Quest Academy: Silvers, page 56
Strategy
A few minutes after all the cohorts were aboard the train, it departed the campus station and moved toward the first tournament site. Trolleys were pushed through the carriages by white uniformed members of the academy. Their breakfast wasn’t remotely gourmet, but it was serviceable and soon after departure, everyone was busy eating and chatting about the upcoming fights.
Sal had scanned the room and seen a lot of unfamiliar faces. It wasn’t particularly difficult to spot the team captains in each team, as they were typically the only well-equipped one out of the five. Because all the team captains had the second-to-last pick in each cohort, there were a lot of insecure and awkward people sitting on the train. Only Sal’s team looked composed and confident, which was a fact that didn’t escape the notice of a few teams.
One went so far as to ask whether they were in the right carriage, which entertained the group to no end. Sal was delighted to see how much confidence the team had developed over the last couple of weeks, with Anthony being the most drastic change in only a few days. He was typically silent, but ever since he had taken the sword from Sal, he had become much more assured in his own capability. When they spoke about strategy, he even offered suggestions rather than sitting and waiting for instructions.
Barry exhaled loudly as he pushed his breakfast carton to one side. His eyes were locked onto the brackets that were displayed on the tablet in the center of the table. “Dominic is probably going to be an issue with his defense. Think Anthony could overwhelm him with the sword while we take out the others? Then just blitz from there?” He looked over to Anthony, who shook his head slightly.
Sal looked at him curiously, wondering what he was thinking, and it didn’t take long for him to speak his mind.
“By the time we’re facing Dominic, he’ll know our fighting style from the other battles. Since I can direct the onslaught of the essence attacks, why don’t we feint instead? We can pretend to aim for him, but then at the last moment, take out one of his team? He’ll shield himself and won’t be able to protect them in time.”
Barry’s eyes lit up at that suggestion and immediately countered it with his own idea. “What if we create multiple essence attacks? I can create duplicates with illusions, so he’ll never know which one is real, which should allow us to isolate him.”
Sal smiled as he watched them devise their own counterattacks. Even though he had the final say as their leader, he was happy that they were thinking independently about everything. One of the keys to success for them was going to be in how they adapted to change on the battlefield.
The other students on the train had only had a handful of lessons from Rust on how to fight, whereas they had been fighting every day for two weeks. Blathnaid, a Crafter who specialized in tailoring, was actually one of their strongest combatants because of her quick thinking and agility. Sal wondered whether she would have been one of the students to be sent home after the first semester.
The team continued to make suggestions to one another, incorporating the strengths of each individual and covering blind spots. It went on like this for the next twenty minutes as they moved from each combatant to the next, until they had a firm grasp on what strategies they’d likely go with for all nineteen fights. In comparison, the other teams were still bickering over their first fight, with many of the team captains struggling to control their groups.
We’re now arriving at our third destination.
Purple and Blue cohorts, please exit the train and follow the attendants to the combat area.
Thank you.
Sal watched as two more teams left the carriage, one of which was in a heated discussion with the team captain, complaining that he was being an idiot. It caused a few laughs from the remaining teams, but Sal was just curious about how unprepared the other teams seemed to be. Upgrade had told him that the tournament was going to be a complete shit-show, filled with students who had no idea what they were doing.
Sal thought she was being facetious, but the more he looked at the people around him, the more he started to think that maybe she was telling the truth. When the departing teams had finally disappeared, Sal wondered when the Silver cohort was going to be called. The first to leave had been Red and Orange. Second was Green and Yellow. Third, which were now leaving, were Purple and Blue. That left Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Black. Sal decided that whatever time they had left, they wouldn’t waste it. There was no point in being complacent because the other teams were having issues.
“Okay, we might be off on the next stop, so let’s make sure to go through the first five fights again! Barry, can you bring up the mock battles, please?” Sal asked as he moved the tablet and cartons off to one side.
With a flick of his wrist, an illusion flooded the table and created two teams squaring off against each other. All of them huddled around the table and listened intently as Sal walked them through the proposed strategy, taking all their suggestions into account and finalizing their plan. They continued this until the next announcement signaled their arrival at the tournament grounds.
We’re now arriving at our fourth destination.
Silver and Gold cohorts, please exit the train and follow the attendants to the combat area.
Thank you.
With wide smiles, Silver Team #2 packed up their equipment and moved to leave the train. They didn’t even spare a passing glance at the other teams, who were looking at the packed equipment in disbelief.
Sal smiled at his team as he stepped off the carriage and looked at the stadium in the distance. “Let’s do this!”
***
The stadium was previously a football field, with an audience capacity of around fifty thousand people. The number of people who had showed up to the fights wasn’t even a single percentage of that, as only a few dozen people sat in the crowd. It was ridiculously early in the morning, on a Saturday, so Sal could understand why so few people had shown up to watch. There were going to be nineteen fights throughout the day, so it was much likelier that the main groups would arrive later in the day. At least, that’s what he told himself as he looked at the sparse group of people that looked lazily at the arena grounds.
The field itself had been paved at some point in the past, and there were now markings going down the middle of the pitch, separating it into four equal rectangles. Similar to the Combat classroom, gigantic rectangular prisms were erected in all four quadrants of the pitch, creating separate battlefields for the upcoming fights. Sal wasn’t surprised by the sight, as he had seen it in his visions for the last few days. He realized in that moment why he had been anticipating a crowd. They appeared in the visions he had seen in the past.
Team Captain, Divinity Khan of Silver Team #1,
will be fighting Team Captain, Salvatore Argento of Silver Team #2.
Team Captain, Dominic Walters of Silver Team #3
, will be fighting Team Captain, Gerard Kilsee of Silver Team #20.
Team Captain, Lucia Hernandez of Silver Team #4,
will be fighting Team Captain, Harold Gunn of Silver Team #19.
Team Captain, Christopher Gage of Silver Team #5,
will be fighting Team Captain, Crypto Daniels of Silver Team #18.
Fights will commence in five minutes.
Prepare yourselves accordingly and good luck!
“Where are the others fighting?” Barry asked as he looked around to see the other teams waiting in the stands.
Sal shrugged, as he had no idea whether it was just going to be four fights at a time. When he looked at the team, he gestured for them to start suiting up.
“Blathnaid and Jack, get your equipment on. Barry, can you help me bring these over to Divinity’s team?” Sal picked up the bags that contained the gear he had Crafted.
Anthony stood off to one side, holding the case that contained the sword. Sal couldn’t wait to see people’s reactions when Anthony started using it.
Barry picked up the other bag and grinned. “It’s not like Divinity’s going to need this, but hopefully it gives their team a shot at climbing up the ranks.” They quickly brought the gear over to Divinity, who gave them a warm smile.
As she took the bag from Barry and handed it off to one of her team, she gave him a pointed look. “Can you at least make us look cool? I don’t want this forfeit looking like you crushed us!”
Barry winked at her. “I’m starting to think you don’t trust me, Divinity!” He laughed before his expression turned a bit more serious. “For real, though, don’t worry. I’ll make you all look incredible. Think of it more like a highlight reel of your best performances in training. I have it all stored up here!” Barry tapped the side of his head with a smile.
Before Divinity could respond, a one-minute warning echoed throughout the stadium, telling participants that they needed to get into their respective battle areas.
Barry shook his head in surprise. “They’re being quite militant about this! We better head in, I guess.”
Sal gestured for Anthony, Jack, and Blathnaid to join them as they made their way into the prism.
It had a similar amount of space to their training room, which was perfect, and the sudden familiarity of facing off against opponents they knew made everyone smile. Even though it was a farce and there wouldn’t be a fight between them, they wished each other well in the fights to come. Sal stood at the back of his team and watched Divinity on the opposite side, speaking to her own team. A countdown timer began and the few people in the crowd started to cheer politely.
Battles will commence in…
3…
2…
1…
Fight!
Neither team made a move as they waited in silence. Both teams turned to look at the other fights that were taking place, studying the movements of their competitors, and seeing how they worked together. A noise in the stands drew Sal’s attention, and he was shocked to see at least a dozen people on their feet, cheering and staring at their prism.
With a glance back to Barry, Sal saw that his entire torso was covered in green runes as he gave the audience a show. Judging from the excited disbelief on the viewers’ faces, it was something extraordinary.
In the next prism, Sal watched as Dominic Walters was bombarded by explosive attacks. Lightning skewered through the air and slammed into his protective shield, causing him to falter ever so slightly. A blur of shadows to Dominic’s right signaled the arrival of Rogue, who lashed out at Dominic’s teammate, knocking him unconscious with a single strike. Bolt continued to launch lightning at Dominic, which prevented him from moving from his position. Rogue took out another member of the team, and Archer picked off another.
The last member ran to Dominic for protection, but Gerard had already moved in, launching an attack at his midsection, which caused another explosion of essence and knocked them out. In just a few seconds, Dominic was completely by himself and surrounded.
Sal watched in shock as Gerard’s team continued to launch attacks at him, attacking his barrier from all sides until it finally broke. Gerard landed the final blow, punching the exhausted Dominic in the face and bringing him down.
With a turn to his left, Sal saw the last moments of Lucia’s fight, where she had grown to massive proportions and towered over her competitors. She was facing the ragtag group that Harold Gunn had assembled in a panic, and the lack of cohesion and leadership was evident a mile away.
Lucia kicked one of the team squarely in the chest, and the victim flew backward dramatically, crashing into the top corner of the prism before falling uselessly to the ground in a heap. Three others were unconscious, likely dispatched as Sal watched Dominic’s defeat. All that remained was poor Harold, who was on his knees, staring up at Lucia in horror. If Nova had any sympathy for him, she didn’t show it as she flicked his torso powerfully with her finger, knocking him out in an instant.
The last fight was dragging on as both teams seemed incredibly unsure how to attack each other. Neither Crypto Daniels nor Christopher Gage were particularly noteworthy, and their teams seemed apprehensive of launching any attacks. There was a lot of chasing around, very few abilities being used, and a lot of chaotic shouting at each other as they tried to gain control of the situation.
Sal watched it for a few more moments before Barry’s voice caught his attention. “Let’s shake hands for a well-fought victory. Well done, everyone!”
Sal laughed as he turned around to shake Divinity’s hand. Both teams shook hands and laughed at the ridiculous situation: Dominic was exhausted. Gerard’s team had likely expended more than half of their total essence. Nova had soloed her entire fight…it was all a lot more chaotic than they had expected. And it was only going to get more exciting.
Chapter 77:
Tournament
“Don’t expect me to go easy on you, Sal,” Nova warned him as they shook hands before the fight.
The stress of the tournament was evident on her face and judging from the looks of scorn that she shot at her team, they weren’t much help in the previous fights. Her gaze moved to the equipment that Sal’s team wore, and she looked a little confused as she stepped back to group up with her team.
The announcer signaled the countdown, and Sal did his best to calm the surge of adrenaline that coursed through him. He needed to be rational if they were going to pull this one off.
Nova was one of the most powerful students in their cohort, so they needed to be careful and stick to the strategy they created to counter her. From the old data they had, Nova didn’t turn into a giant in this match…but instead, manipulated her body into becoming faster and stronger. Sal didn’t know whether it was to conserve essence for the later fights, or whether she underestimated their team of Support-class students.
As the countdown reached the end, Nova was the first off the mark, launching forward at an incredible speed as she whipped her arm around in a devastating punch aimed at Sal.
“Defend!” Sal shouted, and both Blathnaid and Jack appeared in front of him with their barrier shields raised.
Nova’s eyes widened as her fist connected with the impenetrable barrier. The shield vibrated slightly as Nova was deflected backward, and both Jack and Blathnaid had to steady themselves against the momentum of the attack.
A shout of surprise from behind Nova caused her to turn around in shock. An arc of essence slammed into her team, sending two of them flying backward into the prism wall. Another arc launched from Anthony’s sword, aimed directly at the remaining two team members, and Nova launched herself toward him in a panicked fury.
“Flank!” Sal shouted, and Nova barely had any time to react as Barry appeared out of thin air, his power gauntlet aimed directly at her side.
His open palm emitted a powerful pulse of essence that threw her off to one side with a startled gasp. Nova rolled to her feet and started to heal herself as she took a tentative step backward. With a panicked glance behind her, she could see that another arc of essence sliced toward her group. In an act of desperation, she roared at them to get out of the way, but they were frozen to the spot as they watched their demise fly straight at them.
Anthony’s aim was true, and the arc of essence collided with the remainder of Nova’s team, knocking them backward in a dramatic fashion. Nova could only grit her teeth as she backed away from Sal’s team.
Sal saw the sudden halt to her movements and guessed what was happening. “Blitz! Don’t let her grow!”
As soon as the order left his lips, the entire team sprang into action.
Nova could only gasp as Blathnaid and Jack leapt high into the air. Their gauntlets were aimed at her like guns, and a sudden barrage of essence bullets rained down on her. Nova tried to retreat and get her bearings, but a vicious slice of a blade closed in on her position. Her eyes widened as Anthony moved into a close-range attack, and despite her confidence in her hand-to-hand martial arts, the sword managed to find every one of her openings.
Nova modified her hands to be as hard as metal. It was enough to parry the sword a few times, but she was vulnerable against the attacks of the others. The overwhelming display of power caught her by surprise, evident by her stricken expression, and Nova cursed aloud for taking it lightly.
Sal watched as Nova desperately tried to defend herself, but it had turned into a war of attrition. He knew that he’d be able to get Barry to put her in purgatory, which would allow them to win the fight with ease, but this wasn’t just about quick wins. Sal needed to showcase the capabilities of his entire team, so having a drawn-out fight with them attacking and listening to his commands…it would obviously result in a higher score for them.
“Flank!” Sal shouted again, and this time Nova was prepared.
She whirled around to her blind spot in a defensive stance, but nobody was there. She gritted her teeth at the clear deception play. Anthony leaped back and launched another arc of essence directly at Nova, who wasn’t in a position to shield herself. Barry, Blathnaid, and Jack held their shields up to block off Nova’s escape, which left her to face the essence attack head-on.
Nova laughed as she took the direct hit; her body flew backward and bounced against their raised shields. Her body crumpled to the ground with an aggravated sigh, but she made no effort to get back up. With that, the fight was decided, and Sal’s team got to enjoy their first real victory.
All of them moved to help their opponents, with Sal approaching Nova personally. “Hey, are you okay?” He touched her shoulder, and Nova groaned as she rolled onto her back. The look of disdain on her face was almost enough to make Sal laugh, but he fought the temptation.
With a slight shake of her head, she looked at him accusingly. “What the fuck just happened? Our teams were supposed to be shit…how did you do it?”
Sal offered her a hand, which she took.
When he pulled her to her feet, she accidentally fell against him with a grunt. “Ugh…” She groaned with another shake of her head. Looking back to her team, she sighed. “Hopefully they’re not too injured for the next one…I’ve no idea how the fuck we’re supposed to do nineteen of these fights!”
A few minutes after all the cohorts were aboard the train, it departed the campus station and moved toward the first tournament site. Trolleys were pushed through the carriages by white uniformed members of the academy. Their breakfast wasn’t remotely gourmet, but it was serviceable and soon after departure, everyone was busy eating and chatting about the upcoming fights.
Sal had scanned the room and seen a lot of unfamiliar faces. It wasn’t particularly difficult to spot the team captains in each team, as they were typically the only well-equipped one out of the five. Because all the team captains had the second-to-last pick in each cohort, there were a lot of insecure and awkward people sitting on the train. Only Sal’s team looked composed and confident, which was a fact that didn’t escape the notice of a few teams.
One went so far as to ask whether they were in the right carriage, which entertained the group to no end. Sal was delighted to see how much confidence the team had developed over the last couple of weeks, with Anthony being the most drastic change in only a few days. He was typically silent, but ever since he had taken the sword from Sal, he had become much more assured in his own capability. When they spoke about strategy, he even offered suggestions rather than sitting and waiting for instructions.
Barry exhaled loudly as he pushed his breakfast carton to one side. His eyes were locked onto the brackets that were displayed on the tablet in the center of the table. “Dominic is probably going to be an issue with his defense. Think Anthony could overwhelm him with the sword while we take out the others? Then just blitz from there?” He looked over to Anthony, who shook his head slightly.
Sal looked at him curiously, wondering what he was thinking, and it didn’t take long for him to speak his mind.
“By the time we’re facing Dominic, he’ll know our fighting style from the other battles. Since I can direct the onslaught of the essence attacks, why don’t we feint instead? We can pretend to aim for him, but then at the last moment, take out one of his team? He’ll shield himself and won’t be able to protect them in time.”
Barry’s eyes lit up at that suggestion and immediately countered it with his own idea. “What if we create multiple essence attacks? I can create duplicates with illusions, so he’ll never know which one is real, which should allow us to isolate him.”
Sal smiled as he watched them devise their own counterattacks. Even though he had the final say as their leader, he was happy that they were thinking independently about everything. One of the keys to success for them was going to be in how they adapted to change on the battlefield.
The other students on the train had only had a handful of lessons from Rust on how to fight, whereas they had been fighting every day for two weeks. Blathnaid, a Crafter who specialized in tailoring, was actually one of their strongest combatants because of her quick thinking and agility. Sal wondered whether she would have been one of the students to be sent home after the first semester.
The team continued to make suggestions to one another, incorporating the strengths of each individual and covering blind spots. It went on like this for the next twenty minutes as they moved from each combatant to the next, until they had a firm grasp on what strategies they’d likely go with for all nineteen fights. In comparison, the other teams were still bickering over their first fight, with many of the team captains struggling to control their groups.
We’re now arriving at our third destination.
Purple and Blue cohorts, please exit the train and follow the attendants to the combat area.
Thank you.
Sal watched as two more teams left the carriage, one of which was in a heated discussion with the team captain, complaining that he was being an idiot. It caused a few laughs from the remaining teams, but Sal was just curious about how unprepared the other teams seemed to be. Upgrade had told him that the tournament was going to be a complete shit-show, filled with students who had no idea what they were doing.
Sal thought she was being facetious, but the more he looked at the people around him, the more he started to think that maybe she was telling the truth. When the departing teams had finally disappeared, Sal wondered when the Silver cohort was going to be called. The first to leave had been Red and Orange. Second was Green and Yellow. Third, which were now leaving, were Purple and Blue. That left Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Black. Sal decided that whatever time they had left, they wouldn’t waste it. There was no point in being complacent because the other teams were having issues.
“Okay, we might be off on the next stop, so let’s make sure to go through the first five fights again! Barry, can you bring up the mock battles, please?” Sal asked as he moved the tablet and cartons off to one side.
With a flick of his wrist, an illusion flooded the table and created two teams squaring off against each other. All of them huddled around the table and listened intently as Sal walked them through the proposed strategy, taking all their suggestions into account and finalizing their plan. They continued this until the next announcement signaled their arrival at the tournament grounds.
We’re now arriving at our fourth destination.
Silver and Gold cohorts, please exit the train and follow the attendants to the combat area.
Thank you.
With wide smiles, Silver Team #2 packed up their equipment and moved to leave the train. They didn’t even spare a passing glance at the other teams, who were looking at the packed equipment in disbelief.
Sal smiled at his team as he stepped off the carriage and looked at the stadium in the distance. “Let’s do this!”
***
The stadium was previously a football field, with an audience capacity of around fifty thousand people. The number of people who had showed up to the fights wasn’t even a single percentage of that, as only a few dozen people sat in the crowd. It was ridiculously early in the morning, on a Saturday, so Sal could understand why so few people had shown up to watch. There were going to be nineteen fights throughout the day, so it was much likelier that the main groups would arrive later in the day. At least, that’s what he told himself as he looked at the sparse group of people that looked lazily at the arena grounds.
The field itself had been paved at some point in the past, and there were now markings going down the middle of the pitch, separating it into four equal rectangles. Similar to the Combat classroom, gigantic rectangular prisms were erected in all four quadrants of the pitch, creating separate battlefields for the upcoming fights. Sal wasn’t surprised by the sight, as he had seen it in his visions for the last few days. He realized in that moment why he had been anticipating a crowd. They appeared in the visions he had seen in the past.
Team Captain, Divinity Khan of Silver Team #1,
will be fighting Team Captain, Salvatore Argento of Silver Team #2.
Team Captain, Dominic Walters of Silver Team #3
, will be fighting Team Captain, Gerard Kilsee of Silver Team #20.
Team Captain, Lucia Hernandez of Silver Team #4,
will be fighting Team Captain, Harold Gunn of Silver Team #19.
Team Captain, Christopher Gage of Silver Team #5,
will be fighting Team Captain, Crypto Daniels of Silver Team #18.
Fights will commence in five minutes.
Prepare yourselves accordingly and good luck!
“Where are the others fighting?” Barry asked as he looked around to see the other teams waiting in the stands.
Sal shrugged, as he had no idea whether it was just going to be four fights at a time. When he looked at the team, he gestured for them to start suiting up.
“Blathnaid and Jack, get your equipment on. Barry, can you help me bring these over to Divinity’s team?” Sal picked up the bags that contained the gear he had Crafted.
Anthony stood off to one side, holding the case that contained the sword. Sal couldn’t wait to see people’s reactions when Anthony started using it.
Barry picked up the other bag and grinned. “It’s not like Divinity’s going to need this, but hopefully it gives their team a shot at climbing up the ranks.” They quickly brought the gear over to Divinity, who gave them a warm smile.
As she took the bag from Barry and handed it off to one of her team, she gave him a pointed look. “Can you at least make us look cool? I don’t want this forfeit looking like you crushed us!”
Barry winked at her. “I’m starting to think you don’t trust me, Divinity!” He laughed before his expression turned a bit more serious. “For real, though, don’t worry. I’ll make you all look incredible. Think of it more like a highlight reel of your best performances in training. I have it all stored up here!” Barry tapped the side of his head with a smile.
Before Divinity could respond, a one-minute warning echoed throughout the stadium, telling participants that they needed to get into their respective battle areas.
Barry shook his head in surprise. “They’re being quite militant about this! We better head in, I guess.”
Sal gestured for Anthony, Jack, and Blathnaid to join them as they made their way into the prism.
It had a similar amount of space to their training room, which was perfect, and the sudden familiarity of facing off against opponents they knew made everyone smile. Even though it was a farce and there wouldn’t be a fight between them, they wished each other well in the fights to come. Sal stood at the back of his team and watched Divinity on the opposite side, speaking to her own team. A countdown timer began and the few people in the crowd started to cheer politely.
Battles will commence in…
3…
2…
1…
Fight!
Neither team made a move as they waited in silence. Both teams turned to look at the other fights that were taking place, studying the movements of their competitors, and seeing how they worked together. A noise in the stands drew Sal’s attention, and he was shocked to see at least a dozen people on their feet, cheering and staring at their prism.
With a glance back to Barry, Sal saw that his entire torso was covered in green runes as he gave the audience a show. Judging from the excited disbelief on the viewers’ faces, it was something extraordinary.
In the next prism, Sal watched as Dominic Walters was bombarded by explosive attacks. Lightning skewered through the air and slammed into his protective shield, causing him to falter ever so slightly. A blur of shadows to Dominic’s right signaled the arrival of Rogue, who lashed out at Dominic’s teammate, knocking him unconscious with a single strike. Bolt continued to launch lightning at Dominic, which prevented him from moving from his position. Rogue took out another member of the team, and Archer picked off another.
The last member ran to Dominic for protection, but Gerard had already moved in, launching an attack at his midsection, which caused another explosion of essence and knocked them out. In just a few seconds, Dominic was completely by himself and surrounded.
Sal watched in shock as Gerard’s team continued to launch attacks at him, attacking his barrier from all sides until it finally broke. Gerard landed the final blow, punching the exhausted Dominic in the face and bringing him down.
With a turn to his left, Sal saw the last moments of Lucia’s fight, where she had grown to massive proportions and towered over her competitors. She was facing the ragtag group that Harold Gunn had assembled in a panic, and the lack of cohesion and leadership was evident a mile away.
Lucia kicked one of the team squarely in the chest, and the victim flew backward dramatically, crashing into the top corner of the prism before falling uselessly to the ground in a heap. Three others were unconscious, likely dispatched as Sal watched Dominic’s defeat. All that remained was poor Harold, who was on his knees, staring up at Lucia in horror. If Nova had any sympathy for him, she didn’t show it as she flicked his torso powerfully with her finger, knocking him out in an instant.
The last fight was dragging on as both teams seemed incredibly unsure how to attack each other. Neither Crypto Daniels nor Christopher Gage were particularly noteworthy, and their teams seemed apprehensive of launching any attacks. There was a lot of chasing around, very few abilities being used, and a lot of chaotic shouting at each other as they tried to gain control of the situation.
Sal watched it for a few more moments before Barry’s voice caught his attention. “Let’s shake hands for a well-fought victory. Well done, everyone!”
Sal laughed as he turned around to shake Divinity’s hand. Both teams shook hands and laughed at the ridiculous situation: Dominic was exhausted. Gerard’s team had likely expended more than half of their total essence. Nova had soloed her entire fight…it was all a lot more chaotic than they had expected. And it was only going to get more exciting.
Chapter 77:
Tournament
“Don’t expect me to go easy on you, Sal,” Nova warned him as they shook hands before the fight.
The stress of the tournament was evident on her face and judging from the looks of scorn that she shot at her team, they weren’t much help in the previous fights. Her gaze moved to the equipment that Sal’s team wore, and she looked a little confused as she stepped back to group up with her team.
The announcer signaled the countdown, and Sal did his best to calm the surge of adrenaline that coursed through him. He needed to be rational if they were going to pull this one off.
Nova was one of the most powerful students in their cohort, so they needed to be careful and stick to the strategy they created to counter her. From the old data they had, Nova didn’t turn into a giant in this match…but instead, manipulated her body into becoming faster and stronger. Sal didn’t know whether it was to conserve essence for the later fights, or whether she underestimated their team of Support-class students.
As the countdown reached the end, Nova was the first off the mark, launching forward at an incredible speed as she whipped her arm around in a devastating punch aimed at Sal.
“Defend!” Sal shouted, and both Blathnaid and Jack appeared in front of him with their barrier shields raised.
Nova’s eyes widened as her fist connected with the impenetrable barrier. The shield vibrated slightly as Nova was deflected backward, and both Jack and Blathnaid had to steady themselves against the momentum of the attack.
A shout of surprise from behind Nova caused her to turn around in shock. An arc of essence slammed into her team, sending two of them flying backward into the prism wall. Another arc launched from Anthony’s sword, aimed directly at the remaining two team members, and Nova launched herself toward him in a panicked fury.
“Flank!” Sal shouted, and Nova barely had any time to react as Barry appeared out of thin air, his power gauntlet aimed directly at her side.
His open palm emitted a powerful pulse of essence that threw her off to one side with a startled gasp. Nova rolled to her feet and started to heal herself as she took a tentative step backward. With a panicked glance behind her, she could see that another arc of essence sliced toward her group. In an act of desperation, she roared at them to get out of the way, but they were frozen to the spot as they watched their demise fly straight at them.
Anthony’s aim was true, and the arc of essence collided with the remainder of Nova’s team, knocking them backward in a dramatic fashion. Nova could only grit her teeth as she backed away from Sal’s team.
Sal saw the sudden halt to her movements and guessed what was happening. “Blitz! Don’t let her grow!”
As soon as the order left his lips, the entire team sprang into action.
Nova could only gasp as Blathnaid and Jack leapt high into the air. Their gauntlets were aimed at her like guns, and a sudden barrage of essence bullets rained down on her. Nova tried to retreat and get her bearings, but a vicious slice of a blade closed in on her position. Her eyes widened as Anthony moved into a close-range attack, and despite her confidence in her hand-to-hand martial arts, the sword managed to find every one of her openings.
Nova modified her hands to be as hard as metal. It was enough to parry the sword a few times, but she was vulnerable against the attacks of the others. The overwhelming display of power caught her by surprise, evident by her stricken expression, and Nova cursed aloud for taking it lightly.
Sal watched as Nova desperately tried to defend herself, but it had turned into a war of attrition. He knew that he’d be able to get Barry to put her in purgatory, which would allow them to win the fight with ease, but this wasn’t just about quick wins. Sal needed to showcase the capabilities of his entire team, so having a drawn-out fight with them attacking and listening to his commands…it would obviously result in a higher score for them.
“Flank!” Sal shouted again, and this time Nova was prepared.
She whirled around to her blind spot in a defensive stance, but nobody was there. She gritted her teeth at the clear deception play. Anthony leaped back and launched another arc of essence directly at Nova, who wasn’t in a position to shield herself. Barry, Blathnaid, and Jack held their shields up to block off Nova’s escape, which left her to face the essence attack head-on.
Nova laughed as she took the direct hit; her body flew backward and bounced against their raised shields. Her body crumpled to the ground with an aggravated sigh, but she made no effort to get back up. With that, the fight was decided, and Sal’s team got to enjoy their first real victory.
All of them moved to help their opponents, with Sal approaching Nova personally. “Hey, are you okay?” He touched her shoulder, and Nova groaned as she rolled onto her back. The look of disdain on her face was almost enough to make Sal laugh, but he fought the temptation.
With a slight shake of her head, she looked at him accusingly. “What the fuck just happened? Our teams were supposed to be shit…how did you do it?”
Sal offered her a hand, which she took.
When he pulled her to her feet, she accidentally fell against him with a grunt. “Ugh…” She groaned with another shake of her head. Looking back to her team, she sighed. “Hopefully they’re not too injured for the next one…I’ve no idea how the fuck we’re supposed to do nineteen of these fights!”
