Unexpected Strengths

          The black fluid shield drops to the ground. The tension rises as the teams stare at each other. The two on Roland's team that got blasted away make their way back.

          "Ringo, how many teams have you guys defeated? And are you two the only ones left?" Adrion whispers to him.

          "It's just the two of us left, and we've defeated three other teams," Ringo whispers back.

          "Spiro, I want you to tag along with these two and take out teams of blue coats. They can keep the leader's armband, but you get the other three armbands. If things go south, you run back immediately," Adrion quietly tells him.

          "How harsh. Though, I suppose we are on different teams," Ringo laughs a little

          "Will you three be alright?" Spiro asks.

          "It's sure to be a three v three, so watch your backs," Adrion replies.

          "Alright," Spiro says.

          Ringo, Ritsu, and Spiro run off to the right side to gather more points. Just as Adrion predicted, Roland turns to Asahi and whispers. Asahi nods his head and runs off in the same direction as Ringo and the other two.

          "Will they be alright? Asahi is one of the top blue coats," Ivika asks.

          "They'll be fine. Let us focus on our fight."

          "I've been meaning to fight you ever since the entrance exam. We'll finally get to see who's the strongest between us," Roland shouts with a grin. He raises his arm in front of him again and aims at Adrion.

          "I'll fight him alone," Adrion tells the girls and raises the black fluid into a dome around them with a slight hole at the top. They hear the fuse set off and wait for impact. Adrion is confused by how much time passes since hearing the fuse. He thinks about opening a tiny peek hole, but something catches his attention. He notices metallic fingers slowly pass through the black fluid. Once he sees the palm, a bright light blinds all of them. Adrion instinctively manipulates the black fluid around Roland's hand just half a second before it fires. The girls cover their ears and run back to step out of the dome once the loud thud resonates. The girls plan on confronting the other two guys on Roland's team.

           Roland quickly pulls back his arm and shakes his hand in the air from the pain. Adrion calls back the black fluid and throws a few punches at Roland, who blocks with his metallic arm. His other arm also turns metallic and fights back. Roland swings his right arm and crashes against the hardened black fluid. Adrion removes his shield and gets one hit out of the three he threw. Roland leaps back and extends both of his hands in front of him.

          "Double Cannon Shot!" Roland yells as two baseball-sized metallic balls hurl over to Adrion. The cannon balls fly and then get swept away by water that Adrion creates to drive the shots away from him by hitting them at the right angle with a lot of water pressure. Adrion rushes towards Roland, who chooses to run into the forest to keep his distance from Adrion. Roland runs and fires back occasionally while Adrion chases after him and tries to attack him with needle-like attacks made of hardened black mass.

          Before Adrion and Roland run off into the forest, Ivika and Lina break away from Adrion, and they rush the other two targets.

          "Wind Magic - Slash Parade!" Gillo, one of the blue coat enemies, shouts. He produces magical wind surrounded by gray magic and manipulates it toward the girls. Ivika leaves a gravitational pull between her and Lina, and then they split apart. Lina goes right, and Ivika goes left. Gillo moves his hands to control the air slashes to follow the girls, though the air slashes seem to ignore his command. The air slashes pound into the ground where the gravity spot is left.

          The other blue coat, Clovis, energized his magic to attack. "Glass Bulletstorm." He focuses on Lina, who is closer to him. Twenty tiny glass spheres, like marbles, form in front of Clovis. He shoots five of the glass marbles, and Lina uses her string magic to catch the marbles. She fails to get all of them, and two of them hit her. Ivika wants to help, but she is busy fighting Gillo. As much as Ivika wanted to create a gravitational spot to pin down Gillo, it takes a while to charge one strong enough to hold him down. Unfortunately, Gillo is not giving her that chance by constantly hitting her with wind magic. Ivika manages to put down weaker gravitational pulls, but it doesn't pull in all the attacks.

          Clovis shoots the last set of five marbles, and Lina only catches one of the marbles. The four other marbles slam into Lina. She launches a thread outward, but Clovis dodges by moving to the left.

          "Haha. What was that? That was so slow," Clovis mocks her. Lina is looking downward. Her face seems to be covered in a shadow. Clovis takes this as a sign of her giving up and laughs. The thread in Lina's hand gets tight, and she tugs on it with all her strength.

          "Huh?" Clovis turns around instantly. He spots Gillo falling backyard with his hands tied behind his back. Ivika approaches Gillo and places her hand on his face. Ivika places a gravity spot on the ground where Gillo is falling and pushes down on his face to accelerate it faster. Gillo instantly blacks out.

          "Glass Spikes!" Clovis yells and surrounds the ground around him with large spikes facing outward. He steps on a glass platform he made by the spikes. He faces his left hand toward Lina and his right to Ivika, "Glass Scattershot!" The girls shield their faces as the barrage of glass beads pound into them. Clovis is planning on continuously firing until he runs out of magic. "Hahaha. Let's see how long you girls can last or if I'll run out of magic before that!"

          Ivika infuses her magic while withstanding the shots. Lina runs to find cover but falls before getting behind the nearby boulder. As she squirms to crawl forward, she realizes the glass beads are no longer hitting her, despite still hearing the impact sound. She looks and spots Adrion's black fluid shielding her. A crack appears on the shield, and it starts to spread slowly. Lina scrambles to move forward and hears a loud shatter. She still sees the black shield intact despite the cracks. She stands up to look over it and notices a massive crater with all the glass spikes broken into a million pieces. Clovis struggles to move but is stuck to the ground as the crater gets deeper. Ivika increases the power, which splits the ground, and Clovis loses consciousness. Ivika exhales loudly and drops to the ground, covered in blood.

          "Thank goodness…" Ivika says. Lina walks over and takes the armbands.

          "Are you alright?" Lina asks.

          "I should be fine. What about you?" Ivika returns the question.

          "I think I'm fairing better than you, haha. Thank goodness Adrion placed a shield for me," Lina laughs, then sighs.

          Ivika takes a look around and doesn't see Adrion or Roland anywhere. "What the? Where did they go?"

          Lina also looks around, "I don't kn-" She is caught off by the distant sound of four gunshots.

          "That sounded pretty far," Ivika comments. "We have to go back him up."

          "Right," Lina replies.

- Earlier

          Ringo shoves low-hanging branches out of the way as he runs forward. Ritsu and Spiro follow close behind. They see a team up ahead and decide to attack. Spiro feels something gliding through the smoke he put up around him. He jumps out of the way and sees a sharp stalactite dart through and impale the ground. Ringo and Ritsu grab Spiro and move to the side. The other team turns around and raises their guard. All three groups stand in a triangle, waiting to see who does what first.

          "I'm here for those three. You guys can leave," Asahi tells the other group.

          Their group leader, Edvin, steps forward. "Heh. You're on Roland's team, aren't you? You think we're going to run? I rather get your points instead!"

          One of the girls in the team named Malina chants, "Sound Magic - Tune of Hypnos!" A sweet and calming tune radiates from Malina. Ringo feels his eyes get heavy. Ritsu rubs his eyes and falls forward. A stalactite flies out, nearly hitting Malina. Her team leader uses his knife magic to break the stalactite. The abrupt sound makes Malina jump and loses focus.

          "Come on," Edvin yells at the other guy on his team, Torel. Both of them rush toward Asahi, "Knife Magic - Multi Knife Assault." Multiple knives are conjured around Edvin.

          Torel uses his magic, "Iron Magic - Ferrous Core!" A cylindrical iron object is launched toward Asahi. Edvin then launches his knives. The knives pick up speed and hurl at their target. Asahi breaks into a full sprint to dodge the knives, but Torel controls the iron cylinder to follow him. The knives take a sharp right turn and continue to follow Asahi.

          "Sound Magic - Tune of Hypnos," Malina chants. The tune is much quieter, and only Ringo and the other two can hear the sound. Though the radius is reduced, the effect is far more effective. Ringo's vision fades in and out and just barely moves out of the way of the enemy attack. Spiro quickly releases a bunch of smoke around the three of them. Ringo and Ritsu snap out of their drowsiness.

          "This smoke can wake us up?" Ringo asks.

          "Not necessarily. Her sound is an illusion. I'm countering her illusion with mine. Though I can only do minor illusions, so it won't last long compared to hers," Spiro says.

          "I see. Well, it's obvious she's a threat," Ringo comments. "Do you think you two can deal with her and the other girl, Naomi?"

          "Naomi uses rubber magic, right?" Ritsu asks.

          "Yes," Ringo responds.

          Ritsu takes off his blazer, unbuttons his sleeves, and rolls them up.

          "And what are you going to do?" Ritsu asks.

          "I don't know if Asahi will last long against those two. Or maybe those two won't last long. Either way, I'll try and make sure both get taken out. I'll need your help, so please don't take too long," Ringo asks.

          "I'll try," Ritsu replies.

          Ringo makes a run for it, still covered in a smoke bubble. Holding a makeshift slingshot, Naomi pulls back on the rubber with a loaded condensed rubber ball and fires it. The ball expands in the air and nearly hits Ringo. She quickly conjures another ball and fires. Naomi fires another four shots, and out of all the total shots, four of them hit. Ringo luckily created tree bark around his skin where she hit.

          Ritsu and Spiro run towards Malina. Naomi changes her target to Ritsu and loads her next shot. Spiro cannot fight since he is focusing all of his energy on maintaining the smoke illusion to prevent the drowsiness from Malina's tune. The rubber balls come flying in and expand in the air. Ritsu's arm glows yellow, and he starts punching away the rubber balls. He punches them so hard that no one can tell where they flew off to. Once they get within five meters, Spiro's veins on his forehead begin to pop out from having to protect from the tune. Naomi dashes in front of Malina and surrounds her in a rubber ball with holes scattered throughout it. She creates a large rubber ball between her hands and throws it at Ritsu. He goes to punch it out of the way, but it thins out and expands all around him, enclosing him completely. Spiro sees the ball's surface bulging out where Ritsu is punching it. The rubber ball doesn't budge, despite all the attacks.

          "I'm sure you won't last long in there with the lack of oxygen," Naomi grins.

          "You're crazy. He can die in there!" Spiro yells.

          "Relax. Just two minutes and I'll-" Naomi gets cut off by the sound of a puncture. The puncture turns into a tear, and the rubber comes falling down. Ritsu stands with a large yellow aura around his right arm with a sharp pointed tip by his fist.

          "My magic is a little more complex than simple strength enhancement," Ritsu says.

          "Well, well. Handsome and capable. Perhaps we can grab lunch once this camp is over," Naomi smiles while creating rubber.

          Spiro notices a yellow aura enveloping Ritsu's legs. He blinks, and Ritsu vanishes with the ground shattering where he was just standing. Naomi spots Ritsu standing in front of her, low to the ground.

          "I'll pass. I'm not interested in girls," he says as he thrusts his right fist into her gut. Naomi spits up saliva from the sudden jab and lifts into the air, flying backward a few meters. Her eyes close when she hits the ground, and she doesn't move.

          The rubber around Malina wilts away and disappears. Malina stops using her magic and takes a few steps backward. "Sound Magic - Tunes of Despair," she chants.

          Spiro finally gives in and falls forward. An ear-deafening shriek hits both of their ears. Spiro covers his ears and screams in pain from the horrible sound. Ritsu struggles to move forward from the pain. His ears begin to bleed, and he nearly falls to the ground. He struggles to balance himself, then envelops his legs again with his magic. He isn't able to reach the same speed as before due to the tunes effect, but he squats slightly and launches himself forward. He lands right in front of Malina, and Ritsu smacks her with a lariat. Malina immediately knocks out and collapses.

          Ritsu lets his arms fall loosely and raises his head high, "God, what an annoying sound."

          When Ringo approaches Asahi and Edvin, he spots them fighting while both dual-wielding weapons made of their magic. Edvin's knives are getting chipped with every hit on the stone stalactites. Torel butts in, "Iron Magic - Magnetic Rotation." Two long iron rods are formed in front of him, and they spin, picking up speed and rotating faster. Torel moves them closer to Asahi, and the rotating rods shred through the stalactites.

          “Impressive,” Asahi says. He creates three more and launches two of them at the rotating rods. As soon as they make contact, the iron rods crack and break apart, falling to the ground. Torel stares at the rods in shock, and then looks up and watches the third stalactite drive into his gut. The stalactite pushes him back as Asahi controls it throughout the field before slamming it into a large tree. Edvin increases his speed, but his large knives break. Asahi shoves his hand out to move a stalactite forward.

          "Shit!" Edvin shouts. He sees the stalactite getting closer but cannot do anything about it. Once it's only centimeters away, Edvin notices an odd material smack the stalactite, causing it to divert to his right side. Edvin and Asahi turn and see Ringo with his arm extended out. Ringo moves his arm to aim at his next target, Asahi.

          "Apple Tree Magic - Tree Bark Armor," Ringo says. Thick bark surrounds his chest, arms, and legs.

          "Oh? The class coward actually wants to pick a fight? Asahi tells him.

          "What can I say? This camp has been pretty life-changing," Ringo responds.

          "Earlier, you were screaming for your life. If it weren't for running into your friend, you'd already be out of the competition. Just like your other two team members."

          "About that. Now that you don't have your purple coat leader, it's about time I get a little revenge for them. Apple Tree Magic - Apple Bombs!" Two apples form in his hands, and he tosses them.

          "Bomb?" Asahi questions and launches a stalactite to impale the apples. Once the first apple is impaled, it shines, and BOOM! An explosion goes off.

          "I'm sorry, did I call out the wrong magic earlier? I learned something neat about my magic just before summer break a few months back. You see, it turns out I have Exploding Apple Tree Magic!" Ringo explains. He charges in while conjuring condensed bark in his hands and shooting them at Asahi. A stalactite protects him from the condensed bark until one of them explodes near him. The stalactite breaks, and the bark continuously hits Asahi. Edvin creates a new set of large knives and attacks. Asahi ignores Ringo's attack and blocks the knives' path. Edvin raises his left foot and kicks Asahi back. Two stalactites are created, and one flies out to Ringo.

          "Oh crap!" Ringo yells and braces for the hit. Upon impact, he falls back. "Huh?" Ringo looks around, confused. He sees his armor is still intact and spots the stalactite lying near him. "Hahaha. I actually blocked against that? Holy cow!" He stands up, still feeling his body to ensure he's fine.

          The stalactite near him starts levitating, and the point faces him again. In a panic, Ringo creates an explosive apple directly in front of the tip. When the stalactite is launched, it instantly blows up, causing Ringo to fall back again. He pushes himself up from the ground in a disoriented state and shakes it off. He gets up and sees both of them wildly attacking each other again. Ringo runs head-on, launching more condensed bark. Asahi's stalactite deflects the attack, but a piece of bark lands between Edvin and Asahi. The small piece of bark shines brightly.

          Both Asahi and Edvin curse in synchrony, "Fu-" BOOOM! The explosion sends both of them flying.

          "I've had enough of you. I hate it when the weak don't stay in their lane!" Asahi yells. He smacks his hand together, "Stalactite Magic - Jagged Teeth of The Great Cave." An insane number of long sharp stalactites are created near Asahi. Ringo covers his entire body in tree bark and continues pushing. Edvin struggles to get up and focuses the last of his magic on a last-ditch effort to take down Asahi. He bides his time because once he launches the knives, he has no control over their movement. Asahi only has his focus on the incoming Ringo. He starts to fire them one at a time. The first one hits Ringo in the left shoulder, but it doesn't stop him. The next one hits him in the gut, then his right arm, and then his legs. The barrage doesn't let up, but Ringo persists. He keeps repairing the bark around him whenever chunks fly off from the impact.

          Edvin launches the knives and dulls the blades once he sees they're about to hit. Asahi stumbles from the initial hit but breaks the knives and sends a stalactite to knock out Edvin. Asahi turns back to Ringo and continues his assault. Ringo is only three meters away, but his body starts to give. He drops to the ground, panting loudly. Ringo slowly extends his arm out and creates a tiny piece of bark. Blood slowly drips from his lip.

          "I congratulate you on lasting this long," Asahi tells him while holding the last stalactite. He aims it at Ringo and fires it. Asahi and Ringo both hear a loud crash and see the ground shatter as Ritsu shows up, catching the stalactite a few centimeters from Ringo's chest.

          "You know… I hate guys who talk like you're the best when you're nowhere near the top of our class," Ritsu comments.

           "Huh?" Asahi replies.

           "That's why you're not a purple coat!" Ritsu sprints forward, enveloping his arms in his yellow aura. As much as he would prefer to do the ultra-speed jump, he doesn't have enough magic left for it. Asahi creates a wall of stalactites in front of him to act as a shield. Ritsu punches with his right arm and obliterates the shield.

          Ritsu comments, "and now for the last of my magic…."

          "Last of your magic, Eh? Well too bad!" Asahi instantly creates another shield of stalactites between him and Ritsu. The aura around Ritsu's left arm disappears and reappears on his legs. Ritsu slightly squats and jumps back with a little boost. Asahi notices the glow from below and then spots the tiny piece of bark that Ringo was holding before Ritsu jumped in. The bark shines and erupts into an explosion, shattering the stalactites and defeating Asahi.

          Ritsu sighs and approaches Asahi to take his armband. Spiro also walks over with a load of armbands he took from the other team.

          "These guys sure did defeat a bunch of teams," Spiro says.

          "Guess we can call it with this many points," Ringo says, barely being able to laugh.

          "You guys can keep all of these. I wasn't much help," Spiro tells them.

          "What are you talking about?" Ritsu sternly responds. "We'd be fast asleep and looted if it wasn't for you. Here take Asahi’s armband. The rest of your team is fighting the rest of his. And take two purple armbands."

          "Really? Thanks a bunch," Spiro replies.

          Ringo speaks up, "I think Ritsu and I are going to rest until the trial is over. You should probably go back to your team. Thanks for your help."

          "Okay then. Be careful not to get attacked!" Spiro sprints away.

          "You too," Ringo smiles, then sighs from exhaustion. "Man, this is exhausting. At least we scored a good amount of points," Ringo says as he lays his back on the ground.

          "You've been hiding your true magic until now, haven't you?" Ritsu says as he takes a seat.

          "Oh yeah. That's what Adrion recommended to me. I only found out about it the day before the entrance exam."

          "Adrion… I see. What an interesting guy he is. I'm starting to admire him. Despite what most people think of him, Adrion keeps pulling through, he never flaunts his strength, even though he's on equal terms with Alia and Roland, and he's good friends with blue coat students."

          "Hahaha. Yup. He's the only reason Kazuo and I decided to enroll here. We thought we'd never pass, but look at us now. I actually fought and won against someone like Asahi. Though, all of us blue coats still have a ways to go. Don't we?"

          Ritsu nods his head in agreement, "Yeah."