NOVEL NEXT (Chapter 92/44) Eastbound
With no time left to continue lazing around on the ground I was forced to start moving, standing up despite the desperation my heart screamed with to just lay down and calm down for a few minutes.
My gaze almost immediately turned skywards—Taking in the direction in which SilverSky was moving. It was, of course, hard to tell an exact direction with the island large enough to be a small city, crawling through the air at the speed of a snail.
But, it moved enough for me to get an idea. So I started moving while taking mental notes of everything I could while speed-walking through the trees.
"We can't help each other… But Deadrik didn't say anything about interfering with one another, so I can't put that out of mind," My thoughts moved nearly as quickly as my still racing heart. "Not to mention I have almost nothing on me, nothing but the training Halberd, some pots, a set of spare clothes and whatever medicine I have left in my ring." I couldn't help but sigh at the thought of my nonexistent rations.
"Keep moving through the day, hunt at sundown," I finally decided aloud—Only to snap my jaw tight, pressing my teeth together with an audible click when I heard the final, and heaviest impact yet landing only a few hundred feet away from me. "And make sure I move quietly." I added silently as I began moving again.
I lurched forward a little as a furry object—Akemi—Leapt onto my shoulder. Raising a hand I scratched her head slightly. Finally, I started moving, paying attention to the terrain all the while.
—
"Rather clever of her…" Daedrik mused as he stroked at his bald chin. His eyes were closed, yet he and the other mages around him had little issue seeing the students in their freefall—They had all survived of their own will, which wasn't something that typically happened. "Was that something you taught her, Levi?" Deadrik asked with an amused grin across his face.
"Hardly," Levi scoffed. "It was quick thinking on her part, and a lucky set of training that she had been specializing in. Even I wouldn't have thought to layer weaker shields…" Despite Levi's voice always sounding angry, a slight bit of intrigue and satisfaction managed to break into his tone in this moment. "I'll be honest, I'm rather curious to see what other exploits she has thought of."
"By the name of light…" Lushia scoffed, raising a hand to cover the disappointment on her face while she spoke. "It's such a crude and basic method to survive a fall. And she barely managed to survive it at that," A soft chuckle escaped her lips before she added; "Though it is suiting for that scum."
"Yet your own son chose to slam into the ground as quickly as possible. He's waddling like an idiot trying to shake that concussion now." Nenema added with a dreadfully even voice. Despite that even tone Daedrik was pretty sure she was cracking a joke.
"Shut it, you blind imbecile." Lushia growled in immediate response.
"You're just as blind as I." Nenema added.
"You!—"
"That's enough," Daedrik snapped. His voice didn't change, he didn't raise it at all. But everyone, the teachers, the students, the other Archmages, they all ceased their bickering. "Don't make such public shames of yourselves." Daedrik added far too casually.
With sweet silence finally achieved, he cast his focus away once more—Observing the students under a keen gaze, curious to see where they would end up.
"Now… Just how long will it take for them to realize the unspoken reality of this trial?" Another, jovial chuckle broke from Daedrik's lips. Today was going to be a good day, at least it would be for him.
"Come to think of it, Deadrik," Nenema began speaking. She raised a brow above one of her blind eyes, attentively waiting for Deadrik's attention. "You never said how many winners there could be for this race."
"Indeed I didn't, did I? I suppose, they'll just have to sort it out amongst themselves now won't they," Daedrik's devious smile and gentle chuckle were all any of the teachers needed to see to understand. "They're capable children, I'm sure they'll find the solution to this problem very quickly."
—
"If we just came from Avernus… That means we're southeast of there, and I probably need to keep going that way." I mumbled to myself as I jogged through the woods.
The forest was far from dense—All of the trees were spaced comfortably apart, leaving room for thick russets of grass and pine needles to flourish within their bounds. I could hear the pounding steps of others near me, wildlife and students indistinguishable from one-another in the cacophony of noises.
It was strange how a forest could be both silent and deafening all at the same time. The chittering chirps of wildlife had a way to fade into silence, yet scream louder than the raffle of a city at once.
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I was content to keep jogging through the trees, letting my rapid pace—Quickened yet further by my magic—Guide me through the forest towards my distant destination.
A sound caught my attention. It was a sharp, chittering scream like that of a thousand insects scrambling about each other, the echo of chitinous hides whistling through the wind.
Wind.
I dropped into a roll, skating across the ground before bringing myself to a stop at the roots of a tree. I felt a gust of wind blast by where my head had been moments prior, dragging up such an intense draft that my hair was blown around wildly.
"Damnit…" An unfamiliar voice cursed from behind the woodline. As I looked up, I saw the unfamiliar girl who had used wind to launch herself down to the earth faster than any of us. Her Auburn hair flowed gently around her, crowing her hazel skin and green eyes elegantly.
"Shit…" I hissed quietly—I had hoped that none of the other students would have reached the same conclusion I had, or at least that they wouldn't have reached it so quickly. But, now I had to accept that fighting was one of the only ways to guarantee placements when no clear rules had been set.
"Oh well, I won't miss again." The voice came alongside a distinct aura in the air. Mana compressed around me, forming a sort of vacuum that threatened to rush into my lungs if I didn't react in time.
"Stay close," I spoke softly to Akemi. Mana raced through my body, moving faster than I had ever tried to move it before. It wasn't just the flow of my blood, it was a rush of lightning tracing down every inch of my skin as I started moving.
—
"Damnit…" Rachel cursed out loud. She hadn't expected the girl to have such good reflexes—Not when she had seen her fight the Golem. Frankly, in her own opinion, there was nothing that special about the silver-haired girl other than her luck.
At least, she thought that until the girl masterfully rolled out of the way of the windstrike she had sent. It whizzed harmlessly over the top of her head, slamming into a nearby tree with a soft whooshing sound.
"Oh well, I won't miss again." Rachel was confident in her words. The Girl—Kirin—Was on her ass, up against a tree and not even moving. She had no chance of getting away, not when Rachel had started to change the very pressure of the air around her.
She thought that, right up until Kirin disappeared. There was a loud crack that shot through the air, like that of a static charge that was released all at once. The girl was gone, leaving Rachel standing there baffled for a moment.
"Where?…" She wondered for a moment before turning hard. She raised her arms in a cross block, taking the brunt of a powerful kick from the silver-haired girl that pushed her back several feet.
"Got you!" Rachel shouted even as her arms grew numb from the kick. There was almost no magic in it, yet Kirin kicked her hard. All the same however, she reached her hands out and pressed twin cyclones of wind forth.
But Kirin moved before the spiraling tunnels could reach her. A thin arc of lightning jumped through the air, giving Kirin an impossible item to jump off of and launch herself into another direction.
Rachel was able to follow Kirin this time—Kirin arched through the air, hitting stands of electricity that formed for singular instants before disappearing after she kicked off of them.
Kirin came down again, but this time Rachel was prepared for the strike. With a flourish of her hands she brought an intense cyclone of wind up around herself, the spiralling winds threatened to throw Kirin to the side. They forced the girl to redirect, turning her momentum away from Rachel.
Rachel however didn't stay around and wait for Kirin to come back at her. She launched off of the ground, giving chase to the girl with the speed of a hurricane.
Yet Kirin shifted direction with the pace of thunder. Every time Rachel thought she was getting close the girl would shift, changing directions so sharply that she couldn't come close to keeping up with her.
Kirin kept leading her around, running harder and faster while all Rachel could do was just try and chase her down. How was this girl so fast! No one had ever outrun Rachel before, let alone out pace her, and this girl was doing it like it was nothing.
It was only once her guard was momentarily down, her barrier of spiraling winds weakened with annoyance that Kirin made a change.
She turned, stopping in place so suddenly that Rachel had no hope to react to it. In an instant the girl crossed the distance, a knee raised—The very last thing Rachel saw was Kirin's knee flanking her vision before white-hot pain hit her temple.
At least that pain was only there for a moment before blackness took over.
—
"Oww…" I groaned slightly as I landed on the ground. I was left hopping up and down on one leg after knocking the auburn haired girl out with a surprisingly effective knee-strike. Albeit, her defensive magic was very present still, and my knee was aching thanks to it.
"At least I know that works now." I sighed calmly as I turned away from the girl. I was worried for a moment that she would be in danger if I just left her here, but as I took a step back a low glow emanated from her.
A green light covered her body, encasing her in a sort of protective aura that raised her into the air. It took only a moment to know where she was being taken, given the shadow of the school was still cast over the entire forest.
"Back to it then…" With relief coursing through my body I could at least relax, knowing rather happily that at least one of the things I had been practicing worked—I had learnt that the constructs I could make were capable of being reabsorbed with minimal loss, and that I could force them to be stationary in the air.
It was far from an ideal thing to use, especially in the absence of flight or any proper aerial control, but for this use? It worked well enough. In fact, it worked well enough to leave me satisfied to just walk for a while. Especially given that I couldn't feel my feet thanks to all those impacts.