Special Test: Operation Tetrad

The crowd fell silent, watching from the edge of their seats at the spectacle unfolding before them. Kneeling to the ground around me, the triop bowed their heads deeply to the field, prostrating themselves before the stadium of onlookers. My head swivelled, looking between them, the crowd, and the proctors who anxiously waited to see what would happen next. 

As my heart raced, I began to panic, knowing that this moment was my cue. 

Shit. Shit. Shit. I thought, hesitating as I looked at the potion in my hand, all the while my mind swirling with emotions. What's more important to me right now? Have any of the things I've said before even mattered? Will doing this change things? But if I didn't, what did that mean for me? For them? 

At the end of the day, there was really only one choice I could make. One thing that mattered to me above all else. Even if I wanted to deny it, I had grown to care more about the triop than the fate of the world. And while it was a selfish thought, it was true.

From the moment Phyllis pulled me through to Esseria, my fate was sealed. I was always going to have to become a part of the story. This story. My story. My world.

With a deep breath, I popped the cork from the bottle before hoisting the elixir to my lips and drinking it down. The liquid, if you could even call it that, was thick and bitter. All three seconds that it took me to consume it were awful, to a point that I would have preferred peppermint to the horrid taste. But I did it and, upon finishing it, I lifted the empty bottle to the sky for all to see like a fratboy finishing the last sip in a game of Kings Cup.

In an instant, the settling storm picked up once again. A sheet of fractaling electricity moved from the exterior of the clouds towards the centre before a single bolt of ruby-red light arced down and met my hand as though it were a lightning rod. As I flinched in response to the strike, I quickly realized that it didn’t hurt. In fact, the electricity that coursed through my body tingled as it travelled from the hand of one arm to the crook of the other. Then, as the ruby light settled into that space, it began to itch in the moments before a birthmark pushed to the surface.

That was when I knew what had happened. What the incantation recited by my companions had been. What the purpose of the ceremony was and why I needed to play my role. The birthmark that had formed wasn't simply a formation of irregularly pigmented cells. It was my Magodation Mark. It was the visible merger of arcana and cells that every magical child of this age was born with. A mark that could be used to find the two other people in this world that the wielder was destined to form arcanosynthesis with. 

Looking down at the blemish, half expecting to see a blob that looked like New Brunswick or maybe something that a dermatologist should look at, I was surprised to find it appeared to be a polyhedron. But I wouldn't have time to examine the formation as what came next took me by surprise.

A sudden pain struck my chest, hitting me like a medicine ball thrown at full strength. With a gasp, I grabbed at my heart, wondering if something had gone wrong in the recitation or if I was being outright rejected. That was when the second thud struck, this time bringing me to my knees as I felt something begin to warm beneath my hand. And then, a third and final time, my chest ached as gravity pulled me down to the ground, my heart now racing faster than I thought possible.

Great, this is how I die. I thought, gripping at my chest hard enough for my knuckles to grow white. On display in front of the entire student body. I just hope I don't crap myself or at least the girls hide it well.

But then, the feeling began to ease, and the racing slowed enough for me to recognize how wrong I had been. What I'd thought was me entering a state of arrhythmia had instead been the sensation of three other hearts beginning to beat alongside mine. And even as the thudding of these phantom organs began to calm, they never fully left. 

Gripping at my shirt and the warmth that now comfortably rested beneath my chest, I held at the slight pressure that remained, immediately knowing what it was. Even though I could never have expected it, I simply understood what it meant. And as I looked down at my hand, feeling tears forming in my eyes, watching as they blurred my vision, the thought moved me. I recognized that the pressure I now felt was that of my companions'. That now, as a member of their triop, a small core of their life force resided within me, reminding me they were there and that they were alright.

“Ishara,” Rionriv spoke, pulling me from my daze as she stood and approached me. “Welcome to our group. Welcome home!”

Aesandoral and Sharzin, who had also already stood, followed the sorceress' lead, throwing their arms around me. Soon, I found myself in the middle of the triop's embrace, as they hugged onto me tightly. As they did so, I could feel their hearts beating faster against mine, letting me know just how thrilled they were to have me there with them.

“Th-thank you,” I sniffled, reaching a hand up to wipe at my face. "I-I—"

That was when my one good ear picked up on a faint discussion. Beyond the crowd’s cheers, I could hear someone talking about us. Following the voice with a pivot of my head, I could sense that it was coming from the proctor’s booth. Though the words were soft in comparison to the cries of the crowd, I could tell that they were making last-minute shifts in the enemy selection for us. 

“Whoa, how can I hear the teachers?” I asked, touching at my ear and looking to the three. "I-I can hear them talking."

"Oh, you got that from me." Aesandoral chirped up, releasing herself from the hug long enough to poke at her ears. "My elven hearing, of course!"

"What? What do you mean?"

“When a triop or, I guess, tetrad, unites, they share a fraction of their strengths with the rest of their party,” Rionriv explained as she and Sahrzin separated from the hug. “I’m surprised you didn’t know that, oracle. If you’re anything like the rest of us, you got Aesandoral's perceptiveness, probably Sharzin’s stealthiness and my pool of magic—you're welcome.”

“I never thought it would function like this,” I replied, fiddling with my ear while keeping one hand firmly over the beating of my companions' hearts. “Are any of you feeling anything from me? Gods, I hope you don't get my acid reflux.”

“Brilliant," Atlas announced, his voice obviously strained from the turn of events and getting interrupted once again by our group. "What a display of true mage spirit! Now then, is this tetrad ready for their test? No? Too bad, because it’s starting. Good luck!”

This relatively cold response earned Atlas some boos and heckles from the crowd, buying us time to prepare as he spent a moment scolding them before pulling a lever from his post. As his hand disappeared from view, there was a flash of light across the field from us as a rune activated. With a puff of smoke, a huge beast in obsidian armour landed at the opposite end of the pitch. Even from a distance, perhaps thanks to the elven enhancements, I could see the massive panther-like form that dug its claws into the earth as it moved from the platform.

What the hells? I thought, my heart dropping at the sight of the creature. Those were all supposed to have been destroyed in the war. Where did Al'magi—no, where did Atlas get one?

The beast that had already begun to stalk us was a G-Class Termination Unit. At the time of authoring the creature, I had been on a particular science-fiction kick, enjoying a rewatch of the entire Exterminator series. These EX-Eight-Hundred knockoffs were from the Two-Generation War and carried with them a kill-death ratio of one thousand nine-hundred and ninety-seven to one. They had a laundry list of resistances and immunities with very few critical spots that traditional magic casters could ever hope of hitting. It was definitely a monster that needed to be studied before fighting, and one I couldn't have ever predicted would show up in a combat test.

"Hey, everyone, about this monster—" I began only to have Aesandoral cut me off.

“Termination Unit,” The archer rambled off immediately, catching me by surprise. "That's going to be tough."

“What?” I replied, dumbfounded by the fact that she knew anything about the creature before us. "How did you—"

“G-Class,” Sharzin added, drawing my attention her way. "By my estimation."

“Hey, Iz,” Rionriv finally spoke up from the front of the group, the magic pooling in her hand transforming from electricity to a thick sphere of green acid. “You asked about your ability? Seems like we got some of that world-lore of yours.”

“Wait. So you're telling me you know what that thing is? And its weaknesses?”

“Yeah, thanks for that. Later we're going to talk about why you would create such a hellish creature. But, for now, Sharzin…Aesandoral, could you focus on the weak spots on the haunch? Ishara, expose the belly for me?”

Allowing myself a moment for the whiplash of emotions to settle, I eventually gave my head a shake and released a quiet laugh. As I crouched down to begin my charge towards the anti-mage arcanobeast, I glanced towards the sorceress.

“Sure,” I answered her, revealing a smile. “You know, when you have all the information, your tactical side can be pretty intense.”

“Duh, I hung around Papa Jette a lot. I do know how to strategize. Now, you understand I can feel your heartbeat, too, right? Try not to gild your pants in front of the whole school.”

"Gah," I gasped, touching at my chest and feeling the calm, steady pace of my companions' hearts. "You're such a tease."

"Get to it, Iz!"

With little more than a nod, I charged into combat. By the time I had entered the fray, the battle had already begun, with Aesandoral releasing her arrows and Sharzin her crossbow's bolts. I watched as they cut through the air, sneaking their way into the critical spots between the small breaks in the creature's leg armour. As the arrowheads dug in deep, a grating wail echoed through the stadium, making the roaring crowd quiet by comparison.

In response to the assault, I watched as the Termination Unit flexed its body, causing the arrowheads to snap from their shafts in an instant, before it searched the arena for a target. Unable to find Sharzin or reach Aesandoral high in the air, the beast turned its hungry hatred towards me. In a flash, it accelerated my way at the speed of a car on the highway, kicking up dirt and grass as it cleared the distance between us.

But I was prepared for this. After all, I knew that the G-Class's lightning-fast speed was what made this particular Termination Unit dangerous. I also understood that if any one of us were to be trampled by the fast-moving armoured monstrosity, it would be all but over for them.

Thus why I needed to be the one to stop it.

“Aes,” I tapped my temple, doing my best to match my steps to the approach of the hunter. “Be ready to bind me, okay? Once its belly is exposed and I'm touching grass.”

“Readying shot.” She replied coolly in my mind. "Good Luck."

The creature and I were almost at each other when it lunged. The arcanobeast's leopard-like head hinged at the jaw, revealing a secondary lamprey mouth hidden beyond razor-bladed teeth. But neither would get a chance to enjoy a bite of me as, with a quick burst of magic to my left foot, I dodged to the right at the last possible moment. Following this up with a similar burst to my right foot, I launched back with a cocked arm. 

At this point, I would have normally channelled my magic into the wrappings around my hand and delivered a full-force strike. But, having been itching to try the M.O.P.O.M. technique out on something durable, I instead funnelled magic into a single, concentrated spot. A pinpoint of burgundy light, no bigger than the head of an eraser, quickly pooled between the knuckle and ring finger of my wrappings. 

With a sharp jab connecting to the creature’s temple, I released a pulse of magic that erupted out from my fist like the killing rod of a cattle gun. While the strike didn’t do much damage where I had hit, puncturing the metal like a pen through paper, the opposite side of the creature’s head revealed the horror of my strike. Only able to catch a glimpse as I continued to fly past, I watched as the other side of the arcanobeast's skull violently exploded outward in a spray of flesh, bone and armour.

In an instant, the creature collided to the ground, tearing up the earth as it slid to a stop. To the wildly cheering crowd, it appeared that my first strike had been all that was needed to take down the mage-killer. What they didn’t know was that destroying the head would never be enough to kill these beasts. Much like an octopus had multiple brains, so too did all Termination Units.

Cheers quickly turned to gasps while the crowd watched in horror as the beast began to stumble back to its feet. Not wanting to waste this moment of weakness, I ran up behind the beast to grapple it. Slipping the quarterstaff from my bag, I wrapped the pole under the creature’s neck and yanked it backwards. I pulled with all my might, lifting the front legs off the ground as I bowed its back and exposed the vulnerable underbelly to the world. 

As my feet nearly reached the ground, I knew it was time for the killing blow. And just as I knew, so did our elven archer. That was when Aesandoral’s arrow barely scratched the side of my leg as it impacted the beast's thigh. Thick brambles and roots immediately overwhelmed the space as thorns buried into my flesh, binding the two of us together in a twisted, overgrown statue.

Moments later, I heard the crowd gasping as a flash of pale green light briefly illuminated the stadium. The glow washed over me as the creature began to shriek into my good ear. What came next was the horrendous sound of sizzling and the smell of melting flesh as acid burned through the Termination Unit's carapace. Then, as the cries began to weaken and the body became lax, I started to realize that the sizzling and smells had changed.

“Ah, Ri! Too much!” I cried out, realizing that I had begun to be consumed by the sorceress' acid. “Too much, too much!”

In a panic, I channelled enough magic through my body to burst from the bindings. With a flip away from the beast, landing and sliding against the grass, I glanced back to look at the creature. Stepping into a defensive position, I readied myself for more combat. But this was mainly for show, as the only thing left of the Termination Unit was its bottommost limbs, which were currently slowly melting away into a grotesque slag.

“Iz, we did it! We—eeeep!” Aesandoral exclaimed as she rushed forward before quickly covering her eyes. “Iz, y-your clothes.”

Looking down, I quickly realized that the sizzling I had heard had been the acid eating away at the fabric of my clothes. The process of freeing myself from my beastly bondage had liberated me from the tattered threads, leaving little more than my shoes and socks. As I felt my cheeks beginning to warm and Aesandoral's heart beat as fast as mine, I glanced to the stadium and the hundreds of observers.

“Ow-oooowwwww.” Someone cried out as the catcalls erupted within moments, and a chant began. “Goal-keep-er! Goal-keep-er! Goal-keep-er!”

Oh gods, this is a nightmare! I thought, trying to cover myself as the childhood fear finally came to pass and new trauma filled an unoccupied void in my psyche.