Chapter 25: 25 GAME ON
The Entrance Games.
The Island Gauntlet.
It was just as the draft letter said. They were starting before their boots even hit University ground. The first game was one of inspection and threat gauging. But if what Ursula said was true that meant they weren't a team….
He didn't like that. In his mind, it went against everything.
If Claude had any inkling of disbeleif in her words, they were washed away as Riley and her sister began walking around the room, studying the students as they changed.
"Are they in on it?" Claude thought as Riley stood over him. She'd taken her hair out of the ponytail and it now flowed around her shoulders like a golden halo. At some point she'd also dawned a glossy sheen of lipstick.
"Damn, tiger-boy..... those scars look new." Her eyes were low. Her voice took on a sultry edge that made his spine tingle. She swept her cloak off her shoulders and leaned down so they were eye to eye. Only, the blouse of her uniform was unbuttoned so his eye accidentally strayed to the obvious cleavage she was sporting.
"Looking for something to scratch?" She questioned. She smelled like apples and cinnamon.
"N-No..." Claude hopped backwards an inch as he hopped into his pants.
"Then HURRY UP!" She was back to her violent self in a flash as she tied her hair up.
Claude nearly fell as he jumped.
"Skinner House members are basically trained to have personality disorders." Ursula whispered as she picked up his shirt and tossed it to him.
"What-- why?..... oh. Wow." Claude put it all together then as Riley continued to walk around the room, shifting shape in mind and intimidating in everything else.
Skinner was an assassin. But she didn't assassinate high value human targets. She assassinated monsters; by wearing the pelts of their kin and acting so unnaturally like them, you'd mistake her for whatever shape she wore no matter what. He read it was a skill she learned as a child when she fell upon a clan of werebears in search of food. Like a children's story gone horribly wrong.
Naturally, members of her house would foster the same traits. It seemed Riley was looking to use the abilities she learned in human social settings, shifting personalities to fit the scenarios it needed.
If House Skinner was already this…. unique, he couldn't imagine what other Houses were like. Something to consider at a later time, he had a game to play.
And a shirt to put on.
The University uniform wasn't what he imagined. But, that was only because he never imagined a uniform. Heroes were all about uniqueness and standing on their own. Even in teams— like The Nine, every member was unique.
RedVine was a ghastly giant of a woman who seldom made a sound with anything other than her carnivorous fire breathing plants.
Ronin was a rogue samurai wielding both Excalibur and the last Muramasa blade with expertise met by none.
Their most consistent aspect was their uniqueness.
And yet, there he stood in the portal-room, aspiring to be like them, and looking no different from anyone else.
The navy-blue uniforms were sleek. It almost felt like a silk hybrid. Something stitched and interwoven with a leathery-like substance to double as both an armor and fashion statement.
The tingle of magic within the fabrics made his arm hairs raise and stomach summersault.
At the left side of his chest, a Phoenix rising from the ashes of death rose in bright orange. Just below, his last name written in navy blue was outlined by a matching orange.
"Wait…. Why did we give out our names then?" Claude thought.
Before he could ask Ursula— who fortunately knew more than everyone else it seemed, Riley cut through the students and stood beside a glowing blue portal to his left. The labeled destination above read, "Glorian Islands".
"That's inside the arctic circle….. Less terrestrial creatures and more semi aquatic warm blooded large predators and cold blooded monstrosities. Varying biomes. No wolves. Few canine species at all… I think. Dammit." Claude sheathed his charmers flute.
Riley looked around and began counting down, causing everyone to rush to strap on their armor— knowing if they didn't make the time they'd be expelled. Probably just as painfully as Alan the noble.
In a rush, students began jumping through the portal.
It was jarring.
One second, he was in a small room. Familiar in scent and sound as students scuffled and Riley roared at them to hurry— bolstering their anxiety. Then the next, he could literally feel how expansive his world had become.
The winds howled from miles upon miles beyond, carrying the icy edge of ocean coldness in their breath. Carrying smells of untamed salted wildlands, pure petrichor from a heavy rain and blood.
The sun wasn't very bright. It was the ocean for as far as he could see, reflecting its rays like a sheet of pure diamond that made his eyes squint.
Splitting the blue were an innumerable amount of islands. Some rested atop mountains, others lay hidden in deep forestry or spread like massive pockets of sand left by giants. Between it all, a black castle sat at the edges of a cliff. A ring of cloud-like steam barricaded its spires, shifting colors as glow lanterns lining the stairway blew in the wind.
Claude shivered, turning around to find a cliff face looming over them.
The portal they came from sat at the deepest point of a cut in the mountain, leaving them in a psuedo-tunnel of wet stone. It did a terrible job dampening the roar of the winds. Its surface was dark and weathered but he could just make out the old engravings of runes. If only he was more literate in arcane texts, maybe it could've told him something.
Out of nowhere the grounds shook and wet dark sand rose like dull confetti.
They fell like meteors. At least some of them did. Others fell like feathers on a windless day.
"Welcome to the Entrance Games." The man's accent was Arthurian— more northern than Gil's accent. Somewhere around the Emerald Key. He imagined The Red Knight sounded similar. They even looked similar in his mind. The man was massive and red haired at least. His cloak hid the rest. "My name is Professor Brennan. My peers behind me will get more familiarized with you all after you survive your first challenge. You won't know when it ends, when it started or what way is best to do things without having some faith in yourselves. Those are the muscles we're working here. Survival, intelligence, planning and ability efficiency. Not what we can teach you, but what you already have, and what you can pick up along the way. Naturally."
The students nodded in understanding as he yelled over the winds.
"Your one and only task is to get to Center-Island. There, a supply drop may be awaiting you. For the remaining duration of this event, we will routinely drop off supplies there and it's up to you all and the others how they're shared…. Or not."
"There's no teams? Gosh! Are we fighting each other?" Finn asked.
"This is the wild. The rules are as you make them. You may fight eachother, you may all band together to survive the hordes. But the end goal is three."
"Three?" Claude thought.
Prof. Brennan seemed to read his mind as he glanced in his direction, only a set of stern flat lips visible under the shadows of his hood, "The three of you that have the most island's claimed and monsters slain will get a reward and seat beside your House Champion upon entrance into the University. One point per kill, five points per island claimed. If you beat someone higher on the leaderboard than you, their points and spot is yours. Those of you that don't make house champion will fall into the Houses that choose you based on how you perform here. There are nine Houses to choose from, all lead and sponsored by each respective member of The Nine. Do your best."
Claude could feel himself warming at the prospect of what was to come. At the thought of what lied beyond.
"You have until sundown to get to Center-Island. Then the ocean awakens. You have one minute to get off this island before the mountain does the same." Prof. Brennan and the five other Professors were off in a burst of wind, literally flying off towards the University. He tried to follow their travels but they dove into the forested island canopies and disappeared.
"Funny….. He didn't say where Center-Island was." Finn commented as he adjusted his horribly oversized knights helmet.
Xander rolled his eyes, "That's not funny at all. It's practical. Another test. Every action here defines us. It hones the blade that is our mind and the shield that is our bod—"
"Enough with the pretentious ramblings, you sound like my father." A chubby pale skinned boy with dark oily hair said as he pushed his way to the front of the group, spitting on the ground.
Where his saliva hit the sand, it sizzled and turned to glass.
"And who would you be?" Emma asked from beside Xander.
"Burp. Who here manipulates water?" Burp questioned.
Claude had already started tearing off his armor. "Nineteen….. twenty.."
Ursula followed along. Slowly, the others did the same…
Aside from three students who banded together to think of a more efficient mode of travel that didn't risk frost bite or death to sea based predators.
Beside Claude, a slender blonde haired girl cursed as she peeled off her light armor and took a moment to warm herself up.
"Twenty five…. Twenty six." Claude bit down on his charmers flute. His adrenaline surged like fire in his veins, powered by new and old magics.
He took off for the waters and dove in.
"Thirty—"
The cut mountain behind them unfurled and roared from a face made of twisted jagged boulders. The thirty foot tall golem eyed the three students that stayed behind a single time before stomping them out of existence.
Claude never saw what remained. He hit the waters in stride— too stunned from the glacial freeze to process fear.
Beside him he could hear a number of students fall victim to shock. Their choked gasps blended in with the splash of flailing swimmers before entirely fading.
He steeled himself and paddled. He'd been bathing in rivers his whole life— even in winter. It gave him a level of resistance that just barely avoided death.
The waters vibrated and swayed as the giant golem swatted at the shoreline edges of its home island. It even started tearing chunks of stone off its shoulders and throwing them at the students.
Claude still couldn't catch his breath. He forced himself to inhale by pushing out an exhale through his chattering teeth. Then he dove under the icy waves.
A stone to the skull was the last thing he wanted. If the waves could slow the impact to any degree, his chance of survival increased.
That's all that mattered.
Survival.
After an unknown amount of time, the stone shower stopped. Their newest threat was hypothermia.
[You are taking minor Frost Damage! Continuous exposure will send you into hypothermic shock!]
[95….94…93…85% HP Remaining!]
He pushed until the numbness in his fingers, feet and legs was washed away by the burn of muscle fatigue. Beside him, a larger built student doggy paddled with limbs cloaked in fire. The other students surrounded him in search of his warmth. The three other fire element users did the same.
It was just like Prof. Brennan said.
"L-L-L-Look everyone!" Finn said, "Our f-f-f-first island is near!"
Claude stopped paddling and looked ahead. It all used to feel so far.
Now, no more than a hundred feet out, an island loomed. Empty and barren with mounds of uneven sand and dead tropical trees.
"Push….." Claude told himself as he got back to swimming under an endless clear sky.
As if the cold waters had suddenly begun to freeze time itself, the final stretch went on for hours. Claude was crying from the burn in his limbs and freeze in his joints.
[70% HP Remaining]
Students cursed and clawed at the water. Fire element users blew their mana in an attempt to warm themselves.
Death came with outstretched hands.
At least that's what Claude thought. Then he realized it was his own hand, gripping warm sand.
He didn't have the energy to celebrate. Maybe he did, it was just frozen beneath a thousand layers of ice and newly made trauma.
Sand had never felt so heavenly. He almost wanted to eat it as he pulled himself onto land.
The remaining students followed in. Some were blue— like Juli. She was too small for such a task, but still, she made it. With her sword on top of that, putting her as the only student still carrying a weapon.
Burp looked like he was holding in puke.
Xander and Emma came in on a boat made of ice. Completely dry.
The slender blonde haired girl from before came on land looking like a cat out of a bath. Her uniform hugged her tightly. Her hair cupped her round head and made her ears stick out like a goblin. "You two lovebirds didn't feel like sharing??!"
"What's your name?" Xander asked as he dusted himself off and stood over everyone else.
"Stella."
"Ok, Stella. I think it's quite obvious why I did what I did, we only had one minute to leave. I'm only Level three, meaning I couldn't make a raft dense enough to house all of you—"
"Where's Ursula?" Claude was on his feet— bones already warmed. He looked around at everyone, those who were present shrugged.
Claude looked back out at sea, finding a collection of bubbles twenty feet out.
Xander took a step closer to him from his left, "Be smart, Claude. We still don't know where Center-Island is—"
"Shut-up."
Claude dove in the water. Again.
The shock didn't hit him so hard the second time in. He moved by the feeling of the cold as much as by the sight of his eyes. He moved like a sea serpent on the hunt, following the fire-element users warmer trail as it faintly lingered in the calmed waves. Trying to stave off the encroaching frost bite nipping at his fingers and toes.
The suns rays cut through the deep glacial blue waters, highlighting Ursula's sinking frame behind a wall of debris.
Steam and frothy bubbles flowed off her as she raged at death and the pain of drowning. Her skin was so red, she glowed like a fireball. He could see her relation to the red knight then.
Maybe he was hallucinating. He could've laughed if he imagined it, saving the red knight himself.
When their hands touched, her warmth was like a healing boost and lightning rod that sent him rushing back to the surface. Good timing too considering a horde of arctic eels were coming from hundreds of feet below. They looked like oversized leeches with endless rows of glacial serrated fangs. They slithered like ribbons in the wind.
Claude raced, pulling Ursula along. He could feel them at the back of his neck. Fangs itching and digging into his frozen skin, but when he spared a glance backward, they sank behind a sheet of ice. Mere feet from them.
In those moments she felt like a heated anvil. When Claude breached the surface, his skull felt close to explosion.
"What a save!" Finn grabbed Claude by his only free arm and dragged him and Ursula out of the water like they weighed nothing.
Claude didn't remember archers being that strong. He didn't care in those moments.
Ursula plopped down in the sand on her back. Claude fell down to his knees beside her, ready to give cpr as best he could. But before his hands could touch her, she roared and a mouthful of icy water flew for the sky.
Too angry to drown.
"Berserker…" Claude huffed as he looked at her with a faint smile.
"Fish." Ursula replied and put a fist to his chest.
It seemed Claude noticed then at the same time as everyone else.
The underside of Ursula's uniform arm sleeve glowed. From a distance it looked like specks of glowing shapes in a box. But the grid overlaying the shapes and longitude and latitude degrees running the perimeter gave it all away.
"A map—"
"Shut up." Burp said as he walked over to Finn and grabbed his arm and turned it over.
"What are you doing? Why don't you look at your own map?" Finn asked innocently. His balding crop of blonde hair was already dry along with the rest of his poorly fit uniform.
"Because unlike you, I like to preserve my mana. Now hold still." Burp made Finn keep his arm out.
In the following seconds, a glowing top-view layout of the Glorian Island's rose from the markings on his uniform.
"Yes of course, I'm sure these uniforms have a number of functions dependent on our mana. It's a clean, relatively weightless energy source that can be used at the drop of a hat." Xander pulled up his own map. "It's marked our locations as well."
Claude looked at Finn's map as he helped up Ursula.
There was at least forty more islands between them and Center-Island.
Around them, three large islands were recently claimed.
He found himself thinking of Samuel and Tai then, wondering where they were on the islands, what condition they were in— they'd been in the Island Gauntlet for weeks.
The thought faded as he looked around at everyone briefly studying their maps.
They hadn't even started the real event and already…..
They went from fifteen to nine participants.
All heroes of the future, dead for basically nothing. To make a statement. To feign danger.
"What the hell is this place?"
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