NOVEL NEXT Chapter 168: Trust
Wulf stepped into the center of the arena without a golem, holding his scissors at his side.
He still hadn't revealed to the public what his scissors were made of, and he didn't plan on it for a little while. Let them think they were still bonesteel, and that any sort of essence alteration he performed with them was a Skill.
Technically, it still was. [Chaotic Alteration], or [Chaotic Alteration] combined with [Disruption].
As Wulf walked out into the middle of the arena, the crowd was silent. Hopefully today, he could earn back a little more of their cheer. They might be confused about how to view him, but they all knew what Will Kemmin of the Farming Guild was like.
He'd made the Academy papers last week for getting himself on an Oronith crew as a Pilot, despite his known low grades and poor lab scores. He was decent at fighting, especially being a Middle-Silver himself, but there were plenty of strong fighters in the school, and he'd done nothing to warrant a position on a crew.
As far as Wulf could tell, he had a lower amount of Marks than everyone else, and was getting by his family name alone.
Kemmin: the Guildmaster family of the Farmers.
If this was how the academy was going to behave, if—in their time of greatest need—they still threw less than prime students onto Oronith crews because of their family connections, then it was a wonder they'd survived as long as they had.
But for the sake of the world, Wulf was going to set things right today. You couldn't be a Pilot if you had no golem, and by the time Kemmin had a new golem, he'd already be replaced by someone else.
Wulf kept his hands in his pockets and his scissors sheathed across his back. A row of potions hung from the front of his haversack's strap like a bandolier, and the Serpent's Demijohn, filled with poison, inside his haversack.
He didn't anticipate needing them all.
Will Kemmin strutted across the arena opposite to Wulf. He had a heavy tan, probably earned during Winter Break at one of the southern beaches, and long blond hair. His skin was otherwise in perfect condition—smooth, no cracks or scars. He wore his family's attire: a chainmail hauberk that matched his father's, which had an arcane ability, but Wulf couldn't detect it. Judging by its arcane presence, he'd say it was about Gold tier.
Wulf could only see it beneath his golem because he walked out from his side of the arena with his helmet pulled down—the hauberk fitted tight to his neck beneath his golem's pale blue armour.
It was some sort of opaque stone, polished smooth and shaped like an armoured knight, with a plume of gravel suspended behind his head.
The crowd stayed silent.
"Tonight's contestants certainly have the attention of the crowd," said Vae Kella, announcing the two contestants. "Neither of them are in need of an introduction, though, so suffice it to say that the odds are completely even, and the outcome at the very least will be interesting."
Sure enough, the posted odds were one to one. A completely even split.
As soon as she finished, a horn sounded, signalling the start of the fight. Kemmin closed his helmet and charged forward, wielding a heavy broadsword nearly eight feet long and made of the same stone as his golem.
Wulf jumped back, the blade whistling past his nose, splitting the air with a boom. Kemmin had lots of the strength-enhancing Marks, probably more than Wulf, but Wulf could guarantee he had less Marks overall, and since Kemmin didn't have a Grand Mark, he hadn't been able to enhance his Marks in groups.
That meant Kemmin had lots of strength, and not much else.
But it wouldn't matter if Wulf took a single hit.
"Come here, alchemist," Kemmin snarled when Wulf dodged the next swipe. "You hear that? No one likes you. You're a cheating liar, and you don't have anyone's backs. If you couldn't be honest about your Class, how do we even know you're on our side?"
"The crowd wasn't very—" Wulf cut himself off to jump over a sideways swipe of Kemmin's sword, then sprang off the broad blade and leapt over Kemmin's head. "—receptive to your presence, either. I can't help but wonder why that is."
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"You little…" Kemmin whirled around, snarling. He whirled his massive sword upright, then shook his head. "Yet more lies. Your presence carries a chill with it."
"Yeah. Alright." Wulf rolled his eyes. "Well, let's try this, then. He drew his scissors, separated them, then jabbed both blades at Kemmin's forehead, striking in the center and sending the boy staggering back. It bought him time, even if he hadn't been in contact long enough to use a Skill.
He leveraged all his Marks. He wasn't in a good position to use [Bastion], but he had enough strength that he didn't need to. He could raise his voice loud enough on his own. It'd reach the lowest steps of the risers, and for those who didn't hear…well, word would spread soon enough.
He took a deep breath and shouted, "I promise that I will defeat Kemmin. I will destroy his golem, and he will lose his position. Whoever takes his position will be the best suited for the job, not the person who bribed the right people—and it will be better for the world as a whole."
At that, the crowd began murmuring softly.
"I'll announce every Skill I use," Wulf said, "so you can see exactly what I'm doing." It didn't matter if he hid it; no one in the crowd would be able to replicate what he'd accomplished, anyway. But if word spread and another Alchemist wanted to replicate his abilities, then so what? Good for them. There was no reason to pull the ladder up behind him.
"You'll never win their hearts back," Kemmin said.
"I don't need to win their hearts," Wulf said. "Just their trust. Enough to help me save the world."
"You've lied so much already!" Kemmin laughed. "That should be impossible!"
"Should. But they don't have to trust me on everything. They just have to trust that I'm on their side, and that everything I do is in the interest of protecting the world." He turned his gaze to the professors' viewing booth. "Unlike some of the people here."
He was riding a fine line, and he was probably risking a lot more than he should've, but that didn't matter anymore. He didn't have much time left, and Azanthius could take a little criticism. The Headmaster would probably agree with most of it.
"Enough!" Kemmin hollered. "Just fight me."
Wulf shrugged. "You could've attacked at any time."
Kemmin brought his blade down with a heavy swipe, and Wulf stepped to the side. A cloud of dust and sand washed up around him, and he braced himself against the massive shockwave.
When the dust cleared, he splashed the poison inside the Serpent's Demijohn over Kemmin's head. Most washed over the golem's outer plates, but some leaked into the cracks, seeping over the boy's skin. When Wulf felt [Bastion] activate, he knew the potion had taken effect.
He called out, "[Bastion]. A passive Skill."
Kemmin's movements became sluggish. The Field didn't rob them of any of their strength, which felt counter-intuitive, but if a blow hit him, he'd still go flying. But it did give him much more time to react to anything Kemmin could throw at him. It was enough to find an opening.
Wulf darted forward, dodging sluggish swipes while closing the distance. He didn't use any Skills, but he did combine his scissors.
When he was close enough to Kemmin, he drove the scissors into the boy's chest. Their tips clacked against the surface of the golem, biting in a fraction of an inch, but they didn't pierce through.
Then he triggered [Chaotic Alteration]. At the same time, he called out the Skill's name.
At first, he targeted only chaos. He drew from his potion, taking it apart, but most of the effect had already triggered, and Kemmin didn't speed up.
More importantly, he devoured the docile spirit at the center of the golem, taking it apart and harvesting all its chaotic essence.
That was enough to cause the spirit to crumble. It struggled to hold on to the panels, and given time, it might recover slightly. This had to be a complete destruction.
Instead of going after the order, Wulf went for something flashier. He pumped the chaos back into the center of the chest, transmuting a single segment of the stone coating. It shifted from blue to purple to green to red, before landing on an unstable intermediary and exploding in front of Kemmin. It sent the boy flying backward across the arena.
As he tumbled across the sand, his armour fell off, some of it crumbling into dust and other segments cracking into shards.
That golem wasn't going to survive.
Wulf walked over. When Kemmin came to a stop, Wulf placed the tip of his scissors at the boy's throat and announced, "Two Skills. That was all it took to destroy this scum's golem. Hopefully the faculty chooses someone better to replace him, but I can keep churning through your candidates if your choices suck."
That was probably pushing it too far. Still, there were a few chuckles the rose from the crowd.
Then he turned to Kemmin and whispered, "Yield, please. You're done."
Kemmin flopped onto his back and sighed. "I yield."
A cautious cheer rose up from the crowd, and Wulf cast Kemmin a smile. "What did I tell you, huh?"
"Fine, you win." Kemmin dropped onto his back. After a few seconds, he said, "You know, I didn't even want that position."
Wulf raised his eyebrows.
"My father made me take it. Bring glory to the family."
"Well, then, you're welcome." Wulf shook his head. "By the Field, I'm really starting to hate these Orichalcums." He tightened his fists, then sheathed his scissors and marched off toward the edge of the arena.
As he walked off to the side, he glanced down at his bracer. A new message appeared:
[By transmuting a substance of significance, your mana has increased. Advancement progress: 100.1%]
[You have increased your Tier to High-Silver.]
[You may upgrade one Skill and one Mark.]