All the students were summoned in the auditorium, a light buzz of murmurs filling the air as they discussed what they were presented with. 'So that's Jarren.' Brose mused, his eyes landing on a student that calmly sat in his chair, his smile he wore spoke more than the silence around him.
He didn't have any friends or acquaintances but he had heard that he had been speaking with Orissa and Callista however the depth of the relationship wasn't fully confirmed. 'It would seem that the girl is just as curious as I am. But why would he tell her to ask me?' Still the events of yesterday had yet to fully tick with him.
"Silence!" One of the professors spoke, their voice filling the hall making it fall silent. "I hope that you all enjoyed your break because this phase will require a lot from you but first there's someone I want you all to meet." Ushering his hands to the guest,the students half heatedly clapped not out of disrespect but curiosity.
"Students of Caelbridge and Vorthmere academy, it's most certainly an honor to be here." He started off, most students already realizing that the person talking to them had no rank. With the design of his clothes, it was clear that it was one of the people of the fallen world.
"My name is Timothy and as you may have suspected I am not of this world. My purpose here however is more than just mere greetings but introduce you to concepts of the second phase of the tournament." Making his way to the shelf that had racks of bracelets, he took one in an act of demonstration raising it into the air.
"This! Is a malcore limiting bracelet, issued by the royal court to help even the plane field. This bracelet does more than just limit but helps us check your position and closely monitor the test. And this..." Taking a small silver ball that emitted a faint buzz. "Is the artifact that you will all be required to keep in your possession for as long as possible."
"The point ball will send signals to the bracelet and after every ten minutes you will have it. However the point awardation won't work while you're unconscious or asleep. The tournament will still have the basics of assailants and defenders with a few extra modifications."
Looks of bewilderment claimed the faces of students and it was to be expected as this wasn't the way the phase would be. "All you need to ensure is that you don't exceed the limit and gain as many point balls as possible. All the points will be relayed to us for calculation however..." Esdora paused, her sharp gaze landing on two students.
"Since we have two anomalies, you will be required to use another element that does utilize malcore for fairness." Caelbridge students knew who she was talking to and most let out a sigh of relief as that meant that the weren't above the scale. "As fourth year students, I take it that you have mastered more than one element."
Snickers filled the air, Brose wondering what Esdora meant but would have to cull his curiousity for now. "Now step up, the venue will be held at a forest not far from here. The trial lasting for three days." From the front row to the back, all the students were each given a bracelet.
Some tapped on the screen to reveal a window of statistics displaying their pulse, malcore regulation and physical state. Some smiled, others frowned. "Now, for those who will be the assailants and defenders, we will have to split the party into two. One of Caelbridge and the other Vorthmere."
"Huh?" The stomach of most sank as they had already planned ahead of time. "If you hear your name, step up." From here students of each academy were called forward. Some of the members of the pairs were disgruntled, others falling silent.
"Brose Emberborne, will be allied with Orissa Jademly." The pair were equally baffled looking at each other. "Ingrid Rotrare will be paired with Callista Vaewlyn and finally Kaelin Morren will be paired with Jarren Velros." From there the parties were split equally between the sides of assailants and defenders.
Callista and Ingrid were defenders, Brose and Orissa were assailants and Jarren with Kaelin were defenders. It was clear that the academy wanted to minimize as much conflict as possible between the students and the two anomalies. The assailants waited for half a day after the defenders before heading into the forest.
...
"I've heard a lot about you." Kaelin mused, her tone that of curiosity and skeptism. No response came from Jarren who had his figure perched on a tree. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" Still Jarren remained unfazed, his hands crossed before falling to the ground. He was the one of the two with the point ball.
[{120 points}]
The bracelet showed his points which was jointed thus one of them simply needed to have the point ball. "Fucking bastard." She angrily murmured. "The assailants should be in the forest by now so we should make out move."
The girl froze in bewilderment. "What do you mean make out move? We're defenders, we don't have to make a move." Jarren let out a sigh before a playful smile washed on his face. "The tournament rules states that we have to defend the point balls similar to the assailants. There's no difference between us and them."
Kaelin couldn't perceive where he was going with this train of logic. She was on the Gravechant rank in the Maga path and Silver Vow in the Knighthood path. It was fair to say that most of the Vorthmere students had a slight disadvantage in terms of power.
"There's another party of defenders not far from here so I'll require your hand in the fight." It was then that she realized what he was planning. "You want us to attack other defender parties for more points!" The method was despicable but there was no rule that prohibited them from making any advances to defenders.
The rules were crude and that was what he planned on exploiting.
[{Assailants have to steal ball points from Defenders to gain points.}]
It didn't state that Defenders couldn't attack fellow defenders. "There's no need for that. We can just wait here and freely gain points." Her response was met with a small ridiculing laughter. "Kaelin, if your wish to strive and conquer the stars then you have to do more than just wait, you'll have to take risks."
Clutching onto her chest, she fell into deep thought. She knew that most students usually avoided Jarren thus the chances of encountering a party that would be willing to attack them was low. And if they were capable of claiming more than one ball points then it would be a matter of time before they reached the top.
"Fine,but you better not screw this up." Beneath her calm and cocky attitude, he could smell her fear of him. 'What a coward, to think that she is one of Vorthmere's best is nothing short of a joke.' Their figures disappeared into the foliage.
***
"We have some strange movements from Jarren." Timothy claimed as he showed the professors the map. On it was a graphic layout of the forest, dots of green and red moving about on the terrain. Tapping at a specific green dot, a holographic analysis came to view.
[{Jarren Velros=7,200 points}]
[{Kaelin Morren=7,200 points}]
"Is he making his way to another defender party?" Esdora mused, her hands resting on her chin. "Is he... He's planning on attacking the defender party for their points." Forare let out a dry bitter laugh. "Should I stop them?" Timothy asked, his hands looming over the keyboard ready to issue the command.
"No, let's watch what happens." One of Vorthmere's professor spoke, his tone intrigued as they all looked at the image that played out from a drone's perspective. It wasn't just drones but satellites and cameras were all over the place thanks to the royal court.
...
"It's starting to get late, I think that we should pick a place to rest." A Vorthmere student urged, his voice calm as the two sat under a cool relaxing shade. "I saw a cave not far from here where we could set up base." His partner intervened. Rising to their feet, the two took a couple of steps before their movements halted.
Thin sweats running down their faces, they looked at the pair blocking their path. "I'll make this quick so hand over the ball points." Jarren spoke, his tone cold and authoritative. The two looked at his wrist, it glower green. "Why are you attacking us if you're a defender? There's no need for violence amongst us."
The girl of the pair spoke, her tone uneasy. "What is there to fear about this kid? It's not like he can act as he pleases with that limiter on his wrist." The boy arrogantly snarked. Kaelin took a step forward. "You heard what he said so hand it over, or I'll come over there and take it myself."
The boy's smile wavered, his expression now turning ugly. He was Wrymkindled and Kaelin was a Gravechant not to mention with the backing of Jarren, it was clear that their chances of winning were low. "Here, just don't hurt us."
The girl filled with fear tried to take the ball off the boy's pockets only to be backhanded off. Her figure crashing onto the dirt ground. Neither flinched at the sight. "I'm done talking." Much to the boy's shock, Jarren made his move.
*Bam*
Barely blocking his punch, he grit his teeth. 'Damn it!' His hands flared up from the pain.
*Bam*
Another punch followed, this one he hadn't anticipated that sent him sprawling a few feet away. Still he was conscious. Jarren menacingly walked over, making the boy subconsciously crawl backwards and hit a tree. "When I ask for something, I don't expect pushback and definitely not from someone as pathetic as you."
A kick to the kids gut sent the boy into a false coma. Grabbing the point ball, he let out a playful yet sadistic grin.
[{Ding}]
[{Jarren Velros has accumulated another point ball}]
[{Amounts to be awarded will now shift from ten points per hour to twenty points per hour}]
A notification rang through the bracelet that shocked Kaelin. 'So it does work like an assailants.' Realizing this information, she knew that a monster like Jarren wouldn't stop with just two points ball. Looking at the pair, one unconscious and the other cowering in fear, she let out a heavy sigh before taking her leave with Jarren.
...
"He really didn't have to be so ruthless with the student." One of the Vorthmere's professors sighed. "And here I thought they this trial would be boring." Timothy was given weird looks by all. "Now we can get a proper gauge into his prowess is what I meant as well as the other students."
Still the air took a while before falling back into it's casual calmness. Infront of them a list popped up showing the rankings of the students.
[{Defenders}]
[{Team 10 (Jarren and Kaelin) with two ball points}]
[{Team 1-9 with a single ball point}]
[{Offenders}]
[{Team 1-10, no ball points}]