Cardinal - School of Scholars and Knights - Colosseum

SECTION 1
As Alexia and Lia walk through the school's corridor, they enter the theatre room, where they find at least a few thousand other students. The two walk towards an empty corner of the theatre to escape from the noisy crowd. 

"I wonder if this is where we're supposed to be," Alexia said while looking around the room. 

"This is the main theatre room! I know it because my big sis graduated from this academy," Lia commented, touching one of the many grand statues of heroic figures. 

As the two talk, the light suddenly dims and then redirects to the center stage above the theatre. An old voice speaks. 

"Greetings, freshmen. I am the chairman of this academy. You may call me Sebastas Kravila."

The old man has a long, white beard and a cane to match. He looks as one would describe an ancient wizard. 

"He's the chairman?" Alexia said, looking up at the old man with a confused head tilt. 

"The ONE and ONLY!!! That's the legendary Sebatas Kravila! The one they call the Great Sage, who slew 100 dragons on his own! How do you NOT know him?" Lia said, loud and enthusiastic. 

"Well... I just... I... I never bothered to learn history," Alexia commented on now knowing the legendary figure who stands before them. 

"I wonder if these statues are also legendary figures," Alexia says in her mind. 

Like Lia, Alexia walks over to one of the statues and looks up. It's a statue of a man with a rather barrel-shaped body, a large beard tied in braids, carrying a hammer and wearing a helmet with horns.

"I wonder if this is a dwarf. I only ever saw them in books I read about mana history," Alexia commented to herself. 

While Alexia is deep in thought, she is suddenly shaken by Lia, who forces her face towards the stage.

"A- Lia, what are you-" 

"PAY ATTENTION," Lia silently shouts. 

Alexia then focuses her attention back to the stage, where the Great Sage is now giving his final speech. 

"Hear me well, students. Today, two thousand, three hundred and thirteen souls have come to our academy. Each one of you is here for different reasons. However, only five hundred of you shall remain, whether in the scholar’s path or the knight’s path. Thus, to thin your numbers, a trial by combat has been decided. Make your way now… to the Colosseum."

At the mention of combat, Alexia's whole world froze. The thoughts of her own weakness come flooding back. She began to silently panic. 

"How am I supposed to win this? I shouldn't have to fight! Grandpa put me in the scholar course for this reason! Why now? Why... Why... WHY?! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Lia, seeing the panic on Alexia's face, suddenly grabs her hand and gives her a reassuring smile. Despite her outward positivity, Lia also feels nervous. 

"It'll be alright! I know it will. We can win this," Lia said, continuing to hold Alexia's hand while looking into her eyes. 

Alexia nods and wipes away some tears that had formed in her eyes. 

Together, the two walk to the colosseum with the rest of the students. 

SECTION 2
Alexia and Lia both entered a small room with a wall covered in weapons. Swords, shields, axes, hammers, spears, and more. Weapons for whatever occasion. 

"Hmm... I'll take these." Alexia grabbed a pair of white gauntlets from an old chest. 

"Pretty gloves. How do they compare... to this!" Lia said, grabbing an axe. 

However, the axe is too heavy for her to carry, so Lia ends up falling backwards, crashing into another student. A female with long black hair and deep purple eyes. 

"Excuse me! Do you even realize how clumsy you are? Honestly, watch where you're swinging that ridiculous thing. It's just disgraceful," The female said. 

"Opps! Hehe... sorry! I didn't think anyone would be behind me," Lia responded, getting up, dusting herself off, while Alexia grabbed the axe with some struggle. 

"The name is Violet Fou Evernight. You're that scholarship student, aren't you? A commoner like you has no business being in a noble academy," Violet said in a venomous tone. 

"Let's have fun out there! I hope we can be friends in the future," Lia responded, her tone forced. 

Lia feels insulted by that comment made by Violet. However, she refuses to show any kind of reaction other than positivity. A defense mechanism that Lia developed over her life. 

Alexia, feeling the tension, puts a hand on Lia's shoulder. 

"Let's go. I'll meet you in the colosseum."

As Alexia walks off, Lia begins to tremble a little. 

 "I have to protect her... I have to keep her safe. She's the only one who has been kind to me here. Because I am a scholar student... because I don't come from nobility."

Her resolve is to protect Alexia. To keep those close to her. Looking up, Lia sees the perfect weapon for herself. She grabs it and then rushes off to meet with Alexia at the colosseum. 

The two girls now stand, side by side, at the colosseum. 

Above them on a floating platform is the chairman. 

"Greetings, student. I shall announce the rules of this mock battle. The staff have voted for it to be a free-for-all style fight. You are allowed to form teams with each other. However, the limit for a team will be four people. The winning conditions are to knock your target out or to make them admit defeat. Under no circumstances is killing allowed. If you are defeated, it does not mean you are out. What determines your place in this academy isn't just fighting skill alone. It is also your intellect and resourcefulness with yourself, the environment, and how well you work with others."

The chairman then snaps his fingers. An elven teacher, draped in black robes, walks forward. With a sudden snap of his fingers, a spiritual beast envelops the land with mana, changing its landscape to that of a jungle. 

Alexia looks up in awe and a tinge of jealousy. She had never seen mana used this way and felt a bit of self-loathing due to her own weakness. 

"Why can't I have power like that? It's not fair..."

Lia would notice the sadness in Alexia's eyes, and she then holds Alexia's hand tighter. 

"Let's win this... together!" Lia, feeling desperate, wants to cheer Alexia up. 

"Yes... lets...!" Alexia shakes her head, clearing herself of those thoughts. 

From above, the chairman then rings the bell, which causes a massive red sphere to form above the colosseum.

"BEGIN!"

The moment those words leave his mouth, the colosseum flashes many different colors of mana. Red, white, pink, purple, and blue. A lightshow of violence. 

Some of Sarah's old memories slipped into Alexia's mind. 

"Like fireworks," Alexia mumbled to herself.

"You say somethin'?" Lia said, giving Alexia a confused head tilt.

"Wah- No! No! I didn't," Alexia quickly yelled out, her face now red as a tomato. 

The two let out forced laughter before locking in. 

As they walked to find weaker opponents, several arrows rained down from above, threatening to pierce the duo. 

Lia, acting fast, raises her weapon of choice, a golden shield that shines with a calm light. As she raises it, her mana is channeled through the shield, shaping that light into a spherical shape around them, which blocks the oncoming arrows. 

"I'll protect you! I'm not very strong, but I'll do my best to keep you safe," Lia says with conviction. 

"I'm... I'm not strong myself, but I know how to defend myself. With the little power I have, I developed this technique..."

As Alexia speaks, a lone person ambushes them. A boy with short blonde hair and green eyes. He charges at the two with a sword.

Because of her weakness, Alexia could never fully develop her mana. However, she learned a way to counteract this. By pouring a great amount of mana into her fists, she can create an impact that doubles her normal striking force. 

"Star Payload," she yelled. 

Alexia meets the boy's sword with her gauntlets, which amplifies the force of her attack. The impact creates a small shockwave of force that blasts both of them back. The boy's sword shatters into several shards while Alexia's gauntlet shatters, leaving her fist lightly injured. 

Lia, seeing Alexia hurt, quickly rushes in and bandages her hand up with some of the cloth of her school uniform. 

"Please, don't hurt yourself," Lia pleaded with Alexia. 

She is no slouch when it comes to understanding someone. Lia could see what Alexia's power is like, or the lack thereof. She lacks control over her body's mana. 

At the same time, a voice announces. 

"Alexia Altair Astos. Pass." 

SECTION 3
Violet stood alone in the colosseum, her eyes closed. 

The constant clashing, the sounds of screams, the clashing of swords, and the sounds of explosions seem to cause her no reaction.

In that moment, a team of three ambushed her from all sides. 

Violet, her eyes still closed, raises her hand into the air. 

"Begone."

In that instant, all three of them were chopped on the neck in one fluid motion. The three collapse onto the ground, knocked out. 

"Violet Fou Evernight. Passed."

Despite the voice saying she had passed, Violet felt nothing. She looks around, looking at those still clashing, those who got knocked out, and those who have already passed. 

Violet then channels mana through her body, which makes her vanish from the perception of others. 

The Evernight family is a noble clan of assassins. They specialize in stealth, martial arts, and speed. Violet is a prodigy among them. 

Because of her power and position, Violet has a sense of arrogance, too. She looks down on the weak and those who are commoners. Why should the weak go to a school meant to harness the talents of young nobles? 

Violet then glances around, seeing a few solo players. In that instant, she uses a speed-based technique to rush them, using her superior skills and fortification to knock them out. 

Violet then rushes over to a team of three. 

She legswipes the team's captain, a boy in heavy armor, with ease. As he crashes, she swiftly takes out the other two in the team, with them putting up little fight. 

"Well, well, well. Seems the little lurker finally decided to leave her shadows," a voice called out. 

Violet turns to see who the voice belongs to. 

"Stanfield Van Hayfield… Hah. I didn’t think your kind would crawl out of the woods, let alone make it here. Guess they’ll let anyone enroll these days," Violet says with clear disdain. 

Without another word, the two clash. 

Stanfield can keep up with Violet, with her actually stumbling back. 

Violet uses one of her assassination techniques, Zero Form, to sneak up behind Stanfield. She then delivers a quick chop to his neck.

Stanfield didn't flinch. He knew exactly what she'd try. Violet stops mid-air as his fist impacts her stomach.

"Ah-" Violet actually coughs up a little blood. 

"You little- You know that this is against the rules!"

Stanfield walks forward, carrying a sword he had taken from a knocked-out student. 

"Aw. Little shadow dweller lost? Too bad. I'll inflict the same pain you inflicted on me!"

Violet, looking at his sword, has a faint flashback.

"You Hayfields starved half my region to death, and you dare stand here as if you belong?"

In that moment, Lia, the girl whom Violet had insulted before, rushes in and blocks Stanfield's strike. 

"Are you alright?" Lia asked. 

Despite their earlier encounter, Lia still felt it was her duty to protect others. 

At the same time, Alexia would rush and tackle Stanfield to the ground. 

"Get him!" She yelled. 

In that moment, Violet quickly moves behind Stanfield and crushes his armor with her bare hands, and then she delivers a chop to the neck, knocking him out. 

Violet then turns to Lia. 

"Stay away from me. I... I don't need the help of a commoner!"

Lia, however, did not back down. Instead, she walks over to Violet.

"Sit. You're hurt. I'll let the teachers know."

"Why are you being so kind to me?" Violet asked. 

"Because I don't want to see others hurt. Even... even if they insult me."

As Lia spoke, Alexia would rub her hand.

"This still stings..."

Violet looks at Alexia's hand, and her eyes narrow. 

"Only an amateur would let themselves get injured. Pathetic. You don’t even belong in this field." 

Alexia clenches her fists, ignoring the stinging sensation. She didn't want to lie to Lia. She sees Violet as what she could have been. 

"... I want to prove my family wrong. I don't have good control over my mana."

Alexia holds her non-injured fist out and channels mana into it. Her fist glows a faint black before dissipating. 

Lia then nods, understanding. 

"You could have told me that the first time we met. I don't like liars... but since you're my friend, I'll let it slide. Just this once."

Violet, seeing the two, began to reflect a little. Her arrogance is still there, but it would be in her best interests to work with a team. Reluctantly, she asked...

"Tch… relying on others… how disgraceful… but if I stay alone, I’ll lose face."

Violet thinks for a few moments before deciding.

"Hmph. They won't last without me. My skills, power, and knowledge. They'll need it if they want to pass," Violet thinks to herself.

Violet reluctantly joins the team. Together, the three struck a stronger team of students, with Violet's help.

As the lights all around took over the area, the voice announced. 

"Lia. Passed."

SECTION 4
Sitting in his office chair, Sebatas overlooks the colosseum. He watches as the students fight and clash. He then turns his attention to one of the other staff members, an elf who created the jungle. 

"Glys, I took notice of one girl in particular," Sebatas said, taking out a few documents. 

"Sir, I believe that girl is Alexia, the youngest of the Polaris clan, if I'm not mistaken," Glys added. 

"Yes. I know the clan quite well. A few connections of mine told me about her. That girl… has potential. I know you can see it, Glys."

The two turn to the colosseum. As masters of Mana, their ability in Visionary Arts surpasses that of most others. 

While others might see Alexia as weak, they see her as a walking beacon of light. 

"It's rare to have raw potential like that here. She could grow stronger than even Staria," Sebatas said, while stroking his beard. 

"For now, sir, I believe we should just keep quiet," Gyls said before turning to the door.

"I will keep an eye on her, though. If she passes, I'll see to it that she is placed in my class.

"Ever the cunning one, Glys. You would gather the stars before they’ve learned to shine," Sebatas commented. 

He then dismisses Gyls. Sebatas then takes out a small picture from his drawer.

"I'll see to it that your granddaughter is refined to a brilliant and strong young woman, old friend."

The picture is of Sebatas, Frederick, and a muscular man wearing an eyepatch over his right eye.