L.E. Miranda
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SSR - Chapter 66: Tournament (1)
🕑 Added 2025-01-26 21:21:06 +0000 UTCRegis Flameheart looked through the window at the crowd of students entering the Academy grounds for the exams with a smile. Standing in a corridor inside the building closest to the entrance, he took in the view. Hundreds of young, hopeful Mages following their dream. It was a good sight. Even though he had gone through the same process, the number of applicants still amazed him. He ran his fingers over the insignia on his blue robe, right over his heart. He had been like them, and he had succeeded.
“I wonder which ones will be our underclassmen soon,” he said, looking to the side and facing a raven-haired, blue-eyed young woman.
“It’s too early to say. The tournament hasn’t started yet,” Lillia replied.
He nodded.
“Yeah, I know. It’s just fun to think about. I managed to see a few good ones in the crowd.”
She grinned, traces of mirth dancing in her eyes.
“Just say you’re looking for beautiful girls.”
“What? No!”
“After so many years, you still don’t know how to lie to me. They’re too young for you, you creep.”
Regis frowned and started bickering with his sister, who was laughing at him. Still, his chest felt warm. After everything that had happened to them, he and Lillia had gotten closer and managed to be there for each other. He gave her a helpless smile.
Their ‘argument’ was interrupted by heavy steps and hurried breathing. Regis turned and looked to the side, seeing Liam running toward them. The other students in the hallway stepped to the side, staring at him as he passed them. Once he got within two meters of the siblings, he stopped, catching his breath, his blond hair soaked with sweat. Regis blinked.
“Liam? What’s going on?” he asked with a furrowed brow. Lillia stayed silent but also stared at Liam. Liam’s expression was filled with myriad emotions as he looked at them, including confusion and wariness.
“Your brother,” Liam stopped to catch his breath again, but both Regis and Lillia had already flinched. “He’s here.”
Regis stared at him for a full second, processing what he’d just heard before his eyes widened. He immediately stepped closer to Liam and grabbed his shoulders.
“Aelfric!? What’s Aelfric doing here!?”
It was unthinkable. He couldn’t think of a single reason for Aelfric to be at the capital, but a bad feeling wormed its way into his heart all the same. He threw a quick look at Lillia, noticing that she was reacting in a similar way. They traded a glance, communicating without words before Regis looked at Liam again, who had raised his body after taking a deep breath. His friend stared deep into his eyes.
“Rylan is here. Well, Aelfric is here too,” Liam stated in a serious tone that made it obvious that he wasn’t joking.
“That’s impossible,” Lillia immediately fired back, but her voice cracked.
Regis tried to calm his racing heart as he struggled to come to terms with what Liam had just said.
There’s no way.
Rylan had never shown any interest in escaping his sick life back in Cantavega. It was impossible for him to come to Caer Rhelon. Wasn’t it?
“Liam,” Regis said with a grim expression. “Are you sure?”
His friend promptly shook his head.
“No. He doesn’t match your description at all except for his appearance, but I tried to use my connections to get more information. The only thing I was able to confirm was that his name appeared as Rylan Flameheart when he used the Scrying Crystal. I asked Professor Jacob.”
Regis’ heart sank. He felt as if he had gotten punched in the gut, his heart racing as he struggled to breathe. Terrible memories floated up to the surface, memories of everything that he’d gone through because of Rylan. No, everything the family had gone through.
Silence.
He turned to Lillia. She had a heavy frown on her face, which only made her disgust more noticeable.
“…Why? Why is he here? Hasn’t he done enough back home? And he even brought Aelfric with him?” she said, her voice shaking as she spoke. They were questions Regis didn’t have the answers to.
“He’s going through the entrance exams,” Liam replied while shaking his head with a confused look.
More silence.
“…Where is he?” Regis asked Liam with red eyes.
Ever so slowly, anger and hatred bubbled within him. He didn’t ask why Rylan was taking the entrance exams; it was obviously part of some plan to win back the family’s trust and then exploit it, like always.
But if that fucking bastard thinks I’m going to let him run wild any longer…
It was one thing for Rylan to act up in Cantavega. It was another for him to come right to their place of study, where they tried to follow their dreams and improve themselves.
Still, Aelfric is here. Maybe we can help.
Alongside his anger, hope bloomed. Regis and Lillia had never been able to help Aelfric properly, since he looked up to Rylan more than anyone else, no matter what they tried. But that didn’t mean he would give up on his youngest brother. No matter what it took or how long they would have to try, he would save Aelfric from that son of a bitch.
“I don’t know, somewhere in the city. I didn’t remember to ask him, but I don’t think he would have said. There’s something I want to ask you guys, though,” Liam said with a furrowed brow, his eyes filled with confusion. “Since when is Rylan a swordsman?”
Regis and Lillia scoffed at the same time.
“He isn’t.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Liam’s confusion only became more obvious.
“…Then how did he beat Jasmine?” he asked in a shaking voice, as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying.
Regis and Lillia frowned. Regis felt like he’d just gotten slapped.
“Liam,” she said while shaking her head in disbelief. “Explain everything that happened. From the beginning.”
Regis stared at his friend as if he wanted to drill a hole through him. What the fuck was he saying? Rylan beat Jasmine? Liam’s younger sister had trained in swordsmanship for fun since she was much younger. No, even if she hadn’t, Rylan was the type of person who wasn’t able to beat anyone in any contest except how much Dust they could snort.
What the fuck is going on?
Liam took a deep breath and started his story.
***
The remaining parts of the Royal Magic Academy’s entrance exams went on without a hitch. The whole process was even more efficient than Rylan thought it would be. By employing upperclassmen, the Academy managed to circumvent the relative lack of professors and other faculty members while also evaluating an incredibly high number of applicants.
Still, it took a week for most applicants to finish every exam. Those who didn’t were automatically disqualified with zero tolerance, as were those who failed to arrive on exam grounds in time for any reason. It was a necessary measure to somewhat control the number of applicants who would end up participating in the tournament.
And now, the Royal Magic Academy’s tournament would officially start.
Rylan dragged himself out of his thoughts and ran his gaze over his surroundings, trying to obtain as much information as possible, like usual. Grass rustled his boots as the sun shone down on him. The open space was located on the outskirts of Caer Rhelon and was one of the designated “arenas” for the tournament’s first qualifiers, among an unknown number of other places.
A crowd surrounded the space in a circle and consisted mostly of other applicants, who would soon fight when their turn came. To the side, a single professor in a white robe looked at Rylan – who stood in the middle of the space – with uninterested eyes. There was an Academy student donning a blue robe to each of his sides. Their expressions weren’t much different from the professor’s.
Not that I expected anything from the very first qualifiers.
The later matches in the tournament would happen within the city in a grand stadium and would be open to the public, but to get there, he would need to get through this. Finally, Rylan regarded his opponent. Opposite him stood a brown-haired, brown-eyed teenager, fidgeting in place and staring at him with unease.
“Are the rules clear?” the white-robed professor asked in a loud voice.
“Y-Yes!” the teenager quickly answered. The hand grasping the wand trembled.
Rylan nodded calmly. The rules weren’t too elaborate. Killing or severely injuring the opponent was forbidden, battles would only last at most ten minutes and they would be evaluated based on their performance as a whole, which meant that winning or losing was relatively less important than showing everything one could do. The other rules were standard.
The professor raised his wand and pointed it to the sky. Mana crawled over itself around Rylan and the boy, creating a translucent blue wall and roof that surrounded them; it was a necessary measure for the safety of the onlookers. Once the mana ‘box’ was completed, the professor spoke loudly.
“Rylan Flameheart, John of Soarra. Begin!”
The boy immediately started chanting with a clear voice. Rylan watched him, analyzing him from top to bottom. The teenager was at the Second Circle, but didn’t seem to have much experience, based on how much his hands were shaking. Even though they were at the same Circle, Rylan was confident that he could easily win. Should he end this quickly? Or should he give the opponent the chance to show what he could do for the sake of grading?
This tournament’s purpose isn’t to find the strongest student.
Because it was a different type of test, it was likely that even the students who were defeated in the first qualifiers would have the opportunity to compete against others in other fights, as a way of letting them show everything they could do.
If I recall correctly, the tournament will last twenty days.
Mentally cursing at himself for not bothering to learn more about it from Aelfric, Rylan took two steps to the side. John’s Magic Missile passed him uselessly, dispersing as it crashed against the professor’s mana wall. Without missing a beat, John kept chanting, standing firmly in place.
His casting is too obvious.
Three steps forward. The ground beneath his previous position caved in and rose to grab his feet, but he was no longer there. Rylan pointed his wand at John.
“Magic Missile.”
The Missile pierced through the air as a blue arrow. A Magic Shield quickly appeared around John, but it shook as the Missile reached it. Chanting left Rylan’s mouth as a series of low whispers. John’s Shield disappeared as he started casting an offensive spell. It was the opportunity that Rylan had predicted.
“Earth Grab.”
As the earth collapsed and rose to bind John’s legs, his chanting was disturbed, making him fail his casting. Rylan drew symbols in the air, chanting and taking one step to the left and another diagonally.
“Wind Blades.”
The air around John gathered into invisible half-moons and Earth Grab crumbled, but it was as if the boy hadn’t noticed it. Instead of raising a Magic Shield, he restarted his offensive casting. Was it because Rylan hadn’t cast Magic Shield yet, making him feel as if this was an opportunity? Rylan waved his wand and the Blades descended, landing on John’s body and cutting into it. Of course, Rylan hadn’t put much power into them, but they still slashed through skin and drew blood. John’s pained scream echoed as he fell to his knees, shaking and instinctively putting his right hand over the cut on his chest.
Without stopping, Rylan pointed his wand at John. The Wind Blades wrapped themselves around the opponent’s body, escaping their previously set shape, but still maintaining their properties.
“Stop!” the professor’s voice immediately boomed from outside of the arena. Rylan lowered his wand, letting the spell disperse. The mana barrier came undone as the professor stepped between Rylan and John’s kneeling figure. “Victory goes to Rylan Flameheart.”
With a calm expression, Rylan nodded and slightly bowed toward John.
“Thank you for the battle.”
John blinked rapidly but let out a bitter smile at the end.
“…Yeah.”
The professor looked at Rylan, some interest dancing in his eyes.
“As the winner, your next match will happen two hours from now. I recommend taking the opportunity to rest,” he stated, then looked at the injured boy. “You’ll have to be healed before you can fight again.”
Thankfully, I don’t need to go somewhere else.
Rylan looked at the sky as he retreated to the edge of the space. He ignored all the stares he was getting from the other applicants.
I wonder how Aelfric’s doing.
His mind went to the Lamollet siblings. He still hadn’t gone back to talk to Liam about Regis and Lillia. He kept postponing it, always finding an excuse not to talk to Liam on that day. In the end, he knew exactly why he was avoiding that moment. A bitter smile made its way to his face.
I’m scared.
It was almost comical, in a way, for a man with over a century’s worth of memories to be afraid of finding out more about his family. No, it was exactly because he had Roland’s memories that he was feeling like this. This was different from reaching out to Aelfric, who had never stopped believing in him unconditionally, and Gerard, who had still harbored some hope as a father. Regis and Lillia had cleanly given up on him, with virtually no desire to rebuild their relationship with him. With his own hands, Rylan had destroyed everything that he meant to them.
But that was precisely why he needed to go to them and ask for forgiveness. It wasn’t easy, but their relationship had collapsed because of his actions alone. As the one at fault, he needed to be the one to reach out. It was the only way to atone for Roland’s mistakes, while also not repeating them in this life.
Burdened by his thoughts, Rylan showed no desire to pay attention to the other applicants or their battles.
The tournament went on.
Comments
Meshal
“ No matter what it took or how long they would have to try, he would save Aelfric from that son of a bitch.” Friendly fire here, I pity their mother.
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
Freya
Tyftc
