Imposed Decrees

It's been a month since school started. Adrion is sitting in his third-period class, math. Ivika and Sylvie sit to his right, and a random male student sits to his left. The whole class is focused on the instructor, who is in the middle of a lecture. The classroom door swings open, and a group of students walk in.

           "What's the meaning of this?" Mrs. Bech, the instructor, questions them.

          "Sorry to intrude. We're just here to drop off an imposed decree," says a 2nd-year purple coat male student.

          "Make it quick then," says Mrs. Bech.

          Most of the class seems to be confused. The intruding students walk towards the front. "I don't blame you guys for not knowing what I'm talking about. I hear this was purposely left out in your orientation. Something similar happens every year to 1st-years. Last year, our class was never told how many points we needed each quarter, and the 3rd-years were never told about the point system. An imposed decree is just as the name suggests. Students can spend points to impose certain things on other students. There are rules to making an imposed decree," says the 2nd-year student. He walks over to a slightly overweight student at the front of the class and places his hand on his shoulder. "For example, if fatty over here is desperate for a girlfriend, he can't just impose a decree to get one. That is against the rules, but he can do something like swap seats to end up next to a girl or something."

          "You're taking too long, Masami," Mrs. Bech tells him.

          "I apologize. Now to why I am here," Masami walks to the right and stops in front of Adrion. He places the scroll of the imposed decree on Adrion's desk, "it costs a lot of points, but it is possible to expel students. I drop off this decree indicating your immediate expulsion. You have two methods to revoke this decree. One is to outbid the number of points used to make the decree, but I can't imagine you have more than 2000 points. The second is you win in a regulated battle."

          Mrs. Bech jumps in, "Hold on a minute. To be able to expel a student, you have to be in the same grade as them. How can a 2nd-year impose expulsion to a 1st-year?"

          "You're right about that. I'm only here dropping this off. The one who imposed the decree and the one he'll have to fight is a 1st-year purple coat student." Masami and his group head to exit the room. "You have until the end of the school day to revoke it. Good luck," he grins.

          "Say, am I allowed to ask why you chose me?" Adrion asks.

          Masami turns to look at Adrion, who is focused on reading the scroll. "Yes, you can. It's because you're an eyesore. A purple coat placed in blue coat academic classes leaves a bad taste in our mouths. That's why many students donated points for your expulsion. Of course, my biggest reason is interfering in my younger brother's beast hunt last month."

          Adrion responds, "Hmm, I see. Now then, be a good dog and report to your master that I'll fight him now."

          "What did you say?"

          "You said earlier that someone else imposed the decree and that you're only dropping this off for him. Maybe he'll give you a treat for a job well done."

          Masami releases magical energy, "You sure have a big mouth. Don't you?"

          Mrs. Bech steps in, "that's enough! Masami, get out of here before you do anything reckless. Adrion has agreed to revoke by battle so notify the appropriate personnel. I'll send Adrion to the arena."

          The group marches away. Adrion gets up and walks away.

          "Mrs. Bech, is it alright if we go spectate?" Ivika says as she and Sylvie stand up.

          "Sure, anyone is welcome to go spectate," Mrs. Bech tells the class.

          Most of the students get up and go just to get out of the lecture. Adrion enters through the defending participant's entrance at Red Base Arena. He is directed to a waiting room. There are lockers where he can place his personal belongings and a small fridge full of bottled water. Adrion grabs a water bottle and sits on the couch, watching the monitor showing live footage of the arena. He notices the seats filling up quickly. Half an hour later, the announcer walks on stage to start things off. The arena isn't as packed as Alia's battle, but a massive crowd has still built up.

          "Goooood Afternooon! How is everyone doing!" Kanna greets the crowd. "Today's match is a battle to revoke an expulsion decree! The participants are both 1st-year purple coat students. The defender who is revoking the imposed decree is Adrion Engel. He is loathed by many students who believe he shouldn't be a purple coat. Rather than dropping him into a blue coat, they want him expelled. The attacker who imposed the decree is Hideo Kusaka. He placed in the top five overall scores for the entrance exam! The match has no wagered points. Instead, if the defender loses, he has no choice but to accept the decree. If the defender wins, he revokes the decree, gets 5 percent of the points used to impose the decree, and the attacker gets nothing back."

          There is a knock on Adrion's door, "Get ready."

          "Now then. Let's welcome the participants! First is the attacker Hideo!" The crowd cheers for him as he walks onto the fighting field. "Next up is the defender, Adrion!" The crowd boos when Adrion makes his appearance.

          Kazuo stands next to Ringo, "How is he supposed to concentrate with a crowd like this?"

          "Yeah, it's a tough crowd. I hope he's alright," Ringo replies. Harper turns around and notices Alia standing far back away from the crowd.

          Ivika turns to Kazuo and Ringo, "You two have known him a while. What do you think his odds are?"

          "Since he's our friend, I want to say his odds are high. To our knowledge, he's never been in an actual fight against someone besides training with his father. I trust his strength since he got the highest power score during our exam, but what good is that when he has little to no experience fighting someone his equal or stronger," Kazuo explains.

          "One thing he does have going for him is that Adrion has a keen eye and is good at thinking outside the box. However, this is a straightforward one-on-one battle," Ringo comments.

          "I saw him fight against Ichiro, though. Adrion did lose, but he seemed to be able to fight well," Harper tells them.

          "Everyone, count down with me! Three… Two… One… Fight!" Kanna counts down, and the horn sounds.

          Hideo's palms glow white as he chants, "I summon thee, indomitable knight and great spherical fortress." A knight rises from the ground in shining silver armor. The knight is equipped with a complete set of heavy armor and a razor-sharp greatsword. A metallic sphere is conjured around Hideo.

          "Spirit summoning?" Ivika asks.

          "I did a little research. Hideo comes from the High Taryx Plains like many nobles and royalty. His family specializes in summoning spirits and using them in battle," Ringo tells them.

          "That's so not fair. It's no longer a one-on-one!" Kazuo shouts.

          "Well, it is his magic, so there is no helping it," Harper adds.

          "S-some people c-can say the same about Adrion's dual m-magic," Sylvie quietly comments.

          "I guess those are valid points," Kazuo sighs.

          The spirit knight rushes toward Adrion and swings its massive sword once it is within range. Adrion leaps to his left side and releases a bunch of liquid onto the ground. Adrion and the knight now stand in the center of the liquid film, which spread into a three-meter diameter circle. Adrion punches the knight two times, then shakes his hands in the air from the pain.

          Kazuo and Ringo have  blank expressions, "did he just punch an armored knight?"

          The knight swings his sword down at Adrion. The sword's blade stops mere centimeters from slicing Adrion's arm off. The knight tries pushing down but can't seem to do so. Black liquid took the shape of sharp rods and drove into the knight's arm from below, stopping it from coming down. Adrion wraps the black liquid around his fist and punches the knight twice more. This time, after two massive bangs, the knight falls backward. Adrion controls the black liquid to wrap itself around the knight to immobilize it. Adrion quickly raises his head and notices the metallic sphere moving his way. It hits Adrion out of the way then the knight vanishes. The knight reappears next to the shielded Hideo. The knight's sword disappears in his hands, and a bow is conjured. The knight pulls back on the bowstring, and an arrow appears out of thin air. The spectral arrow is released and hurls its way to the target. The arrow splits the air in its path, creating an audible sound. Adrion rolls to his right to dodge the attack. He does manage to evade the arrow, but the sphere smashes into him again. Adrion is only a handful of centimeters away from being out of bounds. The arrow crashes into a stone wall and demolishes it from the impact.

          "Isn't that a bit much? I thought killing wasn't allowed!" Kazuo yells.

          The sphere continues pushing Adrion but is unable to move forward. Adrion created something similar to spike strips but larger to prevent the sphere from moving forward.

          "Come on, buddy. You can't lose here. Fight back!" Kazuo continues.

          Adrion covers his fist in the black fluid and slugs the sphere twice, sending it flying backward with massive dents where his fists made contact. Adrion notices the high-pitched sound of the arrow and raises black fluid into a wall. Two arrows impact the wall causing the loudest noise imaginable. The ground shatters from the dual impact, but the black fluid wall remains intact.

          "Just what are Adrion's powers? How can the black fluid take such a powerful hit and stay intact while the stone around crumbles instantly?" Ivika asks.

          Ringo turns to her, "hmmm." He then looks around to make sure no one else is around. "He won't like me telling you this, so don't tell anyone else, and don't tell him I told you. The clear water you see is sometimes water. Other times it is hydrogen peroxide."

          All three girls look confused.

          Ringo continues, "Adrion doesn't just conjure water. He literally binds hydrogen and oxygen atoms together, which takes a lot of energy and produces a lot of energy."

          "The produced energy is stored in his body, and he releases it through punches or kicks. That's why he has monstrous strength." Kazuo chimes in.

          Ringo continues, "water is produced when he adds two hydrogen and one oxygen atom. One more oxygen atom and hydrogen peroxide is produced. All of that is one of his powers. The next is the black substance. To be honest, I don't know what it is, but he only has limited control over it. That is why you usually see him use it within close proximity of himself."

          "What we do know is that the black substance's properties change depending on the fluid it is mixed with. Mixed with water, it creates a hardened substance he uses for weapons or when he stopped the knight's arm from swinging down. Even when he stopped the sphere, that was water mixed into it. Adrion mixed hydrogen peroxide for the protective wall, changing the property into a soft fluid you can run your fingers through."

          "If it's soft, how did it stop the arrows?" Harper asks.

          Ringo answers, "Because of the force the arrow carried. It may be a soft fluid, but only when something with a low force makes contact. The soft fluid is a non-Newtonian fluid that becomes way harder when something with a high force makes contact."

          The girls are lost as to what a non-Newtonian fluid is but get the general idea from the explanation.

          "Since it hardens with high force impacts, the energy is dispersed outwards. In this case, it went into the ground and caused it to crumble," Ringo finishes.

          "Interesting. That explains a lot," Ichiro sneaks behind them.

          Harper screams in fright, "I told you not to sneak up on us!"

          Ichiro laughs, "Haha, sorry about that. I just came to see Adrion's fight and spotted you guys by yourselves here."

          Hideo's sphere repairs itself, and he opens a tiny hole to look out of. The ground beneath Adrion starts to crumble away and fall to the ground. Adrion jumps to grab hold of the top of his wall and pulls himself up and over it to land on the other side. Hideo clicks his tongue, annoyed that Adrion didn't fall out of bounds. Adrion dashes forward toward the sphere, conjuring a whole bunch of water. The water current pushes against the sphere, moving it closer to the out-of-bounds line. The sphere opens up into a platform and plants itself on the ground. The bow on the knight disappears and reappears in Hideo's hands. The knight's sword returns to him and charges at Adrion as Hideo aims with the bow. The knight moves his sword to the right and swings to the left, trying to cut Adrion in half. At the same time, the arrow swiftly flies toward Adrion's face. Adrion maneuvers some water to surround itself on the arrow. Adrion turns to face the knight and barely jumps back to evade the blade. He redirects the arrow with the water around it and slams it into the knight. The large impact causes the knight to vanish.

          Adrion turns back at Hideo and spots three arrows hurling his way. Adrion quickly produces hydrogen peroxide around his feet, and it turns black. He manipulates it into a shield to protect him and then surrounds water around it. The arrows crash into the non-Newtonian fluid, sending the impact force in all directions. This causes the water around the shield to splash everywhere, making it hard to see. Hideo covers his face from the water splashing onto him and then loses balance. Hideo's platform swings up from the front, causing him to fall back. He gets up and sees black rods piercing the platform and raised high off the ground. Hideo once again clicks his tongue and begins chanting again to summon more spirits. The loud horn sounds.

          "Hideo is out of bounds! Adrion is the winner!"

          Hideo looks down and spots the out-of-bounds line two centimeters in front of his shoe. He drops to the floor and punches it. Adrion releases the excess energy in his body and calls back the black fluid. He walks closer to Hideo. "Next time you want to fight me, don't come at me with half-assed conviction. I can tell you only did this because some upperclassmen bribed you," Adrion tells him.

          The announcer continues talking to the crowd, "What an unexpected turn of events! Adrion managed to turn things around from his dire situation…."

          Adrion is awarded 100 points and walks away to get his things from the waiting room. Once he gets his things, he exits the premise. When he opens to exit door, he spots his friends waiting.

          "That was epic, my man!" Kazuo exclaims.

          "Quick to act as always," Ringo adds.

          "Would you mind if we ask you to help us with training?" Ivika asks while Harper nods in agreement.

          "I don't mind," Adrion replies.

          Kazuo turns around with tears of blood running down his cheeks, "I can't believe I rooted for you. You can get expelled for all I care."

          Ringo pats Kazuo's shoulder while Ichiro approaches Adrion. "It was a great fight. I decided not to intervene when I found out what was being planned because I knew you could handle it. Let's go, everyone. Let's have a party back at the dorm!"

          "We still have a class left before school is over!" Harper yells at him.

          "Oh, that's right," Ichiro pauses. "I'll send an excuse to your instructors. Now let's go get some snacks and drinks."

          Adrion follows Ichiro while everyone stays behind.

          "He's way too carefree," Ringo points out.

          "I guess you can afford to be when you're in the 1st position within the Golden Plates," Ivika tells him.

          "He has that high of a rank?" Kazuo exclaims.

          "Unfortunately so," Harper sighs.

          The group chases after Ichiro and Adrion to join them.