Merylin stifled a yawn, raising the fan she held within her hand to hide the slightly twisted expression upon her face. How dull this sort of thing was. Living in the upper echelons of a sect meant that she was not unschooled in the arts of war, but the melee's she had watched so far were messy and ungraceful. At one point, she had witnessed a bear of a man simply walk around the perimeter of the stage shoving weaker opponents off, yet being unable to be removed himself. How was that proving his martial arts in any manner?
Of course, that had been in the outer school and Merylin and Maimai had followed their father and his guards to the inner school to watch the inner school students fight in the afternoon.
Normally, the sect leader would not be the one attending the Standings, however, daddy had wished to see his two precious daughters, so had decided to witness this year personally. The Standings were not only good for students and Teachers, but for sects and kingdoms seeking to recruit or seeking to further their own youngsters talents. Their sect had five youths in the outer school and three within the inner school. Their father was seeing how they had progressed as much as to seek new talent.
"Oh look Merylin!" Maimai said, gleefully. "I see Leo over there and he's with his warrior friend." Merylin's eyes shot forward with little discretion as Maimai pointed out the handsome youth. Honestly, she had been very disappointed to hear that he would not be participating in the Standings. Merylin had thought it was compulsory. "Ah! If he's not participating, could that mean he is actually a first year, like us?"
"This is possible," Merylin agreed, softly, feeling the knot unwind in her stomach. Why had she not thought of that?
"Who is this Leo?" Their father growled, sullenly, his eyes narrowing as he glanced around to see which brazen youth had captured his baby girl's attentions.
"Leo is a senior student alchemist," Maimai replied. "He gave me some tips for refining pills, even though I had broken his glasses by mistake. He never blamed me for it." With the mention of the glasses aiding him, the man zeroed in on the slight youth with white striped hair and thick spectacles. He sat with other youths, a few of which had strong auras and confident bearings. The boy practically disappeared in presence amongst them. Why would that sort of boy attract his Maimai's attention?
"I do not approve," he grumbled.
"What in heavens daddy!" Maimai exclaimed. "Leo is not interested in me that way! He was only being helpful as he knew what it was like to mess up when making pills!"
"What's wrong with the boy? My precious daughter not good enough in his eyes?"
"Daddy! You are being ridiculous!" Maimai pouted.
Merylin fluttered her fan in front of her face, inwardly agreeing with her sister. Besides, she was not interested in Leo, but the person beside him. When will you notice that I am better than him? she wondered wistfully, sure that if she could just show him how superior her pills were to other alchemists in the outer school, she could get him to truly see her. Or maybe if not her pills, maybe her position in the sect? She could help him obtain all sorts of advantages if he joined their sect!
Pleased with her plan, she gave a small, half smile as her eyes fell upon the stage that now had just twelve people standing upon it. One, a youth with brown hair saluted and bowed in their direction, his eyes clearly focused upon her. Ugh, she disliked that boy, Justin. He was one of those born within the sect, his father one of her father's close subordinates. A plain, freckled youth who had always liked to try give her bugs and spiders when they were small. He was uncouth and his martial arts only a bit above average. He completely lacked the grace and inner strength of nobility that of a certain First year, her eyes crept over to at that moment.
Her fan fluttered as she sighed, dreamily.
Jin Li shivered as if someone had dropped ice into his inner robes.
"Are y-you alright?" Leon asked him.
"Yes," Jin Li replied, dismissively, causing Leon to simply shrug.
"The guest rooms are likely all full," Pike was saying. "I don't think we'll have a spare bed for Leo, but it's troublesome for you to keep travelling back and forth to your school."
"How did you get here this morning?" Sun asked curiously, as he was aware that they had both been at the alchemist school over night.
"Griffin," Jin Li replied.
"We m-m-met with T-Teacher Sagi, who h-happened t-t-to b-be travelling over w-with others," Leon confirmed. "Th-they m-m-might still b-be g-going b-back."
"Maybe," Pike replied, but wasn't sure. There were spare accommodations for teachers after all as lectures could be performed by teachers from any of the other schools as well as their own.
"It does not matter," Jin Li said, suddenly. "Leon can simply stay with us." Sun did not bother to protest, he knew once Jin Li had spoken, he would not change his mind.
Bowyer frowned. "Why do you call him Leon not Leo?"
"It's his name."
"It is?"
By the end of the first day, Bowyer and Pike were not first and second place, but they were in the top five, being placed third and fourth. In the last group, a team of six had annihilated the competition, claiming thirty five of the people pushed off stage and becoming the only ones left standing. They had not allowed any others to stand with them. As they also had two extra bodies during their group, they also could claim extra points over all. Two members within their team took the first and second spot.
But perhaps the scariest person to participate in the melee was in the third group. This group had the most survivors, so the least bonus points over all, but one youth, notable due to his blazing red hair and sharply set eyes removed fifteen people from the stage by himself. Pike told them that his name was Ari and he was currently first in the overall Standings. Although he had only claimed joint eighth, he would most definitely rise to be top three in Pike's opinion.
"Round one is a little luck as well as skill," Pike said truthfully. The next round would be a little of the same as well. In the second round, the two hundred and fifty two students of the inner school would be split into teams of six and again there would be a time limit. In this round, weapons were allowed, but again abilities were not. The teams would be random, made up of a top student, three mid rank students and two bottom ranked students and they would get little time to discuss tactics, before being placed against another team. All this was based on the previous years Standings. The team that won would receive ten points per member, the team that lost would receive nothing and each team gained three chances. This would naturally mean that there would be many, many matches and all had to be completed within the day. Therefore, the smaller battlegrounds would be opened for the matches, with Teachers spread thin to cast final judgements.
But that would begin tomorrow, Pike and Bowyer did not know which team they would be placed in, but it was impossible that they would be in the same team. They would find out in the morning. Jin Li, Sun and Leon ate a meal with them before retiring to the outer school dormitories.
Leon could not contain the yawns that spilled from his throat. The day had seemed quite long and too exciting for him, he did not even protest when Jin Li directed him to his bed. There were only two in the room, one was obviously Sun's, but it was not as if Leon and Jin Li had not shared a mattress before.
Leon's excuses regarding his name had been a bit thin, claiming it had been a spelling error on the paperwork for entry into the school and it was too difficult to explain and besides, he was used to it by now. The whole thing was shrugged away, it was not as if his explanation was impossible after all.
"I was wondering who that girl referred to when she spoke of a Leo," Jin Li had muttered to himself, causing Leon to ask;
"W-what g-g-girl?"
Jin Li had given him a cold glare then said no more, leaving both Sun and himself curious. Pike and Bowyer had looked at each other, coughed into their fists then changed the subject, deciding to praise the skills of the two women who were currently in the top ten. One of whom, Luna, was the only woman within the existing top ten of the Standings. Bowyer had wondered aloud whether she would maintain her place. She was currently eighth as of last year, having beaten Pike by just two points. She was skilled, but had a tendency to rely on others and a run of good luck had pushed her into a good position that she had not fallen from.
The other woman had been a first year last year, so this was her first time in the Standings. Pike and Bowyer did not know much about her at all as she had flown under their radar all of this time.
With Leon having fallen asleep almost the moment his head hit the pillow and Sun having slipped into dreamland not long after, Jin Li lie upon his side and stared at the youth beside him for a while. Without his thick glasses marring his face and his long hair spilling about his small frame, he definitely had a slightly more feminine look. His waist was still skinny and there was a complete lack of muscle upon his thin arms and he lacked presence over all. But he had been warm upon Jin Li's back and his pale face coloured really easily, which amused Jin Li for some reason. He also revealed his emotions far too easily through his lips, his eyes being too hidden usually.
But what bothered Jin Li the most, was why he was so interested in the reactions that followed the revelation that a man could be interested in a man. Leon had been embarrassed, but that was over the loudness of his voice when others had stopped to listen, and he had become almost sullen when Sun had questioned it. Yet he had not sounded disgusted at all that a man could love another man. Well, neither had Bowyer nor Pike.
Jin Li rolled into his back. As for himself, he had never thought about it before. He had lived his whole life upon his family estate and his focus had been his cultivation and training. His father had his mother as wife and his mother, being the strong martial artist she was, would never allow other women to warm his bed, so learning that his uncle had a wife and several concubines had been a revelation at that time. He had stated that he would marry a strong martial artist like his mother, but he never once thought beyond that. As for sharing said wife's bed.... he could not imagine it. Only Leon had dared crawl into his bed and he had cursed him for it at the time, but now... well the warmth he produced was convenient, he supposed.
And on that thought he rolled over once more and went to sleep.
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