Death, Devotion, Dissonance

The Vice-chair, after declaring his intents, brought everyone to the arena, and started a series of battles. Everyone was instructed to use only two standard lodestones' worth of mana, but aside from that, they were free to do whatever they wanted. The Chairman and the Vice-chair were there to ensure that nothing went astray.

Two standard lodestones didn't amount to much, but it wasn't too little anyway. Phel guessed that one could manage three or four fancy spells with them all, or maybe about 20 or so potent ones. If the students needed to create a spell of even smaller effects, they could simply use the mana in the air.

Phel was one of the first ones to fight, and his opponent was a less-known baron's daughter. It was an easy win for him, as the young lady failed to cast her spells once too many times. Phel offered her some words of advice at the end of it and focused on the other fighters.

Of the nobles, the ones he took note of were, of course, Byron and Bellaslayn. Byron was most definitely a user of Apdenul, with how bullishly he charged at his opponent and restrained the poor commoner into submission. He charged without minding the little shards of earth that the other was throwing at him, as his skin was most likely stronger than these things. It was a boorish strategy, but it saved everyone's time.

Bellaslayn was more elegant than Byron, but not by much, as most of the girl's magic was one that utilized water and earth. Mud, basically. It combined the flexibility of water with the hardness of earth. A powerful combination, but it definitely did not look like what a young lady of noble origins would use.

But although Phel disapproved of its elegance, or its lack thereof, he could not deny its practicality. Her enemy, a more well-off baron's son tried his best to cut through the girl's defenses of mud with his blades of ice, but couldn't quite achieve the feat, as the mud surrounding Bellaslayn was constantly flowing around her. It dulled the attacks' effects, negating its capability to hurt. A few shards of ice could not pass through them and even in the few rare instances it managed to, its powers were too weak to affect Bellaslayn in any meaningful way.

Bellaslayn, on the other hand, was much calmer compared to her opponent, and Phel could tell she was more concerned with the efficiency of her spells, rather than the fight itself. After she was done with her tests, she quickly ended the fight with a barrage of Hard mud.

As for the commoners, a Gesturer by the name of Lopar caught Phel's attention. Phel knew for sure that a few of the boys' hearts were caught by Lopar's Dance as well. At the end of it, he even had to wonder if he himself belonged to this group.

In any case, he always thought of Gesturers, especially Dancers to be an oddity in the battlefield. He thought that things such as dances and rituals wouldn't be allowed to exist in real battles. In all honesty, if he was asked, he would still answer that Dancers wouldn't be able to function to their desire in wide-scale battles. But after today, he would definitely note that Dancers are not to be underestimated in single combat.

Lopar's opponent was the first son of a very well-known Baron, a lively teen named Theundel. Theundel was a patriot at heart and he believed that patriotism should be expressed by one's blood and sweat. He spoke many times about his desire to participate in the war with the South, and he worked hard to make that happen. He was both strong and swift, and one could see these traits clearly in his looks.

Phel knew he wasn't a match for the baron's son, and he guessed that even Byron would find it troublesome to fight against him.

But Lopar showed no fear when fighting the young warrior. Lopar had mastered three movements out of the vast array of body actions required of a Dancer - one for defense, one for offence and one… as a kind of transition between the two. As far as Phel could tell, anyway.

Whenever she found Theundel dashing towards her or sending an attack of some sorts, she would move defensively. She would jump slightly towards the back, and while she moved, she would hold both hands and swipe from one side to the other. It was hard to see what the Stance did exactly, as Lopar was a user of Seyethe, but every time she did so, Theundel would falter to the side and grunt confusedly, as if a great wall of Earth slammed into him from the side. Any projectile he willed towards the girl would also meet the same fate, provided Lopar couldn't simply dodge them.

After that, Lopar would swiftly counterattack. She would put her feet forward and with her whole body she would lurch forward, making another sweeping gesture with her hands. Almost always, the effects of this move sent Theundel flying backwards, his face full of confusion and disbelief.

And all this, Lopar would achieve using only the mana in the air. Never once she reached out for the two lodestones she put aside before the fight. Phel guessed that this was the advantage of Gestures that the teachers talked about. Mind-bogglingly powerful, and yet almost criminally cheap.

But the one thing that seemed crucial to the process was Lopar's rhythm of battle. Never once her Dance moves seemed forced or out of place. At some point, the battle fell completely under Lopar's tempo, as she adeptly controlled every single movement inside the arena. The whole thing looked as if Lopar was teaching Theundel how to dance, with the latter not knowing top from bottom through the entire process.

Eventually, she had Theundel waste his two lodestones and achieved victory for herself.

Phel listened around to hear the impressed mutterings of the other students, and then the pleasantly surprised praises of the Chairman and the Vice-chair. Even Theundel seemed impressed by his opponent.

Weirdly, Phel felt proud of Lopar's feats. The thought that this girl would serve the kingdom in the future instilled him with an odd but satisfying sense of confidence.

Unfortunately, the fight after Lopar's was much harder on the eyes. It was between Arza and some other commoner girl. She seemed to possess some skill in Irratas, but her Demanding Chants paled in comparison to the mesmerizing Dance of Lopar. Arza, on the other hand, was evidently trying to recreate his lessons in Stance Gestures, but was having a hard time achieving any results.

It looked like he was but a simple child, who saw the artfulness of another and was trying to recreate it himself. The only problem was that he was failing at it spectacularly. None of his Stances were producing the effect they were meant to produce, so in the end, Arza was practically fighting without using magic.

That was the only shocking thing of that fight: Arza managing to win despite not casting a single spell. Arza's opponent was trying her best to keep him in distance, most likely scared by his large build, but Arza managed to slip between her defenses of fire and threaten out a surrender from her.

His tall and bulky build suggested he would be someone clumsy and slow, but his reality was anything but. Arza was as swift as a rabbit and as flexible as a snake. Phel even wondered if the Stances were achieving their desired effects, and it was just that no one could see the surrounding mana stirring for them. Perhaps another secret that Aran's family of 1st grades held.

How else would an individual be able to move like that using only their mortal bodies?

Arza did not offer an explanation for it, nor did anyone else demand answers. He walked back to the spectator's seats and gave Evin a slap on the back.

"It's your turn," he said with a laugh.

Indeed, it was Evin's turn. And his opponent was none other than Decatur himself.

The two walked up to the stage and regarded each other for a brief moment.

"I do not wish to bully an opponent weaker than myself. Admit you did wrong in the Opening Ceremony and we'll solve this matter peacefully," Decatur suddenly said.

Phel's friend looked like he wanted to say something else, but was containing himself to keep face.

Phel looked at Evin's face and saw that the other seemed willing to compromise like this. The few times Phel sent his attention to Evin, he saw the teen wearing a slight frown of worry, clearly feeling out of place. Evin seemed even more convinced of his shortcomings after Lopar's fight.

But before Evin could reply, the Chairman's voice reverberated through the arena. "If Evin does not try his best during these trials, the World Shards in his possession shall be taken back to the Academy's care."

It would be a lie if Phel said he wasn't shocked. Evin looked similarly shocked by the turn of events. The boy was staring at the Chairman with a look of betrayal and confusion.

'Why would the Chairman say that? Sure, it could be said that it was unethical to throw one's fights, but with the disparity between two sides so big, it should be in one's rights to refuse, right?'

"Heh, I suppose some people want to see a show," Decatur shrugged.

"Alright, you can begin," the Vice-chair declared and their fight officially began.

Decatur observed Evin nonchalantly, slowly emptying out the mana from one lodestone. His mana-core was fed enough to hold five stones' worth of mana without affecting him, so Phel wasn't worried about his friend's apparent pomp. He was more curious about the energies that should've been swirling in his core. Phel guessed it was most likely the energies of Water and Light.

Phel then observed Evin with the same curiosity, then noticed something weird. One moment, Evin looked like he didn't know what he was supposed to do, but something seemed to stir inside and he turned calm the next second. And just as abruptly, the calmness was replaced by a confused young boy.

'A moment of respite?' Phel thought to himself, stealing a glance towards the two adults in the class.