Whetu marvelled.

They were boned; the Blackwattle trio knew it. Here was what it means to be outclassed and outmatched. Sure, between Debora's Sand and Whetu's Pounamu, they could keep the damn thing kited until they were OOM, but then what? Debora wasn't near strong enough to try and damage a fucking wyvern with Molten Armour. Whetu wasn't equipped either. Yue was OOM already, and even if she weren't, her fire spells weren't going to be spectacular against a Wyvern that was already on fire.

There was a decision to be made here, and Whetu knew he had to make the call.

"We yield!" He cried out.

Yue and Debora both turned to glare at him.

"Oi! You two hot water bottles need to cool your jits! There's still a 5v5, and we got no reserve team members, don't get injured!"

The girls deflated.

"We yield."
"I yield."

Surprisingly, Julia the Wyvern was a good sport.

Julia didn't take the opportunity to injure either Debora nor Yue, for she wanted a proper match up with Gwen at her team's best. She wanted to show the world that Rosebay could best any challengers, no matter how absurd or unique their talent.

Julia transformed back.

"Winner, Rosebay Academy."

The home crowd was wild with immediate jubilation, with the blue-clad girls hugging and applauding and clapping hysterically. Dusty and beaten, the three returned to their team. Elvia immediately began healing Debora, restoring her swollen skin to their usual colour of honeyed copper.

"You guys did great!" Gwen assured them. "There was nothing to be done against Julia, don't sweat it! It was a classic bad match up! We didn't know she had access to Tier 4 spells already."

"More than that, Tiger" Alesia interjected. Hugging Yue and giving Debora and Whetu a pat on the shoulder. "That girl is absurdly gifted. You can't just turn into a wyvern willy-nilly, you know. She owns a Spirit - a low tier one, probably salvaged from Wildland Lesser Wyvern I'd hazard to guess that its thanks to Magister Ferris over yonder."

Alesia indicated at Irene Ferris with her thumb.

"Magister of the Tower, and one of the three with their hands in the Grey Market. Not exactly a challenge to trade some human offal for a rare Spirit Core from the Demi-races."

"Doesn't change the fact that we lost," Yue said dejectedly.

"Sorry." Debora looked the most distraught out of all of them. She looked devastated by the defeat.

"Debbie." Gwen reached out and touched her hand. "It's alright. We still have the next match."

Debora pulled Gwen closer and buried her head in Gwen's shoulders.

"Not now," Alesia announced stoically. "There's still the 5v5, Gwen, what's your take on the wyvern?"

"I think I am the only one capable of pushing through that Molten Armour, but I am going to need protection. Whetu?"

"Yes?"

"Give me full coverage for about four spell cycles. I am going to bury Caliban and then tentacle up. I need ten seconds without interruption."

"Got it."

"Yue, I need you to provide cover fire, keep their Abjurer and Conjurer distracted, their healer too if you can manage it."

"Too easy."

"Debs," Gwen continued.

"Yes?"

"We're going with formative C. I need you to play disruption with the Wyvern. Keep them distracted until my spells are done."

"Got it, I'll do my best," Debora promised, putting a hand over her left breast.

"Elvia, I am counting on you to keep me up. Both Caliban and the Tentacles are tier 4, and I've pretty sure I can't sustain both for long. Whetu, Elvia is going to be directly behind me, so I am counting on you to take care of us both."

"Sweet ass."

"Alright, we got about half an hour of rest, let's get some scenarios mapped up!"

Alesia watched her sister-in-craft pour over the details with a feeling of accomplishment. To think that almost a year ago, she had picked up a trembling Gwen from her uncle's manor, hands shaking with fright and uncertainty. Watching the kids crunch their strategy, looking at Gwen and her companions, the battle-hardened Magus wondered if by skipping school, she had missed an opportunity for something precious.


Opposite Blackwattle, Rosebay likewise held its strategic meeting, overseen by the Headmistress, Mildred Stone.

"Helena and Nancy, full disruption on Gwen Song, as much as you're capable of against their Abjurer."

"Got it!"
"Will do!"

"Bea, full priority on Julia until she buffs up, if Julia buffs up and transforms without incident, the battle is as good as ours."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Jody, keep the team up as long as you're able. Don't be afraid to use your Shield of Faith if Bea's busy shielding Julia."

"Acknowledged, Ma'am."

"Julia, we're counting on you."

"I won't fail you, Ma'am, nor Magister Ferris." Julia placed a hand over her heart. She could feel the Wyvern-soul within, melded into her astral form. It was a rare and precious gift, something that no Mage who gained their boons through monster hunting could ever attain. Humanity didn't have the means to entrap the astral form of Magical Creatures within their Cores— their Essence, escaping. That was a skill which belonged to older, far more attuned magical races.

"Remember what I told you, Gwen Song cannot possibly keep up her "unique" ability for long. Likewise, she can't endanger your lives, so use it to your advantage. Take out her healer in your Wyvern form, and the battle is as good as won."

"Yes, Ma'am! Please look forward to my performance!"

Stone returned to the podium to open the final match.

"From Blackwattle High School: Gwen Song, Yue Bai, Debora Jones, Whetu T. Taranga, Elvia Lindholm. From Rosebay Academy: Julia F. Muller, Helen Carter, Beatrice A. Dawson, Jody Klein, and Nancy Hayes!"

The crowd cheered.

"For the deciding match - Five versus Five group combat."

"Adjudicators, please initialise the field. Terrain!"

The field shifted, suddenly filled with water and churning with mud.
It was a bog! The contestants were suddenly ankle to knee deep in thick, viscous mud that sucked at one's feet.

Team Blackwattle looked at one another. It didn't affect their plan, but it wasn't going to make things easier by far. As for the other team, the bloody Wyvern flies.

Slogging through the terrain, the team moved into position: Debora and Yue moving to the fore, Whetu in the middle, and Elvia behind Gwen.

In opposition, Rosebay seemed much more organised. The girls spaced out expertly as to not get in each other's way, the ranged casters gathering behind the Abjurer, while the healer stood in the middle. Julia was by herself in front, where the earthen Abjurer's frontal shielding could give both herself and her team ample coverage.

Julia felt her pulse quicken upon seeing Gwen's figure slogging through the mud. This terrain was a godsend for her. She could fly, while Blackwattle's Transmuter, Debora, had to use Jump. Furthermore, the sticky, viscous mud wreaked havoc on the Sand element of the surfer girl, making her speciality even more limited.

Stone waited until both teams had acknowledged their new terrain.

"Commence!"

Unlike the smaller duels, a cloudburst of colour announced the beginning of the 5v5 contest. The mass-melee was the king of Mage-duel, something that had its origins in the Olympic Arenas of yore. Every four years, all around the world, audiences were glued to their Lumen-casters in public squares, universities, pubs and homes, watching the World Spellcraft Championships.

"Bless!"
"Sand Armour!"
"Resist Elements!"
"Quickened Fireball! Empowered Fire Storm!"
"Ariel!" Ariel bolted straight for the sidelines, a white streak of moving lightning, its feet barely touching the mud, trying to flank the opposing team.

Rosebay likewise reciprocated.
"Molten Armour"
"Resist Elements!"
"Julius! Sleet Storm!"
"Fire Ball!"
"Bless!"
An array of spells opened up the epic combat. It was a pivotal moment, a game of strategy and mental chess. Synergy, prediction, teamwork, only all three could ensure the victory of one team over another.

On Gwen's side, Whetu's punamu shield appeared, instantly deflecting the incoming Fireball and Sleet Storm with a crash of splintering green-stone shards.

"Firestorm?! Fireball!" Beatrice the Abjurer wailed. She had barely managed to erect her Earthen shield in time when the Fireball exploded over her team.

"Shield of Faith!" Their healer, Jody incanted in a panic, just catching the Fireball before it engulfed herself and Helena.

"Just hold on!" Julia encouraged her teammates. "I'll pay them back ten-fold!"

"Firestorm, incoming!" Helena cried out. This Asian girl was absurd! She was going to burn all her mana in two spells?! Again, Helena retracted her spirit, Julius, and used him to form an aura of ice so that the rising temperature caused by the Firestorm would not harm her teammates.

"Polymorph!" Julia had matured her Molten Armour and was now ready to transform into a living coup-de-grace. Her morphic field began to shift, though without the explosion of magma this time as she was among allies.

SPAK! SPAK! SPAK!

A cascade of lightning-tinged needles washed over Julia. Where the hell did that come from? She scanned the battlefield and caught a mongoose of all things taunting her.

"It's her Familiar! Get it off of me!" Julia commanded.

Nancy, the Fire Evoker, began a barrage of Fire Bolts towards the edge of the field when Ariel gave her a swish of its tail and let loose a burst of electrical-darts.

It took all of Beatrice's concentration to shield Nancy from the paralysing assault.

Was it hard to shield against a Firestorm? Of course, absurdly so. Though the spell originally manifested Ice, Yue's ridiculous Affinity meant that the invocation resembled a small meteor shower. Each falling debris that materialised and fell was a ball of unstable plasma, exploding on impact into a shower of heat filled destruction. So long as Yue kept up the channel, the meteors manifested unceasingly, striking without order, making defence nigh-impossible.

Beatrice cursed under her breath. All she could do was maximise her mana usage and form semi-spherical domes of protection above all her companions. Usually, the Evoker was OOM long before the Abjurer.

In this, Beatrice was confident. Mana pools, more formally known as VMI— Volumetric Mana Index, was a fact of Spellcraft that couldn't be mitigated by effort. No matter how gifted a student could be, how able they were in the development of Spellcraft - there was a hard limitation on the growth of one's mana reserves. Not even a strict diet of the best Wildland materials could supersede this fact, only expedite its growth. The advantage of a well-provisioned Mage, therefore, was an accumulation of both time and resource.

"I got this—"

Just as she was about to declare that she could hold the fort steady, there was a loud crack and a blast of light so bright that her retinas seared, turning her mind white with wonder. A spike of painful tinnitus stabbed violently into her ears that for a second, she blanked out. The girls from Rosebay were well trained, but they were far too green.

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Without warning, the Firestorm broke through the Abjurer's shielding and descended.

Gwen had refrained from casting her spells precisely because she was waiting for the Firestorm to hit.

It was a strategy that she had worked out with Yue and the crew precisely because she had an unusual, nonlethal AOE signature spell - Flashbang.

It would work only once - and now was the time.

As Julia began her exultant transformation, Gwen let loose the most potent Flashbang she could muster right between the five from the Rosebay team, behind Julia and in front of her companions. She especially placed the conjured explosion directly under the dome created by the Abjurer - utilising one of the Lightning element's most overpowered characteristics - the ability to manifest at a designated point in space without a projectile trajectory.

A split-second later, the signature invocation erupted in a cacophony of light and sound, amplified by the half-dome above the Abjurer. The spell had disoriented them all, but the refracted sound waves striking the Abjurer had stunned her so magnificently that the girl appeared to have lost consciousness for half a second.

Instantly, the Abjurer's earthen dome crumbled. With a grunt, Yue pushed downward with both hands, channelling the last of her mana into the Firestorm.

Her objective accomplished. Gwen focused on setting a welcome for the Wyvern.

"Beatrice!" Julia was beyond livid when she realised that their Abjurer had failed them and that an empowered Firestorm as about to wipe out four members of her team.

With a heavy conscience, she ignored her team and instead focused on her Molten Armour. What was done, was done, Julia had to even the playing field in other ways. With a lunge, she pushed herself from the swampy bog, her new wyvern-form taking flight and moving towards the Blackwattle Team.

"Minor Stone Shape!"

Julia had made it about half-a-meter when she realised that her hind legs were tethered to something in the bog, weight down by what felt like two giant ball-and-chains fastened to her body. She arched her serpentine neck above the duelling-field and saw the surfer girl, both arms up to her elbows in the mud, manipulating the sand as an undercurrent beneath the transmuted mud.

"Insolence!" the Wyvern roared.

Julia shot a blast of superheated air towards the Transmuter girl, but a green-stone shield of honeycombed punamu appeared before Debora and intercepted the destructive force of the breath.

Julia could hear her teammates whimpering behind her, incensing her to greater violence. With a furious tug, she forced her body into the air, pulling up two thick tendrils of sand still tethered around her ankles.

"I can't hold her any longer!" Julia heard the surfer girl cry out in alarm, her head now full of heat and vengeance. With a roar, she dived toward the Blackwattle party, toward Gwen, toward the healer hidden behind her. If Julia could just take out Gwen, take out the healer supporting her, then victory was still possible!

Even with the loss of four members of their team, Julia felt she could do it! She was the chosen Praetorian. Magister Ferris had the highest hopes for her! How could she fail, especially after the fiasco of their 1v1?

The Wyvern came. The plan was working.

"Debora, good work! Finish off the stragglers!" Gwen called out.

"Yue, get behind Whetu, recover some mana!"

"Whetu! Priority shielding on Elvia, I can't keep my spells up without her!"

"Aye!"

A shadow befell them, an angry wyvern dripping with Magma was hovering a dozen meters above them, glowing with Magma.

Julia dived.

Irene Ferris was fuming with frustration, gripping the arms of her Edwardian settee with disappointment and defeat. When the empowered Firestorm descended, she knew instantly that their chances for victory had gone to the dogs.

Who'd thought that the little harlot had a signature spell, one that she'd never seen before? What was it? Flashbang? An interesting concept, but one that heavily borrowed the instantaneous qualities of spatial manifestation associated with Quasi-Elemental Lightning.

Who had invented it? A unique, elemental-specific spell. Was it the man beside her? Was it the little witch herself?

Rosebay's Abjurer was a good as gone after that resonating blast of light and sound. Without shielding, the healer was useless too, as they lacked mass-healing at the lower tiers. The Conjurer was doing her best to keep the flames at bay, but it was a futile gesture. Their own Fire Evoker had done her best, but between the harassment by that mongoose and that strange green mineral shielding, she may as well be absent.

Was it a problem of skill? No, Irene knew that the girls were well trained and far exceeded the level of expertise expected of their age.

It was instead a problem of application, an issue of combat experience. The Blackwattle team had seen far more action, somehow. Their Evoker, the Asian girl, gave an air of destructive intent that Irene had seen on veterans. The green-stone Mage, likewise, was too well trained to be a member of a public school. Even the mediocre Transmuter had a mid-tier spirit that could shape sand. In addition to Gwen Song's presence, why was there an all-star team from a school as poor and neglected as Blackwattle? How did they even manage to throw the oddball bunch together?

Irene looked over at Henry Kilroy, who was sipping his Golden Mead and nodding to himself with every other spell exchange.

"Helen Carter, out!"
"Beatrice Dawson, out!"
"Jody Klein, out!"
"Nancy Hayes, out!"

Ferris' protege, Mildred Stone, looked as though she was spitting blood as she announced each of the girls who yielded.

But, there was hope yet.

Julia's Wyvern had almost reached Gwen Song. If she could take out the Void girl and her healer, then it was all over.

Gwen's felt her vitality drain away. Was it possible for a person to feel hollow? She wondered. It was the first time that she had consciously pushed herself so far.

Elvia too, felt her reserve of positive energy rapidly exhaust itself. It was as though a Nosferatu had suddenly drained the warmth from her veins and replaced it with arcane ice. She grew instantly rigid, her limited mana pool incapable of keeping up with the demand of Gwen's output.

Above, the Wyvern was descending from a terrific arc, approaching them with the force of a freight train that was disastrously also on fire.

Gwen waited until the Wyvern skimmed the pond, then released the last part of the spell she'd been holding steady at the cost of her vitality.

"Dark Tentacles!"

Gwen's 'tentacles' didn't sprout from the ground as the spell had initially intended, but directly as a writhing mass anchored onto thin air, growing like an angry sea anemone and flailing like the tendrils of a carrion crawler.

The watching crowd suddenly held their breath as a feeling of disgust and vertigo swept over them.

Julia knew that the tentacles were supremely dangerous, but she had no recourse— like a shot from a bow, her trajectory was set in stone.

She flew headfirst into the mass, feeling it envelop her molten armour.
Immediately, Julia knew she was in dire danger. If the tendrils were flesh, they would have burned. If they were material, they would have crumbled. Yet what element was this? It was as though ropes that had no mortal existence held her imprisoned. Furthermore, they seemed to be consuming the mana from her armour! With each passing second, she could feel the tentacles wrapping themselves tighter around her wyvern form, stripping away chunks of her carapace, scraping hungrily at the layer below to pry at her flesh.

"Lightning Tentacles!"

Yet another layer of tentacles wrapped around Julia, this time lashes of lightning that didn't so much as entangle her as wildly flay away at her skin, sending more pieces of molten carapace flying away like charred, dark china.

Julia twisted her sinuous head so that she faced Gwen, who was concentrating on her spells while the petite healer hid behind her. Both girls had complexions whiter than bedsheets.

She drew in a mighty breath and launched a jet stream of superheated flames towards Gwen, hoping that it would disrupt the channelling of these ridiculous tentacles that had her entrapped.

"Wall of Sand!"
"Punamu Shield!"
"Shield of Faith!"
A triple layer of shielding erupted.

The force of the breath blasted through the sand wall and struck the punamu shield, crushing it. The glowing shield unique to the healer class dissipated the remaining elemental damage.

Gwen Song didn't even flinch.

Julia felt the flower of despair beginning to blossom within her chest, the confidence and bluster of mere moments ago withered.

But she wasn't about to just give up, Julia's pride wouldn't allow her to yield. There was one more gamble she could participate in, a final chance to set the record straight and prove that she was better than these yokels.

"Polymorph!"

To Gwen and the others' surprise, their target disappeared.

Julia had become a flaming peregrine a hundred times smaller than her wyvern form, flying towards Gwen in the hopes of physically assaulting her in her Human shape. The twin-tentacle spells automatically reached for their target, but Julia was far too swift. She edged closer to Gwen, the distance between them disappearing entirely in an instant.

This was it! Julia thrilled. Her victory was assured! She could almost see Gwen Song's amber-green pupils now; her reflection refracted within Gwen's eyes. In a moment she would expend the last of her mana to dispell her avian form, then she would pin this upstart into the ground.

"HALT! BLACKWATTLE WINS!"

The voice of Irene Ferris cried out like a thunderclap across the duelling field, amplified by a Clarion Call. Julia banked in her avian form, throwing her body to a screeching aerial tumble before return to her human form to stare at her Grandmaster in disbelief.

Why? She wanted to know. Why did the Grandmaster announce their loss?

Up above against the podium's iron railing, Irene Ferris's chest rose and fell.

She turned towards Henry Kilroy; her Divination-empowered eyes were alive with shock and horror. As a Diviner, she was rarely, if ever caught unaware. Yet today, she was the victim of one upset another after another.

"Henry," she said quietly, trying to find a better word but failing to. "What the hell did I just foresee?"