Intimancer

Sade did her best to remain calm.

She was alone, being led deeper into unknown territory by a high elf noble.  While her rational mind was aware that she was still in what was considered a public space, and her own experiences with Ariwyn had never once hinted that the woman held any malicious intentions towards her, her heart couldn’t help but sound every alarm bell it could.

Her parents had instilled in her from the moment she could talk in full sentences that people like the blond woman walking just slightly ahead was the greatest danger she could ever face.  They had taught at great length how the rich and powerful trample those they deem threats to their sovereignty, and Sade was always a diligent student.

Sade schooled her features to appear calm and attentive while on the inside, her heart beat so wildly she felt it could burst right out of her chest.

I just need to make it to the end of this hallway.  Sade chanted in her head.  Once I am in the next room, I will no longer be alone with a high elf.  She nearly cried out in joy when the corridor opened up into a large open room hosting a few other students milling around and several tables with more attendants sitting behind them.  With just a couple steps, she could already feel her rampaging emotions start to settle

“What is the purpose of those tables?”  Sade asked in the most calm and polite tone she could manage.  It would not be wise to let the noble know just how shaken that short walk had made her.

“They are there to ask a few more questions and ascertain if anyone has the brilliant idea of cheating.”  Ariwyn answered.

“Cheating?”

The young noble scoffed in disgust.  “Who knows what those talentless hacks will try to rise to our level.  It is all just a precaution though, no one has been stupid enough to try just yet.”

Sade had a feeling that there was more going on than what her rival had told her, but otherwise held her tongue.  She politely bade goodbye and walked towards the nearest attendant to see just what kind of measures were in place to keep the competitors in line.

As she came close, a subtle field of mana enveloped her.  The hairs on the back of her neck rose, and she mentally checked over her prepared spells.  They were out in the open, why would someone be casting a spell on her here?  And to what purpose?

With great mental effort, Sade managed to force herself to stop and observe her surroundings.  The attendant, presumably the one who had cast the unknown spell, had made no aggressive moments towards her.  In fact, he was merely sitting there, gazing at her expectantly.  Sade chided herself for getting so worked up and plopped down in the empty seat in front of the attendants’s table.

“Name?”  The man asked simply.

“Excuse me?”  Sade blinked.

“What is your name?”  He asked again with a bit more insistence.

“Sade of Kanho.”  She replied.  The subtle flow of magic around her shifted as she spoke.  It didn’t feel malicious just yet, but the feeling still made Sade’s nerves feel on edge.

After looking through a small stack of papers, the attendant once more looked up to meet her gaze.  “Are you a first year student at Mya University?”

“Yes.”

The moment the word left her lips, the spell surrounding her reacted.  Realization flooded her mind as she finally understood what was happening.  The man in front of her was casting a truth spell.  While highly complex, the spell’s effects were quite simple.  It detected if the person it was cast upon told the truth or lied.

Sade relaxed in her chair ever so slightly.  Her short time alone with Ariwyn must have triggered her cultivated paranoia a bit more than was strictly necessary.  She wasn’t going to be attacked here, her secrets had not been suddenly revealed out of nowhere.  She was still cautious though.  For as long as she was under the spell's effects, she would have to tell the truth.  Thankfully, there was quite a lot of nuance to what those sorts of spells considered ‘truth’.

Still, she did wonder why the school and Ariwyn’s family were going to such lengths to screen the contestants for a simple school tournament.  Was this simply how things were done and she just never heard about it?  It was possible.  Were the members of the noble houses just making sure nothing bad happened to their progeny?  Also possible.  For the moment, Sade will simply play along.

“What is your vocation?”  The man asked after a few more innocent questions passed between them.

Sade’s mouth curled back into a snarl.  “I decline to say.”  A vocation was a deeply personal thing for many people, a random stranger asking out of the blue was the height of rudeness.  And that was before Sade factored in her own feelings about her own choice in the matter.

“But you do have one?”  He asked, not even fazed by the fierce glare Sade was shooting his way.

“Yes.”

“How many times have you augmented your stats from leveling?”

So he was aware of how rude that question was.  Sade thought, but then came to a different conclusion.  Oh, ask the impolite question first, and the second question would seem a bit more reasonable, especially when phrased somewhat politely.

Much like asking about someone’s vocation, a person’s level was rarely shared outside those you were close to.  While not directly asking, the question was essentially a marginally more polite way of gaining that personal information.  It left some room for doubt, as not everyone spent all their points from leveling immediately much like Sade’s group had done.  But since most people spent their points the moment they received them, it was a minor distinction at best.

“I have only invested a single point.”  Sade finally answered.

“Wait- really?!”  The attendant asked.  He looked thoroughly confused by her answer.

“Yes.”  Once more, the truth spell activated and told him that she had indeed only invested a single point into her stats.

“Aren’t you one of the top ranked students in the academy?”

“I am.”

“How?”

Sade gave the most saccharine sweet smile she possessed.  “That’s a secret.”  As bound by the magic as she was, she would not divulge any more than she had to.  She had recently grown attached to honesty, but that desire only extended to the ones she loved.  A random school attendant with dubious loyalties was certainly not among those vaunted few.

Realizing that further inquiry into the subject was fruitless, the man sighed and continued with his line of questioning.  “Do you possess any magic items on your person at this moment in time?”

Sade’s brows rose.  “Yes, I do.”

Once more, the attendant looked confused.  “How many?”

“Just one.”

“And what does the item do?”

Sade shifted in her seat.  She really didn’t expect things to go this way.  “It is… a chestwrap.”  She answered, her cheeks burning with embarrassment at discussing such an intimate item with a stranger.

“And what does it do?”  He repeated.

“It is a chestwrap.  It wraps my chest.”  What was he expecting her to say?  That the piece of cloth keeping her tits from flopping around with every slight motion had the ability to conjure fireballs on command?

The attendant slammed his hands to the table and shot to his feet.  “Young lady!  You have openly admitted into bringing an enchanted item to this tournament which is a clear violation of the rules.  Now, I need you to stop acting coy and tell me what the enchantment is designed to do!”

Sade stood up as well, her own anger slowly boiling over.  Didn’t the man sense the truth in her words?  If he wouldn’t believe what she said, then she would just have to show him.  She gripped the clasp at the front of her robe, unhooked it, and pulled the two halves apart to reveal the disputed item in question.

“Good sir.  In case you may not have realized, I require a fair amount more support than what is typically provided by more mundane materials.”  She said while pointing to her bust, that while tightly bound and secured, still dominated the majority of her torso.  “It is a chestwrap.  That is all it does.  That is all it has ever done.  As I have tried explaining to you.”

The man tore his eyes away from her glorious chest with great difficulty.  It was then he noticed that Sade was still looming over him even though he was standing straight.  Her eyes bored into his with the intensity of a raging inferno.  She watched as it finally dawned on him that he perhaps had overstepped with someone not to be trifled with.

“I-I’m sorry about that.  B-but I c-can’t permit you to wear that during the tournament.”  He said with a stammer.

“Are you serious?!”

“Y-yes.  These are the rules.  I can’t make any exceptions.”

Sade would have argued further, but even through the red haze of her fury, she knew it wasn’t the man’s fault.  That still didn’t mean he wasn’t in the wrong for the way he went about doing his job.

“Fine then.  It seems I have no choice in the matter.”

Reaching up, she mentally commanded her wrappings to come undone.  With the seal broken, her breasts surged outward and practically launched the fabric forward into her awaiting hand.

The man’s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull when he beheld the full enormity of her softly jiggling mountains.  Sade should have felt embarrassed at baring herself in public, but the flames of her indignation had burned away any lingering shame she may have felt in the situation.  Plus, she had long since gotten used to casual nudity due to her nightly activities.

With a huff, she resealed her robe.  “Are there any other lingering issues you are required to resolve?  I would prefer this be finished quickly.”

“Wha-?  Oh, n-no, no.”  He coughed to regain his composure.  “You would just need to leave the item with one of us and you can claim it after your match has concluded.”

Her eyes narrowed in displeasure.  She looked around, hoping to find a female attendant to hold onto her things.  She would not be leaving something so valuable with a man, especially not the one who started this whole mess in the first place.  At about two tables down, Sade spotted a woman in the same official uniform as the male attendant.

“I will leave my wrappings with her.”  Sade announced before turning on her heels and strolling away.

The woman saw her coming.  The mild shouting match and her near disrobing had succeeded in drawing the eye of everyone in the room.  Another wave of embarrassment tried to overwhelm Sade but she stomped it back down with the force of her cooling anger.  She would not be ashamed of the wonderful body she had painstakingly crafted over nearly the course of a year.

“I have risked life and limb in order to afford this.  Do not lose it.”  Sade said cooly while presenting her magical undergarment to the woman.

The female attendant gulped.  “Y-yes, of course my lady.”

“I am a commoner.  There is no need for formal titles with me.”  Sade said in a softer tone.  She slightly bowed her head to the woman to show her sincerity.  “I apologize for my outburst.  I will endeavor to be more calm in the future.”

Her task complete, Sade moved over to a free seat in a more secluded corner of the room.  She pointedly ignored the stares and blushing faces that surrounded her and focused on reigning in her turbulent emotions.  She would need to be in full control when it was her turn to fight.

Soon, more students began to file in and deal with the attendants' questions.  She was glad to find out that her situation with the enchanted item rule wasn’t a unique occurrence, although her episode was still the most dramatic.  It would seem there would be a whole slew of rumors flying around the school after this.

When everyone, including the fellow study group members who had qualified to be in the tournament, was all situated an attendant explained how the matches would be structured and the safety measures they had put into place to prevent them from coming to harm.

The next surprise was the magical display that allowed everyone to view the fights even though they were stuck waiting their turn in the staging room.  Sade watched in mild consternation as Ariwyn effortlessly dominated her opponent with a single ‘meteor swarm’ spell.  She had long suspected that the high elf was a magus.  Seeing those distinctive colors and the overwhelming power of her spell all but confirmed it.

“What are you going to do Sade?”  Hattepa asked.  Her face betrayed just how worried she was for her friend.

“The only thing I can do, my best.”  Sade replied.

The new information on her self-proclaimed rival wasn’t completely outside Sade’s predictions.  Ariwyn was skilled and had the raw power to sweep away nearly anyone who stood against her.  Sade was far from just anyone however, and she would soon be able to prove it.

The time soon came for her to enter the arena.  Many of her friends who already fought wished her luck as she made her way out of the staging room.  Her opponent walked beside her, choosing to focus inwards rather than distract himself with pointless chatter.  He knew who he was facing, Sade would not be going easy on him.  That was admirable.

It was as they finally exited the short tunnel and she beheld the roaring crowd that Sade realized there would be a slight hiccup in how she expected things to go.

Her breasts were still unbound.

She did her best to distract herself from the feeling of her nipples rubbing against the insides of her robes and the rising heat in her cheeks by looking for Rick and the others.  She found them near the front row cheering her on.  She gingerly gave a wave back, careful not to jostle her chest too much, and took her place opposite her fellow competitor.

“Are the two of you prepared?”  The dean of Mya University asked them both with a soft voice, barely augmented by the voice amplification magic.  They both gave a nod of confirmation.  Sade concentrated on her opening move.  She would need to be swift and precise in order to finish this quickly.

The wizzend human smiled proudly and raised his hand into the air.  “Very well.  Ready… Begin!”

No sooner had the words left his lips than the unexpected happened.

The audience grew silent as a pulse of magic shot out from the other student and a shining barrier surrounded him only a heartbeat after the match began.

“W-What the fuck?!”  The student cried.

“Language.”  The dean lightly admonished before the experienced mage turned to face Sade.  “Young lady, did you cast a spell?”

“I did.”  She said with a nod.

“Impossible!  You didn’t even move!”  Her opponent raged from within his shiny bubble.  Indeed, Sade had not taken a single step away from her starting position, or even raised her arms.

“Sade, do you mind casting your spell again for us?”  Professor Armondo asked while hiding a sly smile underneath his thick hands.  “The barrier should hold up to whatever you throw at him.”

Sade nodded her head and let the magic within her flow once more.  Near instantly, the sound of something shattering into tiny pieces filled their ears.  The student in the bubble flinched as his shining barrier rippled with the impact.

Armondo strolled over to where the student stood and picked up a small object from the floor.  “This is ice.”  He said while holding the slowly dripping chunk up high for the others to see.  “Did you launch an ice spike young lady?”

Sade nodded once more.  “I did.  A small one from the tip of my finger.”

The dean stroked his long beard in thought.  “Impressive use of a simple spell.  But a small Ice spike shouldn't have had the ability to trip the protective enchantment.”

“Normally that would be the case.”  Sade replied.  “But a small object flying at great speed still hits with significant force, especially when aimed at sensitive areas like the throat.”

All three men’s eyes grew wide with understanding.  The other student's face went pale at the implication.  If not for the protective enchantment, Sade would have killed the young man without him ever realizing what had just happened.

“Impressive my girl!  Quite a unique strategy to employ.  I for one can’t wait to see what sort of tricks you pull off next!”  The dean shouted in excitement.  He faced the still stunned crowd and raised his hands into the air.  “This concludes the first round for our wonderful first year students!  I hope the next batch will be just as entertaining!”

With a polite bow to the still confused audience, both Sade and her opponent stepped off the field together.  With any luck, Sade could quickly rewrap her chest and hurry home.

She had to celebrate her first victory after all.