On the coliseum seats was a senior that had the chest size of Mount Gigraceldi. That is supposedly an attractive feature on a lady, however she reeked of herbs and decay, so the other students weren't too fond of sitting next to her. She was impatiently waiting for a certain someone to enter the ring while fiddling with her fingers.
(... Katachi... You're actually going to fight Deku...)
The light in her eyes reflected a great worry, and she held her hands in prayer.
(... This, I have to see...)
The highlight of the day was the champion of the previous three tournaments, Deku, facing off with a black horse whom had enrolled for roughly 2 weeks, Katachi. It was a big highlight of the day because both competitors held great promise.
Deku, having attained the title of champion in the championship for the past three years, has been held in high regards - His wish to become a teacher only reinforced his will to battle and improve himself, making him one of the only students in the academy's history to be able to fight a teacher without handicaps. Of course, Reincarnate Arts were originally powerful on their own, but his great control and mastery over it makes him that much more dangerous.
Katachi has managed to take down the semifinalist Nea and the finalist Cillian, meaning that he would be competing with Deku in terms of who would be the most powerful student magus in the school. It doesn't help that Katachi, too, knows of a form of magic or art that could surpass the finalist.
It would be a rare event to see two Reincarnate Art users battle on the field. The thrill of seeing two rare forms of magic combating each other is enough to make anyone interested. The crowd's passion was climaxing, and gradually approaching the peak. People chattered and discussed on who would win. There were even students who started an illegal betting to rake in the stakes.
C : "Hey, Bael, what are you doing, sitting all alone here?"
Interrupting Bael was a girl with blue hair, a magus whom used Kafki's story for her spells' base.
B : "... Oh, good afternoon, Cestia. I was just... Well, I'm waiting for the next match."
C : "Isn't that obvious? You're sitting on the bench."
B : "... ! Oh! Ah... Ahaha, hahaha..."
Laughing awkwardly, Bael looked down in embarrassment.
Cestia sat down next to the depressed beauty and unwrapped a piece of cloth she placed on her lap. Within it was a small fish, roasted finely and its heat preserved with a heat rune.
C : "... I was about to ask why you were sitting all alone, but I guess the smell on you has been driving people away, huh..."
Cestia too noticed the odor on Bael's body and hair. It was that obvious to the point that even bringing a fragrantly roasted food next to her was not enough to mask the stench.
B : "... Yeah, I guess."
C : "So, do you want some of this Moontwine mudskipper? It's from Anik, you know."
Bael, upon hearing the name mudskipper, looked over at Cestia's morsel in disgust.
B : "... Mudskipper?"
C : "Oh, don't worry about it."
Picking up a small piece on her fingers, Cestia raised it towards Bael's face, tempting her to taste the foreign food.
C : "It says mudskipper, but it didn't have any mud when I bought it. It's surprisingly tasty! Try it! Loar roasted this for me."
Bael stared hard at the small piece of roasted fish between her fingers. Reluctantly, Bael reached her lips out and enveloped the meat with her mouth, and chewed slowly. The exotic flavor of mudskipper filled Bael's mouth, and she nodded her head slowly in delight.
B : "... Mmmm... Delicious."
C : "I wouldn't lie to you about stuff like that, Bael. Of course it's tasty."
Popping a piece into her own mouth, Cestia chewed slowly, and spoke with the mudskipper still within her mouth.
C : "... So, I heard this next match is a highlight, isn't it?"
B : "... Yeah. Deku and Katachi are going to fight it out."
Licking and sucking her fingers, Cestia continued the conversation.
C : "Deku, huh. D'you think the new guy would win?"
B : "..."
Bael had wished for it, but she didn't want to say it out neither.
Katachi seems to have a lot of potential, but against someone refined like Deku, it would probably be a miracle. Unless...
... Unless Katachi hasn't shown what he was truly capable of yet.
(... He always did seem a little bit dodgy, like he's trying to hide something... We've all seen that he's a follower of Soltak, but somehow, I can't help but feel that he's still hiding something... Like, a trump card, or something completely unexpected...)
Absorbed in her own thoughts, she was unaware of the screams and shouts of the students around her as the competitors for the second match of the third round gathered.
*** ***
D : "..."
Deku was silently observing his opponent. Normally, he would have screamed and confidently entertained the audience, but he was silent this time. It wasn't because he was afraid of losing, though - He had shouted too much in the past two rounds that his throat hurts and his voice sore. Though the healing syrup recovered many wounds, a sore throat was not amongst what it was brewed to heal.
K : "... Nice to meet you, mister... Uhm... What- What was your name?"
The sounds within Cosmatral Tlod were often projected onto the coliseum seats as well, so the battle isn't plain silent imagery of two people clashing. Upon hearing Katachi's voice, the audience themselves were stunned.
They all had one thought, in unison - How does this guy not know Deku!?
Deku is considered a model student, in terms of combat ability. In accordance, he is considered the most powerful combat-oriented student in the academy for three years. He had been the poster boy that had his face printed across the towns, on the posters and the like. He was well-known in many countries that have that edition of the poster still on the walls of the streets.
Katachi didn't seem to recognize him.
It was laughable. It was unthinkable. It was unbelievable that a student enrolled into the academy, without even seeing Deku's face at least once.
D : (... No way... This guy hasn't see my face before? He didn't recognize me at all, not even during the first two rounds!? There's no way a magus would be overconfident to the level that he'd not observe the matches, unless he's me, or he doesn't know how to go to the spectators' area... Then, he's a... A... A bona fide country bumpkin who's completely unfamiliar with the school?!)
K : "Oh, wait, you're... Deku, right?"
The crowd chuckled a little bit at the awkwardness Katachi created. Deku sighed in response to the redundant panic wave he just experienced.
D : "... Yes, yes I am. I was about to say, if you didn't recognize me, I would have been truly shocked. I'd have screamed till I was hoarse for nothing! Hahahahaha..."
The crowd laughed with Deku.
K : "... So, uhm... Deku, are you ready to fight?"
D : "Wha- Are you serious? I'm always ready to fight!"
K : (... From that response, he seems really confident about his abilities... I wouldn't be surprised, he could make golems, and he can hurl mounds of sand at me. That means he's best at mid-range combat, whereas I'm better at close-range combat, where most magi are weak at. He has a wooden sword though, while I have a mere wooden dagger, so his reach is farther in close combat. I'd have to work around the range of-)
Just as Katachi began to formulate a plan in his head, a dull sound was heard.
The wooden sword in his hand had fallenfrom his hand, its muffled sound against the sand heard clearly.
Katachi's eyes widened. Normal enemies would not let go of a weapon and put themselves at a disadvantage on purpose. This was a handicap that only those who were certain of their ability would do.
The adolescent before him glared into his eyes, reflecting an arrogant light.
D : "I feel so energized right now, I think I won't need a weapon to deal with the likes of you."
The crowd went wild hearing a cool, stylish response like that.
D : "In fact, I don't think a golem is necessary either. I'll beat you with Conduit Imbue alone. How about it, kid? Wanna try fighting the champion with that handicap?..."
K : "... Take it back."
D : "... Huh?"
Deku was surprised at the response, while the crowd hollered even louder. One was a 16 year old whom had experience with magic, whom had actual battle experience, whom had a prominent winning record of three years. The other was a mere 10 year old boy who had only enrolled 2 weeks ago. Logically speaking, for Katachi to survive the match with the handicap, let alone win it at Deku's full power, was enough of an ordeal to make others cringe in fear. Deku brought up a great offer, and he rejected it flatly. Why would he want Deku to take his words back?
K : "... Take it back. I wouldn't want my opponent to unnecessarily get hurt without fighting seriously."
D : "... Very well. I'll start it off easy, and then I'll go all out only when you've proven yourself worthy. I'll play by the same rules as the previous matches, this time with increased stakes - If you win, I'll drink the brown syrup for a whole month. If you lose, there will be no penalties. Would that make you happy?"
K : "... Let's hope you don't regret your choice."
Kicking the wooden sword next to his feet far away, Deku lowered his stance, and prepared to slam the ground with his fist.
D : "Don't worry, kid. I'm a professional."
With that, the judge signaled the start of the second match of the third round.
*** ***
Deku's right fist glowed a strange, entrancing yellow. With force, he slammed it into the earth, and the mound of land beneath his feet were absorbed, causing him to fall into the crater and landing stably.
With a straight, Deku released the yellow fluid from his arm, which then solidified into the chunk of land beneath his feet just seconds ago.
K : (设定! Set land's durability - A million fold! Set land's weight - A millionth fold!)
With a hand motion outstretched towards the sand flying towards him, two tiny 定s surfaced on the top of the land, which Katachi caught in his extended right hand with ease. Because the words were tiny and the object was too fast, it was hard to see the golden words on the sand. Also, the receiver to display the scene to the spectating students was behind him, and beneath his belly's level, so it probably wouldn't have shown the Words of Power clearly.
D : "!!! WHAT-!"
Deku had never seen anyone properly catch a mound of land like that. It didn't make sense at all - The mound of sand was maintained perfectly in its original shape, and he managed to cushion that mass of sand perfectly in his hand.
With a simple push, the sand expulsed outward, and was sent flying back towards Deku, which he punched with his glowing left fist. The sand mound glowed yellow, broke apart, and liquefied into the substance that was absorbed back into his body once again.
It didn't make sense at all. When Katachi caught the sand, it didn't change at all - When Deku tried to reabsorb the sand, it behaved naturally and broke apart like a mound of sand should.
D : (This guy... I've heard the students praise him as a Soltak follower, so he probably uses sunlight instead of normal stamina or magic objects, or symbols... Is he using a light prism technique to keep the mound of sand intact?... That's pretty impressive, since this place isn't even sunny to begin with...)
D : "... Hahahahahaha... Interesting indeed. It seems that I cannot beat you with Conduit Imbue."
Katachi's stance lowered, and he drew the wooden dagger, gripping it tightly with his right hand.
D : "Did you tell me to take my words back, knowing that you could use Soltak's Light Prism even in Cosmatral Tlod?"
Getting ahead of himself, Deku began forming sand armor with the mound of sand he had absorbed. Katachi, however, remained silent and maintained a cold, alert posture, ready to intercept any attacks Deku might dish out.
D : "... Very well. But, how will you fare against the Gatherer's Golem?"
With a punch, Deku drew up even more sand, and created a gargantuan made completely of sand and wind. The golem now had a form even more menacing than it was when he fought Vikarr - Winds twirling around its right elbow joint and flowing down to the hand, the winds raging violently around its center and head, and Deku was at the very top of the beast. It was at least 15 times Katachi's size.
Katachi looked up at the monstrosity, and gave a slight grin.
D : (! He's... Grinning?)
*** ***
The Gatherer's Golem was a name given to a combination of two techniques - Dardicel's Reincarnate Art, Golem, and the Conduit Imbue technique.
Normally, to perform the Reincarnate Art alone was a very tough task, indeed. Dardicel was the Lord of the Earth, as well as the God of Trials. His Reincarnate Art required his followers to synchronize themselves with the Earth, so they may call upon a mighty, sentient being at will when they are in danger, wherever they would be. But, not many people have that great an affinity with nature, so their Reincarnate Arts often end up shoddy, and weak.
Conduit Imbue was a technique used by miners in Rugnud - It was a magic where the miners melded the excessive soil and rocks into their own bodies, so they may release them when they are on the surface. It worked effectively as a transportation system, because of the relative ease of the technique. The only drawback was that when objects were absorbed into the body, the objects themselves will add to the weight of the person, for it is stored within them - This meant that users of this technique needed to be physically resilient if they wished to move about with items stored within the Conduit Imbue. It was only useful in certain situations, which led to its gradual decline outside of Rugnud.
Conduit Imbue's specialty was that it had a favorable side effect - It softened up the element absorbed into the body, and imbued a magic circuit into the object, to allow the body to absorb the materiel without rejecting it. In a sense, it was 'synchronizing' with the materiel because one imbued magical circuits into them before they are absorbed, for ease of absorption.
When these two techniques are used in tandem, an equally potent form of Dardicel's Reincarnate Art could be produced, at a much lower difficulty - The elements comprising the golem were already accepted into the body, and so it was much easier to create and control the golem since the materiel is already magically charged.
That, is the Gatherer's Golem.
*** ***
K : (固定! Fixate position - Golem!)
The golem had raised its foot, and was about to stomp on Katachi, when it stopped moving altogether.
The golem did not jerk, it did not retract its foot, it did not topple nor did it move at all - It just stopped in place. Desperately trying to swipe the golem's arms, Deku found himself in a pinch.
D : (...! Shit! I can't move!!!... Is his Soltak's light prism so powerful that it can lock my whole golem in place!?)
K : (恒定! Constant velocity - Self!)
With a leap, Katachi set his velocity to "Constant", and traveled through the air in a straight line - Right towards Deku.
D : (Kh-! He could just jump to me!?... Not to mention, that's him leaping all the way up here while defying the winds circling the golem... There's not that much sunlight in here, is there!?)
Holding his wooden dagger by Deku's neck, Katachi gave his opponent a piece of advice.
K : "... Don't throw your sword away next time - It's surprisingly useful."
With a swiping motion imitating a beheading, Katachi won the second match of the third round.
*** ***
D : "... Kid."
K : "? Y-... Yes?"
Walking towards the kid calmly, Deku patted Katachi on his shoulder.
D : "Good work there, kid. You caught me off-guard. I guess I'll have to uphold my bet and drink that syrup for a month."
K : "... You don't need to. I didn't want to bet anyway."
D : "Really? Well, that's doing me a huge favor, kid, but I have the students, the audience to attend to. Even if you didn't want me to drink it, I'd want to and I'd have to, for the sake of those students."
K : (... Is this really what a future teacher of this place going to be?...)
Deku breathed deeply, and looked at Katachi.
D : "Kid. I don't think I've caught on to your name."
K : "... Katachi. Kotsuba Katachi."
D : "Kotsuba, huh... Sounds like you're from Ohde. That would explain your black hair."
K : "Many people say that, but I'm from Mielfeud though."
It was surprising, to say the least. Only people from Ohde would have their hair black; Everywhere else, hair was usually blond or brown, and were dyed in funky colors because hair was a form of fashion and self-expression.
D : "Are you, now... Hmm. Well, whoever you are, you've changed my view on Soltak's magic completely. I thought if I made a golem with a larger torso that blocks the sunlight, your prism would be less effective, but it didn't work at all. I guess I underestimated the extent you could use your Light prism on. "
K : "? Uhm, yeah, I... I guess... I was a bit surprised as well, but if it works, it works."
D : (? He's uncertain of his own power?... That's odd. Most Reincarnate Art users speak plainly, without holding back, because of their faith in the God. To doubt his own ability is to doubt the God's ability. He can't possibly be a Reincarnate Art user.)
D : "You're not really a Soltak believer, are you?"
K : "... No. It's just a rumor that someone else started."
D : "..."
The answer was so swift and plain, it was shocking. Deku didn't think it wasn't a Reincarnate Art that defeated him. Or rather, he didn't want to believe that normal magic could compete with the Reincarnate Arts on an equal level. Yet, Katachi was a living proof of that, right before him. If someone was truly capable of magic that even rivals the Reincarnate Arts...
D : "... Exactly what kind of magic are you using, Katachi?"
Wordlessly, Katachi left the waiting area as fast as he could, holding a wooden cup filled with brown syrup.
D : (That kid's definitely hiding something.)
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