Vior focused her eyes on the otherwise innocuous brown-haired girl taking up her position for the first fight, the confidence still bright in her brown eyes. So then…How's she going to win this? The thought that the girl she had marked as a threat could lose to the kid opposite never crossed her mind. If it were her Vior would undoubtedly hide as many trump cards as possible, knowing that her future competitors would be watching, but she knew from experience that not everyone was as cautious or meticulous as she was.
The Father walked to the center of the arena, holding the small artefact that would light up a flare to start the match. He charged it with a little mana, then walked back to his position at the side of the arena "As you should know," he said casually with a smirk, "try not to kill eachother. Slight penalties will be placed on those who could only best their opponent through lethal means." The air grew tense with anticipation as the timer on the artefact ticked down.
Spa. A flare went up. The droopy eyed boy opposite Persimmon clutched his dagger and ran at the girl opposite him. She stood there unfazed, watching him approach, but just as he was about to reach her her form flickered and he stumbled and fell. Suddenly Persimmon was on his back with a dagger to his neck.
"End match!" The Father called, raising his arm. "Persimmon is victorious!" Persimmon got off the boy's back with a scoff, and walked straight out of the room without a look back.
Cocky. Vior thought. The magic she had performed had been amazing, and seemed nearly unbeatable, but by using it her first round, she had shown her hand, and more so, by leaving early she was giving up the chance to watch her future competitors. Vior gritted her teeth. She doesn't even see us as a threat. Does she have more up her sleeve or is she just that confident in her little parlor trick?
"What do you think?" Kelly had looked up her friends' competitors as well and knew Persimmon was her future opponent.
"I want to beat her." Vior glared at the girl as she vanished into the next room. "I'm not sure if it was teleportation, speed, illusion, or some combination of the three, but I want to beat her."
Kelly grinned, knowing her friend. "I'd expect no less."
A few hours later Vior was up for her first fight. It was the first fight for both of them so she hadn't been able to observe her opponent beforehand. Finnus… I've seen him around the orphanage, but I haven't really observed him all that closely. She sized her opponent up again as they made their way into the arena. Bulky. Strong-looking. A short sword at his waist—with those arms and that sword, reach is going to be a big issue. She tried to size up his footing and gait, but she didn't have enough experience to know what if they were any good or not. His main issue should be speed, but it's hard to know if he's accounted for it or not. Then again, I don't necessarily want to go all out either, because my next opponent is in the stands watching.
Vior primed a little magic in her legs—not enough to affect her movements much, but surging mana into a preconstructed spell was a whole lot faster than casting from scratch should she need the speed.
She took her stance on her side of the arena, drawing her dagger as the Father walked to the middle to prime the starting artefact. She watched her opponent, trying to see if any mana was swirling around him, but she couldn't really make anything out—her mana sense still wasn't very good.
The flare went up signaling the start of the battle, but Vior didn't make any hasty moves. She closed in on her opponent slowly watching for signs of movement or weakness. Her opponent did the same, and Vior noticed sweat beading up on his palms as he readjusted his grip on his sword, his gaze determined, but hinting at an underlying anxiety.
Vior moved in for a probing attack—some of the combatants were so inexperienced that a single blow would start them panicking. Finnus blocked competently, and then immediately moved into his own attack, but it was sloppy and ill-timed. Vior stepped out of the way, and Finnus was immediately off-balance, Vior moved in stabbing his back. Finnus let out a sharp cry of pain and dropped his sword.
"I yield," he rasped bitterly through the pain. The Father raised his hand and called the end of the match, as Vior sheathed her dagger, looking pleased at the fallen boy who one of the healers was now in the process of tending to. Inexperienced and nervous. Not much of a threat. Glad I didn't overestimate him too much. She dispelled the magic on her legs. From the stands she saw a girl with a staff looking at her sharply. Or…Crap, not at me, at my legs! The other girl had seen the spell she had cast on her legs! A staff like that and magic sense that good… She thought back to the board trying to remember when the magician girl played her first match. Then with a sigh she remembered. Right. I'm her first match. So no idea what magic she uses, but she's got a number on me, lovely. She looked at the ceiling cursing her rotten luck. Why did she have to get all the hard opponents?
"What did you think?" Perci was leaning up against the wall of the stone church of Ambrose, looking at her hooded friend who had just come out from the sanctum.
"Her opponent didn't bring out her full potential. She had an enhancement spell primed, but she didn't use it."
"A crafty one, eh?" Perci smiled, licking her lips. "I'd love if she could give me a real fight. All the other plebs here are too basic."
"Yes m'lady." The hooded girl bowed her head, and began to retreat.
"By the way," the girl stopped as Perci continued. "Did you use the full amount to bribe the Father?"
"No, it seemed he was quite amused that I even made the attempt in the first place."
"Very good," Perci grinned. "Buy something nice for yourself, then. You've been good today, pet."
Two triangular lumps underneath the girl's hood flicked up and down as the girl paused. "Th-thank you, m'lady." She hurried away, pulling the hood closer to her face as she turned down an alleyway.