“Kirin, you’re up next.” Daedriks words left the world feeling as if it paused, weighed down by the pressure of his voice and the eyes that soon fell upon me.

  Silence rang in my ears for several moments, it was an overwhelming tone that only settled from the shifting of the furry body wrapped around my neck, bringing my mind back to the world before me. Taking in a sharp breath, I gave a quick, court nod.

  “Akemi, stay here.” I instructed the Kitsune in a low tone, offering an extended arm as a bridge for her to jump off from. However, just when I began to turn my eyes towards the arena, a flash from directly beside me drew in my gaze.

  Carmine stood rooted in place, a halberd now in her hands that she held with the axehead leaning forwards. She wore a soft grin while giving me a curious look.

  “What? You didn’t think I’d send you in without a weapon, did you?” Carmine asked in an exceptionally soft voice as she stepped forwards. While doing so she turned the halberd over, offering the handle to me while whispering in a hushed tone. “Remember; don’t show anything you don’t need to yet.”

  A shaky exhale escaped my lips when I reached to take the halberd—It was nothing special, barely looking sharper than the dulled weapons used for training, yet some innate sense gave me an almost foreboding feeling when I looked across its length. I couldn’t help but remember the shattered scimitar as I took the halberd in hand.

  “I just need to kill it, right? It can’t be that hard…” I said, trying to convince myself more than anyone else. My hands slowly tightened on the shaft of the halberd, taking it out of Carmine’s grip with trepidation. I was careful to test the weight, shifting it from hand to hand before I turned back to the arena.

  The halberd itself was impressively light, especially for a weapon that sat nearly a foot longer than I was tall. The head of the axe on the fore end was somewhat large, being a little larger than my thigh. Opposite of the axehead sat a curved spike, while the tip of the weapon bore a several inch long spearhead.

  It was by all means a plain weapon. The steel was lightly rusted while the shaft was made of a dark and sturdy wood. Yet, despite all these things I felt trust in the weapon in my hands—So much trust that I was able to bite back the boiling anxiety as I made the last step across the red precipice marking the arena.

  Glancing at the ground, it felt like an entire world had expanded between where I now stood and the red line only a mere few feet away. A world that couldn’t be crossed even if I tried, a world that I was trapped in until one life was ended.

  “Just survive…” I muttered under my breath. With a slow inhale I settled my eyes upon the pile of rocks that were gradually taking on a hominid shape. Sparing only a momentary glance behind myself, I was surprised to find that I couldn't hear anything from beyond the thin red line now.

  “…Weird.” I thought silently. Turning my eyes forwards once more, the Golem now filled my vision. It stood just as imposing as I remembered: Its upper chest lay at an even level with my eyes. Its shoulders sat higher than my head, broadening out before they curved downwards into jagged spikes that pierced the ground underneath it.

  At the very precipice of its body sat an oval rock. It was devoid of any detail, missing all signs of a living creature—Yet, somehow I could almost feel scorn exuding from the Golem’s gaze, not to mention the uncanny sense of the Golem watching me.

  Finally, an ethereal buzz rang out through the arena. Instincts alone told me what it meant, driving me to twist the halberd around and angle it forwards. In the instant the Golem began a charging gallop.

  The Golem’s limbs pounded into the ground in an uneven rhythm. Each pound of its oversized limbs against the stone underfoot sent a shock, echoing through the earth like an off-beat drum. Each echo brought forth its leaping mass, giving it little issue to cross the distance.

  It was only a few heartbeats later when the Golem reared up to clash with me—Its arms raised clear above its head, poised to crush me in a single motion.

  With a single, sharp exhale I brought the length of the halberd to bare. With a two handed grip and electricity surging through my limbs I raised the halberd above my head, catching the crushing strike while throwing it off to the side. In doing so I forced myself back, gaining a half-step of distance from the Golem. Without wasting a second I shifted my grip on the Halberd, aiming to thrust the spearhead into the Golem’s exposed back.

  The Golem didn’t however wait around for me to strike. With its upper body mounted against the ground it reared forwards and bucked backwards, sending a powerful kick into the end of my thrusting blade. Stone met steel, sparks flew through the air with an unruly metallic scream—But no damage became immediately visible to either target.

  However, the force did manage to shove me back another few steps, preventing me from making another follow up strike. Instead I was forced to settle back into my stance, glaring at the Golem while it turned around.

  In only a few moments I found myself standing directly across from the Golem, staring it down in much the same way I had only a mere few seconds ago. Finally, without much warning, the Golem lowered its head and charged once again.

  The Golem lowered its head towards the ground like a raging bull when it began clamoring forwards. Yet, when the Golem brought itself to me it didn’t try an all-out ram—Instead, the Golem brought its upper body to bear, swinging wildly with its ape-like arms.

  “Left, right, left, right... right…” I counted the strikes in my head, trying my best to find a pattern in the endless storm of blows. My mind ran at a million thoughts a second, but even with the speed of thoughts I could barely keep the Golem back. My Halberd flashed up, blocking, parrying, even striking when I had an opening—But nothing was so substantial as to make even the slightest dent in the Golem’s offense or defense.

  The storm of strikes grew so intense that the Golem managed to break through my shaky defenses, using both of its arms at the same time. Its twin limbs aimed to collide with one another, my head would have only been a momentary blockage for the collision course.

  With no better option in mind I sent a surge of mana through my body—Desperately calling the tide of electrical power through my body to increase my speed just enough to avoid the Golems strike, leaving its two fists to collide mere inches in front of my nose. Dust and pebbles scattered from the collision, settling for only a few moments as silence took hold once more.

  The Golem let its annoyance at missing be known: Its perfect smooth face of stone began to crack and crumble before shattering open. Behind the opened fissure was a freshly revealed wicked maw of jagged teeth. Ones which appeared far more akin to rock formations than natural teeth, but that fact did little to offset how desperately I wanted to avoid getting bitten now.

  The Golem shifted backwards, haunching up its legs before leaping once more, its powerful rear legs launching it into the air—For a moment I was left to wonder at what the Golem was doing when it shot entirely over me, its momentum aimed in a collision course with the ceiling.

  It was, however, only for a moment that I was left to wonder about its goals. As soon after that mere moment ended, the Golem had landed feet first against the ceiling. Its rocky legs bent with the force before extending outwards with immense strength, forcibly ejecting the Golem from the ceiling straight towards me with speed that even a ballistae couldn’t replicate.

  Energy surged through my body again, releasing audible arcs of electricity while I threw myself to the side. I was forced to tuck into a roll, barely avoiding the ferocious strike while rapidly climbing back to my feet.

  “Why are you so much more aggressive with me!” I cried out in annoyance while regaining my balance. “You barely even moved when Silva fought you!” I declared again, not even caring about the hundred or more spectators for my fight.

  The Golem turned towards me after it slid to a stop, its fissured face expanded, curling upwards into a sadistic grin.

  It was bewildering to say the least when that grin settled in on me—So bewildering in fact that I wasn’t even remotely prepared for when the Golem launched forwards, its head lowered once more as it slammed skull-first into my gut.

  A sharp wheeze escaped me as I was thrown back from the impact, the world beginning to spin round-and-round as I rolled across the ground. I only came to a stop when my shoulder harshly impacted the far wall of the arena, sending a jarring shock of pain through my body that collided with the boiling one now forming in my gut.

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  If the mere few steps I had between myself and the exit of the arena had felt like miles to start, the distanceI was at now felt more like an entire continent of separation. A continent divided by an impassable beast, one which now strode forwards with moxie in its steps.

  Vomit rushed up to my mouth, barely being held in as I shakily stood—The pain in my gut was immense, it left my legs weak and jelly-like as I pushed myself up to stand. My Halberd luckily had remained in my grip, leaving it to turn into an exceptionally useful support to stand.

  The world was spinning before me, white lights clouding the edges of my vision. The only stable thing was the Golem, it strode forth as if it was the epicenter of the world. Its steps didn’t merely shake the arena, they moved mountains in its mind.

  And, I almost believed it to be a fact after the strike the Golem dealt to me. But, I could still stand—My mana was still under my control. Even more than that I was surprised to find the pain noticeably receding, being replaced by a subtle, itching sensation.

  I couldn’t be certain about it, but some instinct told me it was the very same thing that had miraculously healed me in my sleep. And now, whatever it was had now begun forcing the current pain down.

  My eyes focused on the Golem’s face, its fissured maw slowly turning from a boisterous grin towards an annoyed frown. Only moments later, its face scrunched up into a furious snarl, once that sent fresh fissures through its skull before bringing its confident stride into a hateful charge.

  However, even with the Golem charging, I dared to close my eyes. I focused not on the earthen Elemental charging me down, nor on the sounds of its pounding arms against the ground—Instead, I focused inwards, on the brilliant world of mana that sat just behind my eyes.

  Mana was cycling through my body with each beat of my heart, rushing through each limb as it chased the blood through the veins in my arms and legs. I felt the cloud of it that sat just outside of my skin, exuded into a thin veil of an aura. There was, of course, the unique glow of the spacial ring on my right hand. But even the glow of that ring couldn’t compare to the unbridled fury glowing out from my chest, from the origin of my mana just beneath my heart.

  When my eyes opened they were followed by a furious surge of mana through my limbs, my origin pulsed with each beat of my heart. The echo of that motion drummed in my ears, it was a meticulous beat—One which I followed with each thunderous step I took.

  With a final, deep breath, I launched myself forwards. My aim was poised to intercept the Golem, electricity crackling across my body with each step I took. It arced from my feet into the ground, acting like an extra force that pulled my legs in before repelling them for the following step.

  My eyes flickered across the Golem’s frame—I could feel its gaze upon me, even if it lacked eyes, I was certain the Golem could see me. So much so that when I knew its gaze was settling upon me I began to turn, bringing both arms up and across the length of the halberd for a spiraling strike.

  I caught the Golem’s frantic motions in the split-second before my gaze was torn away, its arms scraping along the ground in vain as it tried to halt its forward momentum. When my eyes next found rest on the Golem it had spread its arms out, kicking its lower body forwards to try increasing the force even further.

  However, that stopping force was far from enough to halt its earthen mass—The axehead of my Halberd struck across, leaving a deep gash in the stone hide of the Golem before I shot past it.

  I wasn’t gone for long, with the drum of my heart as a guide I turned hard. I only slid across the ground for a moment before bringing the curled spearhead on the back of the halberd across into the legs of the Golem. In the instant it struck I pushed even more mana out of my body, granting the strike an extra electrical surge that added an explosive force to the impact.

  The blast scattered stones across the ground, widening the wound in the Golem’s knee to be nearly the size of a closed fist. The blast itself only served to add to my momentum, giving me the chance to shift the Halberd around with a spin in my grip.

  My foremost leg quickly slammed into the ground, steadying my weight as I used the momentum of the halberd in order to bring the axehead down upon the Golem’s back.

  The Golem had almost no chance to react, its body only just beginning to turn when the axe came down upon it. The blade dug deep into its back before halting entirely—The momentum however didn’t halt, especially when I extended my legs into a slight jump; using the energy of the swing and the Golem as a fulcrum in order to launch myself over its back once more. The energy of the motion easily tore the halberd free once more, allowing me to glide through the air with gentle grace.

  In the few moments I found myself airborne I tossed the halberd from my right hand to my left, freeing my right to channel mana through as I fell. Heartbeats that felt like days while I soared through the air—Time only accelerated again once the butt of the Halberd slammed into the ground at an awkward angle, barely catching a loose spot to toss me forwards instead of dropping out from under me entirely.

  I turned on the spot even as I slid forwards, bringing my right hand to bare with a brilliant white-light in my palm. The Golem finally had a chance to turn towards me again, just in time to see the light grow a thousand times brighter in a brilliant flash—A flash that burst out into a barely controlled surge of pure mana. The force was so utterly immense that I was thrown backwards, landing hard on my back as the light flickered away from my hand.

  Even across the dozen or so feet that stood between the Golem and myself, the burst was absolutely lethal, or so I hoped. I felt almost half of the mana in my body expelled into the violent blast that cast itself forwards, burning with white-hot fury when it clashed with the head of the Golem.

  For a solemn moment I was left to wonder if the expenditure of nearly half of my mana was worth it—But when that moment ended, a smile crawled onto my face.

  The Golem’s head, and part of its torso smoldered and lay molten upon the ground. Its body stood for only a few moments before breaking apart into the individual boulders and pebbles that had originally made it. As the Golem fell it revealed a new, fresh scar on the arena; a small, semicircular hole sinking a little under a foot into the wall on the far end of the arena from me.

  An explosive sigh escaped my lips, chased away by a deep, panicked breath—I had only just realized that I hadn't managed to breath for almost the entire fight against the Golem, leaving my body shaking and weak as I stood up through heaving breaths.

  Even still, a smile was brought to my face when I turned to the spectators. Kendrick and Lushia looked furious about my victory, Daedrik had a broad grin on his lips, the students all stood muttering amongst each other. But more than all of them, the prideful smile on Carmine’s lips, and the satisfied nod from Levi brought joy to my body.

  The only one I couldn’t see amongst the crowd was Tulip. But, I couldn’t think on that for long when Daedrik’s words reached my ears, cutting off the thoughts before they could form.

  “Excellent!” Daedrik boomed with a boisterous laugh. “Truly an amazing fight of skill, defeating an Elemental of a higher rank than yourself!” Daedrik spread his arms wide as he spoke, the chuckling laughter shaking his entire frame. “Now, with these incredible examples, who wishes to send themselves at the first trial next?!”

  Dozens of hands were raised into the air as I walked out, half-limping myself back over to Carmine. A soft smile escaped my lips when I saw Akemi resting on Carmine’s shoulder, her trio of tales wagging joyously.

  “That was pretty impressive.” Carmine said idly. But… Her even tone did little to hide her ear-to-ear grin.

  “I… don’t even know how I won…” I sighed out heavily. My upper body sagged forwards against the support of the Halberd, physically deflating as the energy left my muscles, replaced by dull aches and a growing, fiery pain from my stomach and shoulder.

  “You’re a natural fighter, that’s how,” Carmine spoke with a soft smile, shifting her hand over to ruffle my hair. “Looks like Tulip is up next.” She added with soft anticipation to her voice. Nearly as soon as Carmine’s hand retracted, Akemi jumped from her shoulder over to mine.

  I blinked several times, glancing from her to the arena—And, she was right. Tulip was the first one to stride forwards, taking the arena for herself. She turned her gaze to me, offering a soft, almost timid smile before turning it forwards once more.

  “Ah! Our dear Princess has taken the stage next, albeit, she is practically the fourth representative this year,” Daedrik stated with an anticipating grin and a flick of his gaze at Levi.. “Let’s see just how talented she is, shall we?” He chuckled out while planting a hand firmly on the pedestal before him.

  “It won’t be as much of a show as the other fights…” Tulip muttered out in a low tone, readying herself after she took the first step into the arena.

  “Oh, I believe it will still be plenty of a show for some of us.” Daedrik spoke with a mysterious tone. He did little to elaborate however, nor could anyone expect elaboration when the pebbles and stone began to roll themselves together to once more form a Golem.

  The Golem stood identically as the one I faced mere moments prior. Its bulky shoulders once more laying akin to twin peaks that defended its skull. The Golem stared with a dead-eyed gaze, its barren face meeting Tulip’s determined glare.

  To call what happened a fight would have been an utter misrepresentation—Even compared to Kendrick and Silva, Tulip trounced the Golem.

  It was such an extraordinarily fast fight that I could barely believe it even happened, I probably wouldn’t have believed it if I had just been told and not seen it with my own eyes. Tulip had leapt into the air when the buzzer sounded, the air warping around her uniform like a tight hand was guiding her into a dance.

  While Tulip spiraled through the air, arms tucked to her sides with grace, the shadows underneath the Golem took shape. They elongated and stretched, launching upwards and around the Golem into physical tendrils that groped around until they found latches between the loose pebbles and stones.

  In only a mere heartbeat, Tulip had torn the Golem limb from limb. The shadows crawled between the cracks in the Golem’s form, shattering every bond with deadly precision. Her motions were in fact so fast, that the Golem lay in rubble before she could even land.

  “Ah,” Daedrik muttered under his breath once Tulip landed—Even he looked surprised by the ease in which Tulip won. “Well then, who's next?”

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