Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

19694 The 1st Summer

“That’s it, young lady, you either take this seriously or we’re finished for today!” Martha’s famous bossy attitude makes an appearance once again.

She thinks shaping fire as wild and destructive as the blue monster I’m trying to tame is a walk in the park. I haven't been able to achieve proper control over it similar to normal fire or any of my other elements really without relying on Armory of the Arcane. And let's not even mention the few times I tried myself at flying…

Controlling magic is not a simple thing and she should be aware of that. It's like taking care of different pets, all of them with their own stupid behavior and preferences. Most of them listen because I'm their source of food but the blue flames just refuse to submit.

“Easier said than done.” I grumble and keep trying to shape the azure flames into a perfect circle. “Teaching a rebellious idiot how to behave is not easy.” I try explaining my struggles through a metaphor.

“Oh I know, I've been trying for two years now.” She replies and it takes a second or two for me to react.

“Hey!” My outrage is tremendous, confirmed by the collapse of my most recent fire circle and a flare-up of the flames.

“Emotions Elyssia, a Mage cannot allow emotions to plague their work! Leave that to the muscle heads.” She seems to be in a snarky mood today. “If some harmless taunting is all it takes to shake your concentration then a comrade's death will lead to you following them to the grave shortly.”

Ever since my last birthday her lessons grew a bit harsher in tone but I prefer it this way. I never appreciated the adults doing their best to protect me from reality when that’s exactly what I'm trying to fight back against.

“If it’s so important for me to master the ardent flames and the lightning coil then why am I not allowed to use them in duels?” It's a debate I've conceded countless times already and one I'll keep bringing up.

Martha's the one who came up with names for my signature moves because I couldn't really explain how they work and calling the blue fire simply blue fire did sound pretty lame.

“Aren't you in the top twenty already despite your age, what more do you want?” The thunder hag crosses her arms and acts as if she doesn't know my answer already.

“First place,” I answer shamelessly. “Besides, you don't restrict how fast August can move or how many times Victor can cheat.” I know it's not cheating but if we're honest it's pretty close.

“I'd like to remind you again that the number of friends Kayla can bring is limited and unlike you, the others have no secret move to hide.” Oh cmon, not this argument again… “Out of mana already?” And we’re back to my current stupid task.

I've still got more juice to work with, I haven't raised my level for nothing after all.

Elyssia

Age: 11

Celestial Elf

Mana: 3660/3660

Free Points: 24

+402/hour

Might: 7

Intelligence: 394

Mana: 366

Speed: 87

Focus: 452(+64)

Willpower: 402

Endurance: 66

Dexterity: 25

Fortitude: 66

General Skills:

Savant lvl 47

Identify lvl 53

The Art of Movement lvl 55

Dodging lvl 53

Pain Tolerance lvl 24

Premonition lvl 61

Survival lvl 36

Maintained Magic lvl 33

Serene Spellcrafting lvl 49

I. Class: Mystical Daredevil - Arcane lvl 65

Arcane Mastery lvl 62

Armory of the Arcane lvl 58

Mana Perception lvl 59

Elemental Burst lvl 49

Arcane Focus lvl 52

Chaotic Touch lvl 28

II. Class: *Locked*

III. Class: *Locked*

Can’t wait for the battle to test my arsenal.

The Art of Movement: Everyone can run, but making the most of their movements or finding the ideal path through the terrain is a lot more delicate than that. It’s a dance involving the entire body, every muscle, and every thought.

Instead of running faster, I elected to focus on running reliably, without stumbling or any other hiccups. I’m still not sure whether it was the best I could get but I don’t like regretting my choices so I’ll just have to make the most out of it.

Chaotic Touch: Mana always returns to balance no matter how willfully one tries to force their control over it. This balance, this state of stability is nothing more than utter chaos without a guiding hand, yet achieving it takes only a touch.

This beauty basically allows me to disassemble magic. Not instantly, like making a spear of ice disappear the moment it touches me but it’s pretty darn fast and extremely useful when someone tries to turtle up.

One thing I noticed after some of my attributes passed the 300 mark was… how to put it… every level up was less of a big deal like someone stole a few percent of my hard work.

When I brought my predicament up to Martha she explained to me the lie behind the numbers. Soft cap is what she called them, certain milestones just like Class levels for advancement, however, in this case, they are purely detrimental.

Simply put the more attributes we have the bigger bundle of mana we are and the harder it is for us to utilize that strength of ours. I wanted to point out its semblance to drag but Savant didn’t really like that. All in all, 300 is the first such hurdle and 9000 is the next one. Focusing on certain stats is still better than spreading out your attributes evenly because of Skills but everything has its price.

Not that this much can hold me back from claiming victory today.

***

“Hugo, Milara you know the drill,” Victor opens the tactical discussion with the two new members of our team. Okay, not that new but compared to our two years of teamwork they might as well be strangers. “hold the frontline and wait for the opportunity. Kayla and I will weaken their right flank by occupying that nasty spear and when August breaks through you'll have them in the bag.”

Our tactic is pretty simple however that just means we're a lot less likely to fuck up.

My role is the most simple as our main ranged damage despite being a nonconventional mage. Coverfire and punishing any mistakes. I am not the best person for the role but this is what we are working with and at least we don't have to worry about a rogue slipping through our lines and eliminating the defenseless spell slinger in seconds.

Kayla and Victor are responsible for harassing and battlefield control while August is our dedicated backline killer.

The two additional members are responsible for the simplest yet most crucial task. Soaking up damage and keeping a constant pressure on their warriors.

Hugo is the perfect specimen for the task with his well above-average size and chunky build focused on resilience. Despite being an absolute unit of a boy with the strength to probably crush my bones he's almost completely harmless. Gentle green eyes, a brown birdnest-like mess of hair, and a goofy smile earned him the Gentle Oaf nickname along with the fact that he only ever wields a tower shield and basically refuses to harm anyone. Hard to believe someone like him even exists and ended up here of all places.

Thankfully our last member, the crazed redhead Milara has no such reservations. Unlike Hugo, she's not much of a tank both because of her fighting style and stature. I think she's a half dwarf but I have no way to prove it. Swinging two flaming axes while roaring like a maniac does make her quite the target though and if she hits then Gods help the poor soul in her path. All in all, she gets the job done in the vanguard.

With the two of them, our numbers grow to six, a full-sized squad and one eligible to compete in the team rankings.

This is all my days boil down to, sleeping, eating, training, fighting, fucking around, and pushing for the top spots. Did I get too accustomed to this place, my new home? Probably. I never managed to find peace with how and why I'm here and likely never will, however this whole environment… it's as if I was born for this. A little more exploring and traveling wouldn't hurt along with a lot less stamina training but other than that I'm thriving here.

“Any questions?” Victor finishes his usual debrief with the usual question.

I mentally ignored most of what he had to say because plans are doomed to go awry and improvisation is usually what brings us victory.

That doesn't mean I don’t know my role but I still have a question.

“Can I do the breakthrough?”

I’m a Mage, I have the Skills and attributes of a Mage but I don't fight like one. Thrown into the middle of an enemy formation August can take down one squishy target at best. I could do a lot more than that.

“You won't be able to get out.” August points out the flaw with my idea and I don't start an argument on his observation. This time.

Yeah, that’s a big advantage he has over me when it comes to fighting face-to-face. Compared to him I'm a sitting duck. An explosive sitting duck.

“I don't like the risk but at the same time I can see potential in your idea.” Victor scratches his head and I see his eyes flickering from left to right completely unfocused. His tactical mode. “Do you have something up in your sleeve?” His question feels more like an accusation, especially with eyes and a smile like his.

“Martha might chew my ear off but theory without practice is… dumb? No was it deaf? Anyway, it's not much.” I shrug, mirroring my teammate’s fiendish smile. “Besides, winning is only secondary.”

The smiles suddenly disappear and all eyes narrow on me. “Who are you and what did you do to Eli?” Kayla carefully asks supported by nods all around.

Although I huff and roll my eyes I still play along. “I infiltrated her mind and consumed her soul. Using this body I will commence my conquest of this puny mortal world.” I don't have enough enthusiasm for the role to add the evil laugh but I think it was convincing enough.

“Great, we're finally rid of her.” Victor’s fake sigh of relief doesn't look fake enough to me. “And I agree, I'd rather we try unusual tactics now rather than when our lives are at stake.”

Weird thing to say because I can count on one… okay two hands the number of times I've feared for my life during my two years here and I'm pretty sure even in those cases someone would've swooped in to save my sorry ass. Eh, one needs to stumble a few times before learning how to run.

“Does that mean I play bait, again?” August's natural frown deepens and understandably so.

“I'm happy to swap if you can take care of Damien.” Victor shrugs after saying yes without saying yes.

Damien and his damned spear. An insanely irritating opponent to fight against as he uses life magic not to heal or strengthen himself but to empower his weapon.

There's a lot more to life magic than its healing properties with subcategories like blood, flesh, and that stupid bone magic. The spear in question looks like a spine, and probably is a spine, that wiggles around in his hands, tracing his opponent and blocking attacks with iron-like resilience. It's not overwhelming or unfair like our Blessings but just straight-up fucking irritating.

One would think August is the optimal counter to a weapon like that and they’d be right if only the bone spear didn't act like it had a mind of its own and tracked the speedy boy's every move better than its wielder.

“Alright team, let's get this done and enter the top five. I don't know about you but I want apples so it’s time we earn them.” Victor breaks the circle thus ending our little strategic meeting.

Ah, the special super cool apples the top teams receive and supposedly grow on a mythical tree right on top of a dragon's grave… Sounds like a scam to me but I'm sure Victor is aware of that. I'm curious about the taste though.

We elected him to be the informal leader of our squad partially because of his Blessing but mostly due to his cool head and ability to see the bigger picture. I have not given up on the position yet just took a step back while working on my magic. I won't hand over the title of smartest that easily.

For now, though, we have a major battle to win.

“They'll win.” Bennett opens the bet as both teams finish their planning session. “It's that gleam in their eyes…”

“Are you sure it's not just the Blessed ones stacked in a single team?” Jet huffs, tossing his coin purse up a few times while scratching his balding head. “You're on, I doubt they have an answer to Damien.” After careful consideration or rather forced by his gambling addiction he accepts the wager. “That boy only buckles under overwhelming firepower and that's just the thing the dream team is lacking.”

“What's the opinion of their resident nanny?” Bennett finally turns to the silent Martha.

“She thinks you're both utter morons.” The old woman answers without delay in a tone as flat as the look on her face. “You're right, the special fools have everything they need to bag this but what you saw wasn't a gaze of confidence,” Marta knows the kids and their shenanigans the best. “They're about to do something stupid.”

Six versus six with the entirety of the courtyard as the field of battle. Although both teams are warned against excessive damage to the facilities and Fort Karon as a whole, still accidents happen.

“Before we start I need to remind you all that the bracelets provide only limited protection compared to the dueling ring so I'd like everyone to refrain from highly lethal attacks.” Bennett goes through the usual safety precautions before starting the match. “The match ends if all members of a team are eliminated or the flag is stolen from the enemy carrier and returned to your own.”

The small green flag is visible tucked into Kayla’s belt with her three wolves guarding their friend while Damien has the yellow one despite being the most exposed member of his team.

“Now, take position!” Bennett orders the kids before whispering to his colleague. “Fifty silver.”

“One gold.” Jet raises the stakes.

“You're on.” They need to spice things up a little, a battle between rookies can be only so exciting. “Both sides ready?" A round of nods. “Fight!”

As expected the cheat team, the challengers are the ones to go on the offensive, advancing fast in the standard wedge formation.

Hugo takes points with his massive tower shield, acting as if a wall and a bull had an intimidating chimera child. Behind him is where things get weird. Milara standing close is understandable but why is their mage in the vanguard?

Then in the backline, there’s August on the left, Kalya safely in the middle, and Victor already drawing his bow on the right.

“Am I missing something?” Bennett frowns, already feeling his pouch a coin lighter.

“You're a bigger idiot than I remember if you didn't expect something like this.” Martha shakes her head.

Not that I could've foreseen the little devil abandoning her range advantage like an absolute fool.

As the opposing team prepares for the clash with their shieldbearer at the front and two warriors flanking him another battle fought with petty tricks begins. A slight tremor shaking the ground, light flashing into the opponent's face, arrows charged with electricity, a rain of icy arrows, or even the slightest increase in gravity… the small things do matter.

Oh, they grow up so fast…

Then the shields collide. Milara dashes forth like a raging inferno, putting pressure on the enemy's right flank and drawing the attention of their ice mage. After a quick strike, she retreats behind the shield just before the retaliation arrives, putting her back against Hugo’s to help him in the battle of strength.

The two tanks push against each other like stags, except with walls of metal instead of majestic antlers, turning themselves into a sort of solid yet moveable obstacle on the battlefield.

Right after the hail of ice in response to the flaming axe wielder August leaves cover accompanied by two of Kayla's wolves. Instead of a frontal assault, they move in a wider arc threatening the opposing team’s backline and forcing them to allocate more attention toward the fast-moving sources of danger. The plan is in motion.

Damn rascals are using advanced tactics.

Martha is no stranger to the field of battle and has seen hundreds of kids put themselves to the test in this very same courtyard so there’s very little new under the watchful eye of Solaire anyone could show her.

I could guess the next two moves except the pieces on the board don't add up, their positioning is…

As things get heated on the left side the combined forces of Victor and Elyssia launch their assault on Damien in the form of arrows and blades of wind. The disturbing spear of bones reacts as always, twisting and growing in its owner's hands and blocking whatever comes even remotely close. Emboldened by his advantage Damien gives chase to the ranged attackers, dashing through the mild hail of death.

Why are they retreating? This style of combat might suit Victor but definitely not Elyssia… Ah, I see.

Every attack and obstacle the two kids use to keep Damien away prove futile be it stone walls, rings of fire, or just a bunch of attacks flying at him… that is because they aren't trying. Merely seconds after the first salvo Victor and Elyssia unleashed on the spearboy and fake retreat Damien catches up and collapses right away.

A lightning trap, Victor's ace in the hole. The Skill is a nasty secret of their team because every time he employs one they cover it up as one of Elyssia's tricks thus making it work almost every time.

With that said the trap alone isn't enough to take down the warrior because even though he is mostly restrained his spear isn't.

Elyssia can just burn him to elimination however they need to hurry their other flank is about to-

Against all reason and tactical thought the girl abandons the easy prey and sprints back straight towards the thick of it while Victor stays back. With the gap in the enemy lines and their backline distracted Elyssia approaches them without any hiccups but instead of attacking the conventional way she decides to cause Martha a headache.

The swirl of blue light around the girl heralds an early and especially dangerous ending to this clash as she dives right into the middle of the enemy formation.

I swear I'm wasting my breath every time I specifically tell her not to do something.

A moment later blue flames engulf the five people around Elyssia and the howl of the fire is quickly followed by pained cries. Some of the protective shields shattered.

“Call a healer!” Martha yells even before the blue glow can abate before appearing next to the culprit and grabbing her by the ear. “You're in deep shit now little devil, just what did I tell you?”

Martha knows she shouldn’t praise the child for going against her orders even if the results were insanely effective.

Why is it always the unruly children doing the most brilliant things?