Chapter 22: A Sparring Session?!
Noah wasn’t sure if he heard that right.
“A sparring session?!” he blinked. “Isn’t that a little too sudden?”
“What preparation do you even need?” Anna scoffed. “Besides, it’s a sparring session, not an actual fight to the death or anything of that sort.”
“I—I guess. But wait a minute. What do you mean by the loser having to join the winner’s guild?”
“It’s exactly as it sounds. If you lose, you leave your guild to join ours. If you win, the person you beat will join your guild.”
Noah saw right through her plan. Even if he won, Anna would probably be glad to dispose of the person he beat. While he was curious about the progress of his classmates, he decided it wasn’t worth the risk.
“Sorry, I don’t think—”
“Duel me then. Same conditions still apply.”
Was this girl being serious?
“Um…sorry? You want me to duel you?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with that?”
“So if I win—”
“Then I’ll join Spark Nimbus,” Anna casually said.
What sort of mind games was she playing? Was she that desperate to see him in action? Noah considered the possibilities. In the extremely unlikely scenario that he did win, having Anna in their guild would likely be more trouble than it was worth. She was unpredictable, reckless, and Tanna would probably reject her outright.
“I still don’t think—”
Anna snapped. “Look, I’m trying to be diplomatic with you, but do you even realise the situation you’re in?”
Noah shut his mouth. Perhaps he had pushed it a little too far. As long as they were in her domain, she held all power over them.
“Tell you what. You don’t have to duel me, but you will be duelling with your fellow A-ranked friend,” she giggled again. “I believe that would serve me the most amount of entertainment.”
Her mood swings were unsettling, but Noah focused on her words. A-ranked friend? Only one person came to mind.
Sophie’s face paled. “She’s talking about Marcus, isn’t she?”
"Yeah, but it looks like I don’t have a choice.”
“Do I have to fight too?” Sophie asked meekly.
“Of course not! You wouldn’t stand a chance!” Anna tutted, opening the door. “You just follow along like a good girl and watch the show.”
They followed her as she led them down a massive hallway, the heavily carpeted floor masking their footsteps. Sunlight streamed in from the wide glass windows on one wall, while pottery and portraits lined the other. Surprisingly, the place didn’t really feel antique at all. In fact, it almost felt as if he were walking down the corridor of a hotel. He could envision something similar in a high-end Greek resort back in his own world.
He wandered over to the window to take in the view, which he had to admit, was spectacular. The palace was situated at the highest point of the city, offering a stunning panorama of the area below. Past the lush gardens and adjacent wings of the palace, he could see the innermost wall protecting the compound.
Beyond that lay the ostentatious houses of the richer residents of the kingdom. Further still, fading into the distance, lay the tightly packed houses of the common folk.
“Almost there! Just a little more to the guildhouse…” Anna sang as she skipped ahead.
“Guildhouse?” Noah echoed.This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
“Yeah! That’s our main living quarters. According to the Lattice, every guild can only have one building count as the guildhouse. This is important, because the guildhouse is the only safe zone in the entire compound, meaning it’s the only place here where combat is disabled.”
They made their way down a flight of stairs and crossed a courtyard until they arrived at another building. It was almost as large as the main palace itself, its refined architecture making it clear that it was still part of the palace grounds.
“Give me a second to get them. In the meantime, you two just stay put,” Anna ordered before disappearing into the guildhouse.
A couple of minutes later, Noah heard Marcus’s boisterous voice before he could even see him.
“Man, and I thought we could finally get some rest today… I really hope whatever we’re doing is at least fu—”
The two of them made eye contact with each other as soon as he stepped through the front door.
“N-Noah? Sophie?” Marcus gasped. Behind him, Noah could see the rest of his classmates who had also been transported into the dungeon, mirroring his shock on their faces.
Anna floated beside him. “How’d you like my little surprise?” she winked.
“Surprise? Wh-why are they here?!” Marcus exclaimed. “Didn’t you kill—I mean, you know…”
“I did. But they survived,” Anna declared, almost as if she were proud of the fact.
“But how? And where are the rest of them?”
Noah’s brief feeling of satisfaction faded. While they had made it out, it was also true that the rest of his lower-ranked group, other than Sophie, hadn’t. Josh, Ashley, Ms Hana… Noah made sure to commit their names to memory.
Fortunately, Anna answered the jarring question for him. “Oh, they simply fought their way out. As for the others—well, they weren’t so lucky,” she sighed theatrically. “Now isn’t that disappointing? I’d offer a handkerchief for those who wish to weep, but, alas, I seem to have none on me.”
Marcus recovered from his shock faster than the rest of his classmates. “If they managed to escape, it means the dungeon must’ve been piss easy!” he declared, holding his palm up. A tiny flame danced on his hand. “Surely I or any of us higher-ranked magicians would’ve made it out as well!”
“Now, I wouldn’t know about that…” Anna smirked under her breath.
“What do you mean? You called them haplens, right? That means they’re D-Ranked or lower! They’re like… at least three Ranks lower than me!” Marcus retorted with confidence.
Noah recalled being referred to by that term before. Based on Marcus’s words, it was probably a derogatory term used to describe lower-ranked magicians. He also observed that Marcus and the others had been taught some of the common lingo used by the citizens of this world, probably one of the privileges of serving under her.
Anna’s expression transitioned into an enormous grin. “Why don’t you duel Noah then? I’m sure you’re dying to prove yourself over him!”
Now it was Marcus’s turn to get excited. “Do I get anything if I win?”
“Nope!”
“Ah whatever, I’ll just use this for practice. Nothing personal man,” Marcus shrugged, turning his attention back to Noah. “Right, so where do we settle this?”
Anna began walking down a separate footpath. “We have a training arena just a little further ahead. Without further ado, let us commence forth!”
After a few minutes of walking, the group arrived at an open-air stadium resembling a mini Colosseum.
“Our two fighters—please proceed to the arena floor. The rest of you can find a good spot to sit and watch the battle!” instructed Anna. “The duel ends when I have personally deemed a victor. I have several top-quality medics who specialise in healing magic at my disposal, so don’t be afraid of hurting your opponent. The only rule is that you’re not allowed to kill them, is that understood?”
Noah was only half-listening. From the moment he had heard of the upcoming battle, he had been busy formulating a plan. He wasn’t sure how adept Marcus was with his Inferno Talent, but he couldn’t afford to underestimate his opponent. As he had been told, it was a rare and powerful Talent that granted its users the ability to manipulate fire with impressive dexterity. He had to find a way to stall while he waited for Zero to take effect.
For that, he had to make use of all three of his Void Talent Skills –Suppression, Vitality and Shackles. However, it was too risky to activate all of them as soon as the battle commenced. It would be like putting all his eggs into one basket, and he likely wouldn’t have a counter to whatever Marcus’s first move was.
Instead, he planned to react as soon as Marcus attacked. In the first thirty seconds after Zero was activated, Marcus’s movements should slow significantly. His fiery attacks should lose most of their potency, and most importantly, his HP should drop by a substantial amount.
Anna had mentioned that killing his opponent was against the rules, not that he would’ve done so anyway. But it did also mean that he had to carefully monitor Marcus’s health to ensure he didn’t push him too close to the edge.
He might have once questioned whether Zero would’ve worked on a fellow human, but he had already confirmed that it did when he tested it on the bandits back in Cressio Woods. He had Alatair to thank for that. The Elder had given his mental fortitude an encouraging nudge back then, and it appeared that he had indeed made the right decision.
Noah made his way towards his corner of the arena. All his other thoughts vanished as he focused on the battle. The stakes were scarily high. If he lost, he would have to quit Spark Nimbus and join Anna’s guild, whatever they were called.
Marcus casually strolled over to his side of the arena. “Hey Noah!” he called. “Look, like I said, I have nothing against you, so I’ll make it quick, okay? Come to think of it, you were the one who got an F-Rank, right?”
“Yeah…”
“So that means you don’t have a Talent?”
Noah remained silent.
“Alright man, keep your secrets. We’ll find out soon enough.”
“Looks like our two participants are ready!” Anna announced. “Very well. Let the battle begin!”