Tryouts

After exiting the Magic Tower, Kizou walked to the building in front of him to find out that it was the Adventurer’s Guild.

Of course it would be the other building, Kizou thought to himself with a sigh.

Kizou opened the door of the building and was entranced by how much different the Adventurer’s Guild was compared to the Magic Tower.

There were tables stacked around with benches, and there were people drinking and eating. Other people were having conversations and laughing as if they heard the funniest joke in the world. There was a bartender as well as waitresses that delivered orders to those that were seated.

This is way bigger than the shop at home, Kizou thought to himself in amazement.

He continued walking to the registration window, and there was a huge line of people waiting in front of him.

“Please have your I.D. ready when you come up to the window, it makes it easier for everyone,” the female operator yelled out.

Kizou grabbed his backpack and waited for the line to move up, so he could register himself within the Guild database.

“Hey, did you hear about the Coliseum?” a man in front of Kizou said to his friend.

“What about it?” his friend asked back.

“Tyrant has a record of 50-0 now,” the man said excitedly.

“No way!” his friend responded. “She’s been here for a couple of years now, and no one has been able to beat her?!”

“Not that I’ve ever seen!” the man exclaimed. “I heard that the only people who are able to challenge her are those that have high grades in Lestia Academy.”

Lestia Academy? Kizou thought to himself.

“What?!” his friend exclaimed. “We’re never going to get our chance.”

“I know,” the man answered sadly. “We can always watch the fight at least, since it’s not always that you see a Demon up close.”

Demon? Kizou thought to himself.

As their conversation continued, Kizou drifted off and started thinking about how his mindset towards Demons were changing. Cheron was his Master, and he clearly only had good intentions for him. He didn’t think that he would go serious if he fought with a Demon, especially if it was somewhere in a place called the Coliseum. In addition, there are Demon students who have entered the Kingdom.

What if there’s more to it than them just being students? Kizou thought to himself.

“Next,” the female operator called out.

Kizou still stood in place as he was still thinking about the relationship between humans and Demons.

“Next!” the female operator yelled out. Kizou stopped thinking about trivial things and walked up to the booth.

Look at this one, she thought to herself angrily at how slow Kizou was moving. I bet he doesn’t even know how to fight with a sword, and what’s with that mask? Creepy.

“I.D. please,” the female operator said.

“Here you go,” Kizou said while giving her his backpack.

She looked at the backpack and looked back at him. Kizou smiled at her. She let out a sigh and grabbed a device from one of the drawers.

“Give me one second,” she said without energy. She hovered the device over the backpack to see it flashing. Her eyes widened, and she suddenly coughed.

“I apologize for my rude behavior earlier,” the woman said. “Please grab a number and head over through this door.”

“Okay, thanks,” Kizou said with a smile as he walked through the door.

That I.D. really makes people look at me differently, Kizou thought to himself.

As Kizou walked through the door, the female operator rushed towards the backroom. A man was sitting on his desk doing paperwork.

“Boss, I found an interesting one that you should test yourself,” the female operator said.

“How interesting?” a familiar man asked as he looked up from his paperwork.

“He was given a provisional I.D. from the Headmaster of Lestia Academy,” the woman said.

“From the Headmaster?” the man asked while he instantly stood up. “I’ll be out in a bit.”

“Yes sir,” the woman replied as she walked back towards the booth.

Looks like I’m getting a bonus, she thought to herself happily.

“I.D., please,” the woman said as she continued her job. As the girl handed her I.D., the operator looked up to see a girl with a green robe and a staff.

Meanwhile, Kizou walked inside the room and found a small arena in the middle with chairs circling all around. Everyone sat down, so Kizou took a seat as well.

“Okay everyone, the battle has just finished. We will be moving on to our next competitor,” the woman on the stage said.

Wait, another battle?! Kizou thought to himself after remembering what he just went through at the Magic Tower.

“Hurry up already, I’m tired of waiting!” said a boy who looked like he was Kizou’s age. He had long, silver hair and held a staff in his hand. He wore a red robe, and a black shirt underneath. He was slouched in his seat as if he was bored with what he was watching.

“Please wait your turn,” the announcer said calmly. “Number 45, please come up!”

“Tch,” the boy said as he realized his number wasn’t called.

“I’m right here,” the boy said as he walked towards the stage. He wore a brown shirt and had black pants on. He had brown hair and smiled as he walked down. He had a sword and looked experienced.

“Pretty young, isn’t he?” a voice said right besides Kizou.

“Yeah, he looks like he’s my age,” Kizou said as he turned around to the voice. “Wait, why are you here?!”

“Hello,” Maru said with a smile. “Just thought I’d take a different route.”

“But didn’t you pass the exam?” Kizou asked.

“Yeah, but I froze when it mattered the most,” Maru said with her head down. “I’m surprised that Taisho kept the offer.”

“Hmmm” Kizou mumbled to himself as he looked at her.

“What?!” Maru said embarrassingly. “I’ll have you know that I excel in both sword and magic.”

“I wasn’t questioning anything,” Kizou said with a chuckle.

“Quiet down!” the announcer said. “Number 45, your opponent for today will be Aimi.”

Chatter started circling around the room as the name was definitely known.

“Isn’t she supposed to be ranked within the top 30 Adventurers?” said someone within the crowd.

“I heard she rose up that high within one year,” said another individual. “She’s supposed to be a prodigy.”

“How unlucky for him to get matched up with her,” said another voice.

“Is she that strong?” Kizou asked as he turned towards Maru.

“Yeah,” Maru replied while showing no emotion.

Aimi walked out from the entrance and stood in the middle of the stage. She was tall, and she had a white shirt on with black pants.  Her pink hair was easily visible.  She had two swords on her waist and stood confidently while she stared at her opponent.

“Hello, my name is Yokuto,” number 45 said as he bowed to show respect.

“Hmph,” Aimi replied.

“The use of magic and physical contact is allowed, but killing is prohibited,” the announcer said. “Your performance is the factor on how you are ranked, so it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose.”

Yokuto and Aimi both continued to look at each other.

“Begin!” the announcer yelled.

“Tremor Force!” Yokuto yelled as he made the first move and put his hand to the floor. The arena started shaking violently as Aimi looked as if she lost her footing.

Yokuto rushed at her with his sword out as it looked like he was used to the shaking. Aimi continued wobbling but as Yokuto was about to reach her, she instantly stopped shaking.

Wait, how did she stop so easily? Yokuto thought to himself.

Aimi blocked Yokuto’s strike and started pressuring Yokuto as every strike pushed him back slowly. Yokuto pulled back and tried to make some distance, but Aimi kept pushing him.

Too strong, Yokuto thought to himself.

Aimi didn’t seem to have any change of emotion as she watched her opponent struggle to just move. Aimi raised her sword up and threw it down which Yokuto was barely able to block. A gust of wind from her strength reached the audience.

What power! Kizou thought to himself in awe.

Maru just sat there and stared.

Yokuto was finally able to get some distance between himself and Aimi. He pointed his arm at her.

“Rock Burst!” he yelled as rocks started being launched towards Aimi.

She walked calmly towards him and dodged every piece that was launched at her. She ducked, jumped, and turned her body. Yokuto couldn’t do anything but just look at her with surprise.

“Guess there’s a reason why you’re ranked so high,” he said with a chuckle. “Looks like I have to go with my final move!”

Aimi stopped walking after she heard what Yokuto said. She smiled. This was the only time that she showed emotion, but it was a smile as if she wanted to show that he was no match for her.

“Crater Clamp!” Yokuto yelled as the ground around Aimi rose up and clamped her. He started exhaling as he was both fatigued and out of energy.

“Wow, fast and efficient,” Kizou said as he looked on in surprise.

“It’s not done yet,” Maru said.  Kizou looked at her and back at the stage.

“So, what’s my grade?” Yokuto asked as he went up to the announcer out of breath.

“Well, the battle isn’t over yet, until someone is knocked,” the announcer said.

“Huh?” Yokuto said as he turned around.

“Shadow’s Whisper,” Aimi said.

Her body suddenly disappeared from where she was being clamped, and she appeared right behind Yokuto. She grabbed him from behind and took him down to the floor and pointed her sword at him.

“Awee man,” Yokuto said as he realized it was his loss.

Whoa, how did she do that? Kizou thought to himself.

“C+” the announcer yelled out as she ushered Yokuto out of the arena. Yokuto looked defeated and walked out of the entrance.

“That was crazy!” Kizou exclaimed as he looked at Maru who looked unimpressed.

“Yeah,” she replied while looking straight at Aimi.

What’s her deal? Kizou thought to himself as he saw Maru’s eyes trail Aimi until she exited the arena.

“Next up is number 52!” the announcer yelled.

“Phoenix’s Fire,” a voice said.

Suddenly, a huge fireball was launched towards the announcer.

“No, next up is number 57,” the boy with grey hair said with a smile.

A barrier formed around the announcer as she was able to block the attack. However, there was a small crack that seemed to form before the announcer let go of her spell.

“Aren’t you a bit too reckless?” the announcer said as she brushed off her clothes.

“Anything to make the process hurry up,” the boy said with a smirk.

“Fine then, number 57,” the announcer said. “Come on down.”

“Took you a while,” he said as he walked down to the arena. “The name’s Stereo, so where’s my opponent?”

“Your opponent will be me,” the announcer said with a smile.

“Huh?” Stereo said with a laugh. “Throw me that A+ while you’re at it.”

Ignorant child, the announcer thought to herself.

“Alright, let the battle be-”

“Phoenix’s Fire!” Stereo yelled.

A fireball was launched right at her before she could even finish counting down.

A barrier formed around the announcer as she already expected that he’d try to pull something like that.

“Always be prepared for anything,” Stereo said with a smile as he trailed right behind the fireball.

The fireball hit the barrier and let out a small crack again which Stereo noticed the first time. He grabbed his staff and hit the crack with a huge force that eventually caused it to shatter.

“What?” the announcer said as she looked surprised.

“I have you now!” Stereo said as he managed to break through and was about to hit the announcer.

“No, I have you,” the announcer said with a smile.

Stereo’s attack was instantly blocked by another barrier, but it was different. The barrier was on the inside, not the outside. Stereo was trapped inside the barrier.

“C,” the announcer yelled out.

“Hold on, hold on,” Stereo said with a smile inside the barrier. “Who was it that said that the battle isn’t over until someone is knocked?”

“What?!” the announcer yelled out as she saw Stereo emitting a lot of energy.

How does a kid have so much power?! the announcer thought to herself.

With just pure power, the barrier exploded. The announcer was pushed back to the floor.

“Let me give you my strongest spell,” Stereo said with a smile while watching the announcer on the floor.

“Stop, stop!” the announcer yelled. “You get an A.”

“Too late,” Stereo said. “Inferno Blaze.”

A circle of fire started forming around the announcer and slowly closing in.

“Shouldn’t someone do something?” someone in the crowd asked.

“This is pretty crazy,” someone else said.

While everyone could clearly see what was about to happen, no one ended up jumping in.

“Thanks for the A,” Stereo said as the fire slowly closed in on the announcer.

“Water Wall!” Maru yelled out as a water wall started clashing against the fire. She leapt from where she was sitting and stood in the arena.

“Looks like someone stood up for the announcer,” Stereo said with a smile. “But what is your weak water supposed to do?”

“It’s supposed to make my spell even stronger,” Kizou answered.

The water that was slowly fighting against the fire suddenly turned into ice.

When did he chant that? Stereo thought to himself.

“Again,” Stereo said while laughing. “Fire beats ice.”

“Believe me,” Kizou said. “I heard that one earlier today.”

As the fire collided with the ice, it was met with a standstill as the fire and ice turned into smoke that enveloped the stage.

He managed to stop my spell? Stereo thought to himself.

Barely managed to keep up, Kizou thought to himself.

“That’s enough,” said a voice coming out of the entrance. A gust of wind blew by that easily sent the smoke flying away.

What was that? Kizou thought to himself as he looked down to cover his eyes.

“I am the owner of this establishment,” the man said as he stood in front of the people in the arena. 

Why does that voice sound familiar? Kizou thought to himself as he looked up.

“Wait,” Kizou said with a shocked expression. “Kosta?!”