《Tribrid World》 Chapter 1. He walked slowly into the circle, looking around he could see all the people of the village sitting on the benches, there were also a lot of unfamiliar faces amongst the crowd. This just highlighted the importance of the ranking ceremony. Finally having arrived in the centre of the circle, one of the elders stood up; ¡°Ike Spalding you¡¯re the first of the boys today. Show us three skills so that we may judge your skill and potential this day¡±. With all the eyes focussed on him he felt nervous, hesitantly he started to create an ice dart. Focussing his mind he channelled his mental energy into creating the dart, first focus and collect the water floating in the air around him. A small ball of water grew bigger and bigger right in front of him, next was cooling it down while focusing on the shape of a dart. Lastly he need to give it momentum, he took care to aim it at one of the targets on the edge of circle and fired. Being nervous his aim was horribly, only getting into the larger yellow circle around the bull¡¯s eye. Floating from a distance he could hear the people clap, it started slowly but soon everyone was clapping. Hearing the applause he finally was able to relax, feeling surer of himself he waited for a moment until the applause had died down. With the relaxed feeling Ike decided do his most difficult spell now, he started to draw a summoning figure into the sand. It wasn¡¯t a difficult design just two circles connected by zigzagging lines, fitted into a larger circle in which he was standing. Ike started to concentrate on the image of the spirit animal he wished to summon. Next he focussed on the path, a corridor between his world and the world of his summon. He could feel it coming into his world, opening his eyes he saw his little fish. It looked like any other fish apart from the lantern on his head which filled the surroundings with a gentle and warm light. Radiant fish of renewal they were officially called according to the only encyclopaedia in the town. Making the fish swim circles around him he stared at the audience, he couldn¡¯t help but become quite confused. Ike could see people whispering to each other while others looked confused, some people hesitantly started to clap. The constant mental drain to keep this little fish in this world was quite tiring and knowing he should show one final skill he released his hold. The warm light slowly disappeared, but his remaining mental energy was quite low. Feeling quite tired he decided not to summon another spirit animal instead he focussed on making a fireball. Focussing his remaining strength he was barely able to summon a pitiful fireball, nevertheless people were applauding quite enthusiastically. He could see one of the elders standing up, within moments the applause was replaced by a deep silence. ¡°We have seen your skills this day¡± the elder said ¡°Leave the field now so that others may show their skills¡±. Ike bowed to the elders sitting in the audience and turned around and walked away without a word. Near the exit he saw Dickey and Remy his other competitors in this ranking ceremony. He could see Remy looking quite unhappily while Dickey was smiling from ear to ear. Just before walking past the both of them he could hear Dickey say ¡°Making it easy for me, only summoning a little fish¡±. If it hadn¡¯t been for his teacher forcing him into summoning this little fish during the ranking ceremony he would have chosen something which looked a lot more impressive. Walking onto the stage near the exit he was just in time to see Remy arriving at the centre of the circle. He could see the elder standing up and he could hear the elder speaking the ceremonial words, ¡°Remy Dal, Show us three skills so that we may judge your skill and potential this day¡± The first thing he could see Remy do was summon a fireball, it was a pretty decent one at least much better than his had been but then again he had been mentally exhausted. Ike was sure that Remy wouldn¡¯t exceed his performance he was always last in any competition the three of them had had in the past. He could hear the applause start and he joined in as well. The next skill Remy showed the summoning of a fire salamander, it was generally regarded as one of the lowest level of difficulty to summon from the different spirit animals. After Remy had dismissed the spirit animal Ike could hear the applause again, he was looking forward to which skill Remy would show next. He saw Remy creating another fireball, this fireball¡¯s radiance was low and he could see the fireball barely travel half a meter before it disintegrated into hot air. Ike couldn¡¯t supress a smile despite knowing Remy was quite a bad magician he was happy nothing surprising had happened. After the elder had spoken he could see Remy turning around and walking back to the exit, he couldn¡¯t see any emotion on his classmates face. Next he could see Dickey walk towards the centre, he really disliked him. Everyone in the whole town knew he was the spoiled little grandson of one of the elders. Despite Dickey¡¯s bullying and petty thefts nobody did anything. He of course got the blunt of it as the only possible thread to Dickeys rank amongst the boys. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. The same elder stood up again to say the usual ceremonial words ¡°Dickey Deen, Show us three skills so that we may judge your skill and potential this day¡±. Ike could see that Dickey arrogantly erased the summoning figure he had drawn to draw his own into the sand. The first spirit animal summoned by Dickey was a fire salamander, Ike knew Dickey quite well and this summon was only done to humiliate Remy. Ike couldn¡¯t help but notice that Dickey kept his summon barely 10 seconds here before dismissing it, while both he and Remy had kept their summons much longer in this world. This time Ike didn¡¯t join in on the applause, he could see Dickey of course waiting until all the clapping had disappeared before showing his next skill. Seeing a golem appear, Ike knew he had lost, this clay puppet half the size of a human was ten times as strong while being impervious to all but the most vicious of physical attacks. Before good and well half a minute had passed Dickey had again dismissed his summon, the applause that followed was much louder this time. Again Ike could see Dickey slowly turning with a big smile on his face revelling in all the people clapping. Once the applause had died down it didn¡¯t take long to see the fireball forming in front of Dickey, it was the size of a ball and deep red. Ike could see it moving towards one of the targets placed around the circle. As it moved along it grew larger and larger while the color became a lighter red, finally it smashed into the target completely enveloping it. A blackened and red glowing target was left standing once the fireball had disappeared, again the sound of applause filled the air. Not wanting to wait until the applause was gone Ike silently left and went to his room. Entering his room he could see the spirit animal encyclopaedia, which he had borrowed from the library, lying open on his desk. Staring at the little fish he knew he had tried to summon it simply because it was the only spirit animal in there requiring a good affinity with the light and water element. It had taken him weeks to summon the little fish because he didn¡¯t have a good picture of the fish as the one in the book had faded quite a bit. He started to browse the pages, wondering if he should have tried something else. Seeing the various spirit animals he knew most of them were out of his reach. Seeing the small image of an ice golem he wondered if he should have tried summoning it, despite his fire element affinity being average instead of the required good. Lost in though and wondering if he could manage he heard someone knocking on his door. Opening the door he saw his favourite teacher miss Babcock together with a man and women he didn¡¯t recognize. Looking at the man he could clearly see the shape of well-trained muscles despite the clothes on the man, compared to the man the women looked frail but beautiful. Before he could introduce himself to these people, Miss Babcock said ¡°Ike please meet Johan and Carla Shepard, they like myself wanted to congratulate you on you surprising performance today.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet u Ike¡± Carla said, ¡°Summoning a renewal fish, without a doubt you¡¯ll be ranked first after today¡¯s performance¡±. Ike could help but feel confused first he found his performance to be worse than Dickey¡¯s. Besides that the little fish he had summoned could only heal and wasn¡¯t strong like the golem Dickey had summoned. ¡°Why? I¡¯m sure Dickey will be ranked first his demonstration was much better¡± he said. ¡°Ike¡± Miss Babcock said ¡°Few people have the right elemental affinities to summon those fish, besides that u managed it using an image from a book. Most people can¡¯t manage that, Ike what u showed us today was really exceptional¡±. He could help but stubbornly reply ¡°Even though u tell me I was better than Dickey today, I¡¯m sure his grandma will make sure he is ranked first¡±. Seeing Carla and his teacher Miss Babcock exchanging a meaning full glance, he felt he had struck a nerve somewhere. ¡°Not afraid to say what you really think¡± Johan said ¡°From what I can tell u aren¡¯t a little weasel or a weakling like the other two. Wouldn¡¯t he be a good match for¡­¡± It would have been difficult for Ike to not notice Carla elbowing her husband full power into his stomach. The odd think Ike found was that Johan only seemed to have stopped talking because he was surprised by the sudden attack. ¡°I think it¡¯s better if we go¡± Carla said ¡°I hope u will win Ike. Miss Babcock please inform us about the final results, especially if they are unexpected.¡± Chapter 2. The days after the ranking ceremony passed by quietly, there were no more classes being taught and everyone was waiting. Ike was curiously visiting the noticeboard each and every day to see if the ranking results had been posted already. He wasn¡¯t the only one curious, there were always many girls coming and going. Most of time these days he spend playing around with his favourite sprit animal, flashlight bees. Ike really liked them because u could summon thousands of them despite the normal limit of one spirit animal at a time. Despite the possibility of summoning thousands of them he usually only summoned a hive consisting of 3 bees. But just those three were already almost more than he could manage. With those three bees summoned there were four possible pairs of eyes to look through, three bees to mentally order around and himself to move when needed. Concentrated fully on walking forward while have the three bees circle him he suddenly heard someone clapping just behind him. Not bothering to physically turn around he used one of the bees to look behind him. After dismissing his summon he said ¡°Hello Miss Babcock¡± while turning to face her. ¡°Practicing hard as always¡± Miss Babcock said, ¡°In any case the ranking results will be announced shortly. So come along will u¡±. Arriving at the town square he could already see a crowd of more than fifty girls being held back by the teachers while some town elders where busy writing the results on the noticeboard. Ike could hear cries of happiness and sadness coming from the crowd, trying push a way towards the noticeboard was difficult even with his teacher just walking in front of him. This is just too difficult Ike thought, with a flash of inspiration he grabbed Miss Babcock¡¯s arm and started to move backwards. Even leaving the crowd was a bit tricky with the constant arrival of new people curious about the results, but with a bit of pushing he managed to get out. After getting a short distance away from the crowd he could hear Miss Babcock¡¯s say ¡°Why did u suddenly leave Ike?¡±. Seeing his teacher looking confused at him he smiled at her and pointed forward where a single flashlight bee was just appearing. Hearing his teachers laugh he moved his summoned bee to the noticeboard. Flying over the crowd he could see the mass of girls all pushing trying to move forward. Nearer the noticeboard groups of friends were huddled together, some where cheering while others where grieving. Looking at the board up close he could see that three elders were busy writing down the names of the girls that were ranked. While a forth elder wrote down the names those left unranked. For them their education stopped here and Ike knew that they would be escorted back to their respective villages and towns within the week. However nobody was busy writing down the rankings of the three boys. To the side of him he could see a small firefly starting to fly next to him. ¡°Hehe finally caught up¡± he could hear Miss Babcock say ¡°I don¡¯t see the rankings of the boys anywhere.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t see them either¡± he said ¡°It will probably take 15 minutes or so before they are done with all the girls names.¡± He relaxed his control over the flashlight bee, controlling it just enough to keep it hovering in front of the notice board. Ike had had days to think about the meeting with Carla and Johan Shepard after the ranking ceremony. He could understand the reasoning of Miss Babcock why he should be ranked first although he didn¡¯t fully agree with it. But there was something he didn¡¯t quite understand, so Ike said ¡°Miss Babcock could u tell me why did Johan and Carla Shepard come to congratulate me?¡± He could see Miss Babcock stare at him for a bit then she said ¡°You really don¡¯t know? But surely I spoke about what happens after u get ranked?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Ike said. ¡°Oh, then surely u can figure out why they came to congratulate u?¡± Miss Babcock said. Feeling that he was missing some crucial piece of information, Ike was about to follow up with some questions when he felt the control over his flashlight bee slip. Focussing on the flashlight bee Ike could feel that its instincts were actively trying to evade the incoming bird. Letting the bee¡¯s instincts take charge he saw it deftly avoid the bird by diving towards the crowd. Hearing a scream coming from Miss Babcock he knew her firefly hadn¡¯t been as lucky. Looking up he could see that Miss Babcock¡¯s face was a bit pale but colour soon returned. ¡°I¡¯m ok¡± Miss Babcock said, ¡°Just a bit of mental backlash, nothing to worry about¡± Inwardly Ike couldn¡¯t help but sigh at his teacher taking the life or dead struggle of a spirit animal to be free again and leave alive so lightly. Hesitantly he said ¡°Miss Babcock u might want to come take a look, Dickey and his grandmother elder Deen are coming towards the noticeboard. Although given the smug look on Dickeys face I¡¯m pretty sure he is ranked first¡±. ¡°Oh¡± he could hear Miss Babcock say ¡°I¡¯ll be right there¡± with a sigh. Keeping an eye on elder Deen he could see her starting to write; ¡°Boys, 1. Dickey Deen, 2. Ike Spalding, Unranked: Remy Dal¡±. Seeing that he was 2nd Ike felt a tinge of anger and sadness in is hart, largely it was aimed at himself for disappointing his teacher who believed in him. Looking again at the results he saw the familiar firefly fly past him straight towards elder Deen only to disappear just before hitting her. Hurriedly he dismissed his summon as well, only to see Miss Babcock seething with anger. Feeling the anger radiate from Miss Babcock he could help it and took step backwards. He could hear Miss Babcock say in a cold voice ¡°Wait here¡±. Seeing her hurry away, Ike noticed to his horror it wasn¡¯t in the direction of the noticeboard where elder Deen was but it was towards the house of the master of the town. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Ike didn¡¯t really want to wait for Miss Babcock¡¯s return. He knew that even being on the very edge of a situation which involved the master of the town was something avoid. But right now he felt that he was right in the very middle of it. Ike had seen students punished by the master of the town whom they often referred to as Miss S-Class calamity or She-devil. Most teachers would hand out small household tasks as punishment, often things which they were responsible for. The punishments of the She-devil were always fierce and often involved hard physical labour, something detested by most mages, and on top of it was always utterly pointless. The only time he had seen her in person was stuck in his mind forever. It was on a summer two years ago when he had seen a group of twenty students digging on a pool as punishment. It was a hot summer so students often came by to see if the pool was already finished. When the pool was almost completely dug out she had come to look as well. Only to tell the students to fill it up with sand again. Some of the students in the crowd started to complain but a single look from her, Miss S-Class calamity, had been enough to warn every student that whomever complained would be busy filling up the hole. Fear that Miss Babcock would return with her was enough to keep him rooted on the spot. It would be bad enough that she could possibly come here but Ike reasoned it would be even worse if he didn¡¯t happen to be there waiting. Time moved forward slowly and he could see the crowd near the noticeboard getting smaller and smaller. There were only thirty of so students left looking at the board and he spotted Dickey amongst them and he instantly knew Dickey had also seen him. Ike could see Dickey walking towards him, normally he would just leave and avoid the situation altogether. But today he had to choose between possibly upsetting her or facing Dickey. The choice wasn¡¯t difficult, soon he heard Dickey say ¡°Scared to go even near the noticeboard? No need to go look, your second. Grandma even told me that it had been a really difficult. To decide which one, u or Remy was the worst magician.¡± Part of him wanted to punch Dickey in the face or kick him some particularly painful for boys. But he couldn¡¯t he knew Dickey¡¯s grandma would pay him back at least in threefold for it. Looking at the situation Ike thought about the pyramid of fear, who was actually scared of whom. Little thought was needed to figure out, the person at the very top the one feared by everyone. Therefore Ike calmly said ¡°Dickey congratulations. I¡¯m actually waiting here for a teacher to come back, it wouldn¡¯t surprise me when she comes back with her¡±. Seeing that Dickey hadn¡¯t grasped the hint Ike said ¡°U know her, Miss S-Class calamity¡±. Ike waited alone for the return of Miss Babcock until it was almost dark. Seeing the sun set he finally had a good reason to leave, since it wasn¡¯t allowed for students to be out and about in the dark. Hastily he returned to his small room, not bothering with undressing he fell mentally exhausted into his bed and fell asleep. The next day Ike spend his morning doing chores together with the younger boys. Twice a week they had to clean the class rooms and their common room. Fortunately during these chores he didn¡¯t have to worry about running into Dickey. However he had expected to see Remy, but after a short conversation with one of the younger boys he had found out that Remy was leaving this morning for the main village. The other person Ike had expected to see that morning was Miss Babcock, he really wanted to figure out what had happened after he had seen her walking away in anger. Walking towards the houses of the town¡¯s teachers Ike wondered which one belonged to Miss Babcock. After asking for directions he arrived in front of her house, but after knocking on the door he found the house to be quite empty. To search the whole town would simply take too long, so he tried going to the restaurant for the teachers and elders of the town. It was a bit risky since students were forbidden to enter that part of town under normal circumstances. Ike hesitated a bit whether or not he should use a flashlight bee to scout the place but he decided not, the risks were really low but on the other hand it wouldn¡¯t give him any useful information either. Under the pretence of having an urgent message for Miss Babcock Ike entered the forbidden part of town. Luckily nobody really questioned him, asking everyone he met be it the staff of the restaurant, teachers and even a few of the town¡¯s elders, nobody could tell him where he could find Miss Babcock. Worried Ike went back home, not knowing what to expect he did some mental exercise and tried out various new tricks with his flashlight bees for the rest of the day. Every morning, afternoon and evening he visited Miss Babcock¡¯s house, never finding her there. On the morning of the sixth day after his ranking ceremony he was wakened by someone knocking on his door. Seeing that it was still dark out side he shouted ¡°Who is there?¡±. ¡°It¡¯s me Miss Babcock¡± he heard from outside his room ¡°Now, open the door and let me in¡±. After opening the door for his teacher he said ¡°What happened after u left? I tried looking for u but I couldn¡¯t find u anywhere and nobody knew where u were?¡± ¡°Oh¡± Miss Babcock said, ¡°Uhm, I was asked to help Master Reese these past few days. Now there isn¡¯t much time so pack your things. U can use this bag, oh and get dressed will u.¡± Together they packed their things and then he followed Miss Babcock to the outskirts of town to where a horse drawn carriage was waiting. Chapter 3. Seeing the carriage Ike was quite surprised, usually he only saw oxen carts bringing supplies to the town. Filled with questions he heard Miss Babcock say ¡°Please get in Ike, we can¡¯t let our elder wait on us¡±. Opening the door to the carriage he saw her sitting there, reflexively he tried to jump backwards. Unfortunately for Ike Miss Babcock had been expecting this and unceremoniously he was pushed inside. Stumbling into the carriage he barely managed to sit down without hitting Master Reese. Ike felt a bit more comfortable when he saw Miss Babcock sitting down next to him. ¡°Driver, take us to Ilesha¡± Master Reese said, ¡°Hello Ike Spalding, it¡¯s a pleasure to finally meet u. Miss Babcock here was quite upset when she came to visit me. I¡¯m pretty sure that she will not make the same mistake again. Now while I do believe her, I still would like to see it¡±. Wondering about what Master Reese wanted him to do, Ike heard Miss Babcock say ¡°Ike, Master Reese wants u to summon a radiant fish of renewal for her¡±. Seeing that there was no place to draw a summoning figure, he started to picture it in his mind. Next step was to picture the image of his little fish in his mind. Summoning without the summoning figure to look at was a bit more difficult but he managed it nevertheless. Opening his eyes he could see the radiant fish of renewal flying around in the carriage. The light of the fish brightly lit up the carriage allowing him to clearly see everything in it, but what struck him most was the wrinkled face of Master Reese. ¡°It¡¯s indeed a radiant fish of renewal.¡± Master Reese said, ¡°Although it is a bit on the small side. Miss Babcock told me you taught yourself how to summon it only using the image from the encyclopaedia?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Ike said, ¡°It took me about eight weeks to learn how to summon it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pity¡± Master Reese said, ¡°That¡¯s way too long for it to be of any practical use¡±. Ike couldn¡¯t help himself and proudly said ¡°If I had to learn it again I could probably manage it in a few days, a week at the most. I would have tried others but there weren¡¯t any other compatible spirit animals in the encyclopaedia¡±. ¡°Interesting¡± Master Reese said ¡°Now be quiet I want to take a quick nap before we arrive in Ilesha. Oh and dismiss that fish, if u keep it up nobody will believe I¡¯m an old woman¡±. Dismissing his summon he started to look outside, there wasn¡¯t much to see apart from the grasslands all around him and the trees off in the distance. The trip to the village of Ilesha took them about an hour, but instead of riding into the village the driver stopped the carriage just outside the village¡¯s gates. Having stopped Ike could hear the driver loudly announced the arrival at Ilesha which woke Master Reese. Seeing her grumpy mood Ike was happy it hadn¡¯t been him who had woken her. ¡°Now Miss Babcock go deliver this urgent letter to Master Owen¡± Master Reese said, ¡°Although it would be best if u could deliver it to her husband and make him give it to his wife. We can¡¯t have u being forced to tell her everything just yet, it would spoil the surprise.¡± Ever since this morning things weren¡¯t making any sense, but he had just gone along with the flow. It wasn¡¯t as if he could have done anything else, but just from this conversation he felt that Master Owen would be another troublesome person like Master Reese. It would be best to know what was going on, therefore he said ¡°Master Reese, could u explain to me what is happening?¡± He could feel the pressure of Master Reese¡¯s stare, trying to keep his cool he stared back. Time seemed to stop moving forward, it became harder and harder to stare back into those cold black eyes. But Ike didn¡¯t dare to stop, he felt that this was some kind of test which he couldn¡¯t afford to fail. He blinked, it just happened. The pressure from Master Reese¡¯s stare disappeared immediately and he knew he had lost but had he also failed the test? Looking back at Master Reese¡¯s face he could see a faint trace of a smile. ¡°Not bad¡± Master Reese said ¡°There seems to be some willpower there despite the lack of ambition and initiative. Although I¡¯m sure you will be taught about those things¡±. While Master Reese¡¯s faint trace of a smile felt kind to him the smile she showed him now made him dread his future. ¡°Now Ike Spalding¡± Master Reese said ¡°As too what is going on it is very simple, one of the elders of our little magic teaching town abused her position to give to her grandson the first rank. This wouldn¡¯t be a large problem if both female martial artists had similar strengths. However one girl is an exceptional martial artist while the other one is average at best. So now the three of us are simply traveling to the martial arts teaching town to see the martial arts tournament they hold to determine the ranks of their martial artists¡±. The first thought Ike had was that there was nothing simple going on. His second though was why he was dragged along to see the tournament. While his third though was focussed on the importance of ranks. He was missing the puzzle piece right in the middle, so Ike said ¡°What is the relation between the magic ranks and the martial arts ranks¡± Seeing the shocked expression on Master Reese¡¯s face he knew he had asked something incredibly stupid, but at the same time he hadn¡¯t the faintest idea why. He could see the shocked expression disappear, being replaced by a laughing Master Reese. ¡°I wonder who is responsible for this oversight¡± Master Reese said, ¡°The ranks of both matter because a male magician and a female martial artist with the same rank are placed together in a single team. Those teams will not change and it¡¯s not uncommon for them to last a life time.¡± Ike could feel his mind spinning, this little bit of information was the key in making sense of the things that had happened. He could vaguely hear Master Reese say something, after focussing his mind he heard her say ¡°¡­ artist you will be teamed up might depend on what actions you take today¡±. Thinking over this last sentence he saw Miss Babcock take the seat next to him again. ¡°It¡¯s done¡± she said. ¡°Good¡± Master Reese said ¡°Driver to the martial artist town now. Miss Babcock Ike had a very peculiar gap in his education let us hope the one responsible isn¡¯t in this carriage. Now the both of u have something to think about, so be quiet and let me sleep again¡±. Instead of driving straight through the village they were driven along the wooden wall. Ike hadn¡¯t seen Ilesha in years so he paid close attention to the farmlands they were passing and the many two story houses who could be seen above the wooden wall. One building in particular drew his attention, as it was the only one made out of stone. Soon the farm fields and village of Ilesha were left behind. Ike tried to start a whispered conversation with Miss Babcock but Master Reese seemed to be a very light sleeper. Not wanting to risk waking her up he spend the rest of the trip in silence starting out of the window. Instead of stopping outside of town like they had done in Ilesha they drove straight into town. Arriving at the town square the carriage stopped and the three of them got out. Looking around Ike could see a big round building, it was close to two stories high but oddly enough it didn¡¯t seem to have a roof? ¡°Come along Ike¡± Master Reese said as she started to walk in the direction of a restaurant on the edge of the square. Instead of going to one of the tables out-front Master Reese took them deep into the restaurant away from prying eyes. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. She took a whole table for herself, while he and Miss Babcock were left at a nearby table. Curious he tried to see what Master Reese was writing but the distance was too far. He started talking to Miss Babcock about various things but she wouldn¡¯t tell him anything useful. This probably was because of Master Reese sitting in ear shot distance. After lunch the three of them left the restaurant to go to the big round building also known as the martial arts coliseum. They weren¡¯t the only ones who were going to watch the tournament matches today and it took them quite a while before they were allowed to go inside. Ike looked in amazement he had never before seen so many people at the same time. The three of them managed to find a spot off to the sides of the entrance. After they were seated Miss Babcock started to point out important people to him. First Miss Babcock pointed out Master Whelks a young man sitting in a luxurious box opposite the entrance of the coliseum. Next to him were Master Owen and her husband, they were both in their fifties or sixties from what he could see. Miss Babcock also pointed out some representatives from various lords and merchant organizations, apparently they were there to scout and recruit upcoming talents. With a clank the large doors of the entrance were closed and Ike could see the young Master Whelks getting up. ¡°Welcome¡± Master Whelks said ¡°To the finals of this year¡¯s ranking tournament. The first match will be between Richard currently ranked fourth and Evan currently ranked third. The winner of this match will get the third rank. Now begin!¡± At the same time Ike heard Master Whelk¡¯s last words a gong was echoing through the coliseum. Both boys started to move immediately, they were faster than he thought possible. It took them just a couple of seconds to clash in the middle of the 25m circular stage. Squinting his eyes he could make out their movements, Richard was aggressively attacking while Evan was just defending. He could see that Evan under the barrage of attacks from Richard started to move backwards moving closer and closer to the edge of the stage. People were now holding their breaths as they could now see that if Evan was pushed back just one more step he would leave the stage and lose. Suddenly Ike saw Evan catch Richards¡¯s incoming fist and pull hard on it. The two were now moving towards each other however the surprised Richard didn¡¯t prevent Evan slipping past him, in one pull reversing their positions. With one solid backwards kick he hit Richard who was out of balance on the edge of the stage. In this one overpowering move Evan had ejected Richard out of the area and won. Cheers and applause could be heard in the coliseum, after the sound died down Master Whelks stood up announcing Evan as the winner. Both martial artist were still in good shape and both managed to leave the circle on their own. ¡°Now the fight we have all been waiting for.¡± Master Whelks said, ¡°Between Jack currently the best and our runner up Rudi. These two youngster are so evenly matched that a single mistake could lose them the match. Let us wait no longer, begin!¡± At the sound of the gong both boys flew towards the centre of the circle, both not slowing in the least as drew closer to each other. Both were positioning themselves to get a kick or a punch in just before the inevitable crash in the centre. Ike saw them collide but both of them had tensed all their muscles just before the collision causing them to be bounced back. Looking at them while they started to circle each other it was difficult to tell who was less injured. Jack sported a bloody nose while Rudi had a large bruise on his upper leg. The fight wasn¡¯t over yet and as they drew nearer each other again, kicks and punches were flying across. Ike could see that both of them only defended crucial parts on their bodies, while for any other part of their bodies they would take the blow and punch and kick back as hard as they could. As the fighting went on both bodies got covered in more and more bruises, Ike couldn¡¯t help but feel that both of them would soon reach the end of their endurance. Before that moment would come creating a bit of distance between them and they started to circle each other again. Jack was the first to attack, it was a daring move running towards Rudi and leaping into a flying kick. Rudi narrowly dodged the kick but at the same time he managed to execute a perfect punch at Jack¡¯s lower jaw. Seeing that Jack wasn¡¯t getting up, the crowd erupted in cheers, shouting ¡°Rudi ¡­ Rudi ¡­ Rudi ¡­¡± over and over. At the same time three women dressed in white rushed into the circle, two tended to Jack while the third inspected Rudi carefully assessing his injuries. When the sound died down Master Whelks stood up again and said ¡°Congratulations Rudi. Excellent performance many a martial artist can learn a thing or two from the ferocity and fighting power displayed by this year¡¯s tournament winner.¡± These words elected another round of cheers from the crowd before Rudi and Jack left the circle. ¡°Who are those women in white, who just ran in like that after the fight Miss Babcock¡± Ike said. Unexpectedly Master Reese answered him, ¡°Those are healers. Normally they only check a person injuries onstage and then heal the person offstage. Although if there any good as healers they will leave the bruises alone, can¡¯t teach anyone to be more careful if it doesn¡¯t hurt first¡±. Ike inwardly thought it wasn¡¯t surprising that Master Reese was so set on hard physical labour as a punishment method. ¡°Next up is the match between the only two female martial artists of this year¡¯s generation¡± Master Whelks said, ¡°Melissa ranked first will fight Jacky. Jacky has yet to win a single match against Melissa but perhaps today inspired by the last match she will rise above herself¡± Ike could hear Master Whelks finishing up his speech but his full attention was on the girl limping into the circle. She was Melissa and she was a sight from sore eyes. If you would call her injuries bad u could barely call Rudi and Jack¡¯s injuries; injuries. But looking into Melissa¡¯s eyes even with the large distance between them he could feel her fighting spirit and desire too win. Two of the three nurses wanted to rush in to help her but the third was holding them back. At the same time a low whispering sound filled the coliseum. Hardly anyone knew what was going on and theory after theory could be heard in the whispers all around him. Next to him he could feel anger starting to build within Miss Babcock. He could hear Master Reese say ¡°Cool your anger Miss Babcock. I didn¡¯t do this, I only explained to Carla and Johan Shepard that I wouldn¡¯t overrule the official ranking. They chose to do this for their daughter future¡±. To go that far just to have their daughter be teamed up with him, Ike could barely believe it. Meanwhile Master Whelks was staring at the stage and in particular at Melissa who was almost too injured to walk let alone fight. Ike was also solely focussed on the two girls on stage so he and practically everyone else in the coliseum didn¡¯t notice Master Owen ordering Master Whelks to start the fight. Hearing the soft sound of the gong, Ike knew the fight had started. Chapter 4. At the sound of the gong both girls started to move towards the middle of the stage, Melissa was moving slowly and steadily but the look on her face betrayed how much effort it was costing her. Jacky was also moving slowly but in contrast to Melissa she was actually smiling and enjoying the opportunity that had come her way. When they were perhaps three meters apart Melissa was the first one to act, she pushed off with her injured leg crossing half the distance between her and Jacky. With the next step Melissa closed the distance and Ike saw a heavy punch landing on Jacky¡¯s shoulder. Seeing Jacky retreating to a distance twice as large as before, Ike couldn¡¯t help but feel this was a stupid and cowardly move. Even from Ike¡¯s place amongst the public he could see that Melissa¡¯s sudden attack had left her unbalanced and in quite a bit of pain after pushing her injured leg too far. If Jacky had just calmly taken the punch like those two boys had done, she probably would have won the match then and there. With the large distance between them Jacky started to circle around Melissa looking for an opportunity to strike. However the distance between them was too large and Melissa easily managed to keep facing her. Jacky started to carefully move closer and closer to Melissa all the while trying to get to one of Melissa¡¯s flanks. The constant circling took minutes, and while keeping one eye on the match Ike¡¯s mind had started to wonder. With which of the girls did he want to be teamed up with? Jacky wasn¡¯t a good fighter and Ike thought she was a bit of a scaredy-cat perhaps even a coward. If he was teamed up with her Ike imagined he would have a nice and quiet live. Melissa however seemed to be a fighter, not afraid of anything and seemed to be someone desiring to win most of all. Oh and without a doubt she would be stubborn. There was no way in Ike¡¯s mind that her parents wouldn¡¯t have first tried to persuade Melissa to take a dive before taking measures themselves. Teaming up with Melissa would without a doubt be troublesome, but perhaps also exciting and fun. Rationally Ike preferred the nice and quiet, but deep within his hart there was a part of him rooting for Jacky to win this fight. Five minutes had already passed in the fight and nothing much had happened, frustration could be seen on Jacky¡¯s face. She was growing reckless, instead of continuing to carefully circle Melissa trying to find an opening she dove in. It wasn¡¯t elegant it was just a right hook towards Melissa¡¯s face, but it was highly effective. Melissa could only doge using her injured leg so Melissa blocked Jacky¡¯s punch. Fist hit fist, both girls stumbled backwards. Jacky was the first to regain her balance and recklessly dove forward again, this time Melissa countered Jacky¡¯s punch again but the arm she was using was lacking strength. Ike could see her falling down but at the last moment Melissa steadied before hitting the ground. However this had left Melissa totally open, Jacky immediately abused the situation fiercely punching Melissa. With obviously broken ribs Melissa hit the ground, Ike could see her trying to get up but she simply didn¡¯t have enough strength left. It was quiet in the coliseum now, some people hesitantly stated to clap while some others were booing. Most people were just quietly waiting, they understood that even if u were given a large advantage winning was winning. Outside the safety of the town walls winning was all that mattered if u wanted to live another day. Master Whelks stood up and loudly said ¡°The surprising winner of this match is Jacky. Since Jacky won she is awarded the first rank amongst the girls while Melissa is demoted to rank two. Please give Jacky an applause.¡± Barely had those words left Master Whelks or ¡°Noooo¡± echoed through the coliseum shouted by the now standing elder Deen. ¡°This is unacceptable obviously Melissa is the better martial artist and she must be given the first rank. U can¡¯t allow this blatant manipulation of the tournament. My grandson Dickey is the best boy magician u can¡¯t allow him to be teamed up with this weak girl just because she unfairly won.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a tradition I can¡¯t just change the results. I¡¯m sure Master Owen agrees with me on this.¡± Master Whelks hesitantly said, looking to Master Owen for support. The crowd in the coliseum were now excitedly following this discussion. Some people had started to whisper but seeing Master Owen getting up, people quieted down. ¡°Yes there has been manipulation of the tournament¡± Master Owen said ¡°But as it is tradition the results will stand. However the ranking ceremonies are just a means to an end, to be used as a basis in teaming up magi and martial artist of similar strengths¡± ¡°Thank you Master Owen¡± Elder Deen said, ¡°Since my grandson Dickey is the best magi u will undoubtedly see to it that he is teamed up with Melissa¡±. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°As I said the best will be teamed up with the best¡± Master Owen said. Ike was too furious to see through the meaning of Master Owen¡¯s diplomatic words, instead he was angry. That Dickey and his Grandma were undoing all the effort Carla and Johan, Miss Babcock and probably also Master Reese had put into making sure he and Melissa would become a team. For a second he thought about launching an ice dart at the two of them but it wouldn¡¯t accomplish anything. Not knowing what to do he noticed the three nurses healing Melissa who was still lying onstage. Ike thought back, Miss Babcock had been absolutely convinced that summoning the Radiant fish of renewal would allow him to win. ¡®I obviously can¡¯t assault elder Deen or Dickey but perhaps a demonstration impossible to ignore could turn the tides¡¯ Ike thought. Although he admitted to himself he was also curious about the fishes healing effects. Fuelled by anger he summoned a sizeable radiant fish of renewal. The sphere of healing light the fish was emitting was so large it was easily covering more than a quarter of the coliseum. All the eyes in the coliseum started to look at him in amazement. Ike was occupied with getting his fish to Melissa¡¯s side so he obviously didn¡¯t notice. Nor did he notice Master Reese who leaned close to his ear, about to give him some suggestions. The fish flew closer and closer to Melissa but he had a harder and harder time controlling it. The fish¡¯s instincts were fighting back at his mental control. He wouldn¡¯t be able to supress those instincts for much longer. Reaching the point where he should choose to either dismiss his summon or let the instincts run wild, he took a gamble. Taking a mental step backwards, he let the instincts of the radiant fish of renewal take over. Ike wasn¡¯t able to control his summon anymore but he still kept a watchful eye out for any suspicious behaviour, but the actions of the fish were even surprising him. It was actually starting to contract the sphere of healing light. While the sphere of healing light was getting smaller and smaller, the brightness of the light got stronger and stronger. Barely two seconds had passed since the sphere of healing light started to contract and now it was the same size as Melissa¡¯s body. The brightness was so intense it felt like he was staring into the sun but these changes had also increased the mental energy drain. It was like his mental energy was evaporating into nothingness, at this rate he could only keep his summon in his world for another twelve or so seconds. Mere seconds were remaining before all his mental energy would be gone, he was preparing to dismiss his summon as a sudden lack of mental energy would injure him and could possibly even kill him. Suddenly the light disappeared, he could only see darkness now despite it being the middle of the day. He knew his fish was still there, he felt it hovering near Melissa¡¯s body. As soon as that intense sphere of healing light had disappeared the large drain on his mental energy also stopped. Not wanting to take any further chances he immediately dismissed his summon. Colour was slowly returning to the world around him, Ike could easily tell that he hadn¡¯t been the only one affected by the sudden lack of light. Most of his attention however was focussed on Melissa. Seeing her jump up and try out complex movements using her arms and legs, Ike could easily tell that her injuries had been healed. ¡°Come along boy¡± Master Reese whispered in his ear, ¡°Hurry up, else we will never be able to get out of here¡±. He followed Master Reese, through the small door next to the large entrance of the coliseum, crossing the town square she led them into a large wooden house. Most people were too surprised to realise that the boy leaving with the two older woman had been the one responsible. Master Owen however wasn¡¯t most people, besides recognizing the boy who had summoned that Radiant fish of renewal she had also recognized Master Reese. The house the three of them currently were standing in was large and sparsely furnished, everything he saw looked functional. The only things which looked even remotely decorative were the various weapons hung on the wall, there were swords, maces, spears, halberds, single and double bladed axes. Curious Ike asked ¡°Whose house is this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Master Whelks house¡± Master Reese said, ¡°Please sit down. It probably won¡¯t take Master Owen long to round up all the people she thinks are involved. But Ike you really overdid it today. U attracted so much attention, it won¡¯t be surprising to see many lords soon trying to make u into one of their loyal retainers.¡± It didn¡¯t sound as bad as Master Reese had made it sound, Ike thought. When suddenly Master Owen followed by the worried looking elder Deen and her grandson Dickey entered the house. Chapter 5. As soon as Master Owen entered the house Ike could see her staring intensely at Master Reese. While Ike could tell Master Reese was calm and relaxed, Master Owen however was giving off the feeling of being ready to lash out at any moment. Ike was calmly studying both Masters when he noticed Master Owen looking at him for barely a second. ¡°Shall we first sort out the mess in the coliseum first Master Reese? Before we start discussing about the reason why the magic skill rankings of the boys were incorrect.¡± Master Owen said. ¡°That sounds reasonable¡± Master Reese said ¡°Since I imagine you aren¡¯t fully aware of all the little details. Perhaps we should let Elder Deen write a comprehensive report on the subject, including of course today¡¯s events¡± ¡°An interesting idea¡± Master Owen said, ¡°Elder Deen I think three days would be enough time to write such a report, wouldn¡¯t you think!¡± Seeing Elder Deen meek attitude in the presence of these two masters, Ike couldn¡¯t help but smile. Ike was pretty sure that with this Dickey¡¯s support would be largely gone and his days of bullying others would soon come to an end. There was a brief knock on the door after which Ike could see Master Whelks entering his own house. He was followed by Melissa, Melissa¡¯s parents Carla and Johan, Jacky and finally Master Owen¡¯s husband Karl. Ike got up from his seat, there were only six places to sit and most of these people were his superiors. Seeking a comfortable place to stand he was surprised when Melissa joined him and said ¡°You¡¯re the one that healed me right?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Ike whispered, ¡°Are you totally ok now? I saw you move a bit afterwards but we were leaving in a hurry so I couldn¡¯t really tell if you were totally ok¡± ¡°Yes I¡¯m fine, it felt really warm and comfortable being healed by that little fish.¡± Melissa said. In the mean time Ike could see that Dickey didn¡¯t have the same presence of mind as him. To Ike¡¯s amusement Dickey was rudely dragged from his chair by his grandma to make place for Master Whelks. ¡°Since all three masters are here now, it is as good a time as any to decide upon the final teams¡± Master Owen said, ¡°As both Dickey and Jacky have the first rank we should place them in a team, which leaves Ike and Melissa as team two. Master Reese, Master Whelks do you two agree?¡± Seeing the two other masters nod in agreement, Ike knew he was now teamed up the girl standing right next to him. To Ike¡¯s surprise Elder Deen didn¡¯t react in the slightest, however Dickey tried to complain only to be silenced by the stares of Master Reese and Master Owen. ¡°Elder Deen must be eager to start on her report why don¡¯t we let her take Dickey and Jacky to Ilesha village dorms.¡± Master Reese said. With Elder Deen, Dickey and Jacky leaving Melissa parents Carla and Johan Shepard became Master Reese¡¯s next victims. After Ike saw her staring at them for a while she said ¡°The way you two tried to manipulate the ranking results was so obvious that we can¡¯t let it go with some sort of retribution. I think that having Johan working here and Carla in my town for a week of two should suffice. Master Whelks, Master Owen do you agree?¡° The other two masters agreed and a short while later Ike could see Melissa¡¯s parents leave the house as well. ¡°The only thing left is to decide what to do with Ike and Melissa¡± Master Reese said, ¡°Since Ike attracted quite a lot attention today I thought it best to send them on a training trip. Besides he demonstrated that he can summon spirit animals based on images from a book so it might be worthwhile to let him visit the library.¡± Ike was enthusiastically looking forward to visiting the library, he always felt that just three spirit animals requiring the light element was far too little. Comparing that number to the hundreds of spirit animals which could be summoned by people relying on the earth element alone, Ike always wondered why there weren¡¯t more. Perhaps this was because of the rarity of people having affinity with the light element or perhaps countless of spirit animals had been forgotten. Being able to rediscover lost spirit animals would be amazing Ike thought. Listing to the discussion of the Masters, especially Master Owen and Reese had different opinions as to what should be done with him and Melissa. In the end Master Reese¡¯s plan of sending them on a training trip was agreed upon by all three masters albeit a large number minor changes which Master Owen had insisted upon. A few of them were really oppressive from him, such as forbidding him to summon his radiant fish of renewal except for life threatening situations. Ike was further more forbidden from summoning any newly learned spirit animal during the trip. While at the same time they had to employ two highly ranked adventurers as escorts in case of danger during the trip. To his delight Miss Babcock was to accompany them and give instructions. When they were about to leave the house, he heard Karl the husband of Master Owen¡¯s say ¡°Master Whelks do you intend to let your student leave on a training trip without a decent weapon? Seeing this collection of weapons isn¡¯t there something suitable here for her to use in combat?¡±. Ike could see Master Whelks shoot Karl an annoyed glance before he hesitantly grabbed a double bladed axe from the wall. ¡°This weapon should suit your style of fighting quite well¡± Master Whelks said to Melissa, ¡°It is a weapon suited to your quick and explosive style of fighting, the only important thing is to keep in mind is that this weapon isn¡¯t well suited for defence. Oh, because it¡¯s quite large it isn¡¯t a good choice to use against small enemies, so you should buy a short sword as soon as possible¡± Ike could see Melissa greedily accepting the axe. When Master Whelks had been holding the axe it had already looked quite large but in Melissa¡¯s hands it looked gigantic. Melissa tried swinging the axes forgetting about the fact she was inside a house. Ike standing next to her could see that Melissa lost control, he tried to jump backwards to avoid the blade only to discover he was standing against the wall. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Master Whelks however easily caught the blade and said ¡°You should really practise outside. Your strength is a bit lacking right now but with enough practise it will become easier to use it.¡± ¡°Take this as well.¡± Master Whelks said after looking through some shelves and coming up with a harness to strap the axe onto her back. The sky was already turning dark by the time they left the house, the carriage from this morning was parked nearby and the four of them, Melissa, Master Reese, Miss Babcock and him got in. ¡°Take me home¡± Master Reese said to the driver. Sitting in the carriage, the rhythmic sound of hooves hitting the ground was hypnotic was enough to make him fall asleep after the long day. When Ike woke up he could see light coming in through the windows of the carriage, Miss Babcock sitting opposite of him was kindly smiling at him. He was about to say something when Miss Babcock shushed him pointing to Melissa who was sleeping peacefully next to him. Ike was left with nothing to do but looking outside, he could see they were traveling through a forest. Suddenly the carriage abruptly stopped, he could steady himself but Melissa who was still sleeping landed in Miss Babcock¡¯s lap. Ike could see two men jump of the carriage one to each side of him, a woman voice said ¡°Don¡¯t worry it¡¯s just a mutated sand bear¡±. ¡°Hurry up you two get out and take a look¡± Miss Babcock said while getting out of the carriage herself, ¡°If it¡¯s not that dangerous why don¡¯t we let Ike and Melissa deal with it Caroline¡±. Ike was quite fast in getting out, even though he was fast he was just in time to see one of the men cut off the bear¡¯s right front paws while the other plunged his sword into the bears left flank. ¡°Retreat¡± the woman on top of the carriage shouted. Compared to the martial artist in the tournament these two warriors moved even faster, retreating the thirty or so meters back to the carriage in mere seconds. ¡°Melissa, Ike you two try to get rid of this bear, be careful. In case you can¡¯t manage be sure to retreat.¡± Miss Babcock said. Since both warriors didn¡¯t obstruct his view anymore he could clearly see the bear, there were strange patches of sand covering the black pelt of the bear. The oddest things was however that the bear¡¯s wounds were being patched up with sand. Having been injured the bear was furious and in rage it started to charge towards the carriage. Ike could see the horses getting nervous, but also he saw Melissa fearlessly charging at the bear with her double bladed axe in hand. Not wanting to be the only one not doing anything, Ike started to summon an ice porcupine. The ice porcupine was about the same size as a dog, razor sharp ice spikes covered the porcupine¡¯s back. While a sharp ice spike was growing out from the top of its head, this ice spike was special and could be launched at a target. When it was launched it was exceptionally strong easily being able to kill a bear, the only downside was that it was almost impossible to aim it accurately. He could see Melissa holding the axes over her head, swinging it down narrowly missing the charging bear. The next second he saw Melissa colliding with the bear, the impact was caused Melissa to be send flying off towards the side with the axe landing right in between her legs narrowly missing her. His porcupine had been following Melissa and now with a clear line of sight he launched the ice spike straight at the slightly dazed bear. Hitting the bear¡¯s head it collapsed, he had killed it the sudden realization made him feel slightly sick, it was a living creature after all. Swaying on his feet Ike heard Miss Babcock say ¡°I¡¯m glad you two are ok, but you two were seriously lucky this time. Acting so recklessly without any planning and the slightest bit of team work can get you killed¡° With the problem out of the way, the three of them climbed back into the carriage while the two men took their seats again on the top of the carriage. Now everyone was awake Miss Babcock started an impromptu lesson about the dangers of this world. ¡°As you know people either possess an affinity with magic allowing them to summon spirit animals or they possess a kind of inner strength allowing them to exceed ¡®normal¡¯ human limits¡± Miss Babcock said, ¡°Most commonly women have the ability to use magic while only about one in a thousand men can use magic. Of course it¡¯s the opposite for inner strength, allowing men too easily become capable martial artist. Unfortunately some wild animals also possess an affinity with magic which can cause them to mutate into hideous and extremely dangerous creatures. While other wild animals possess the same inner strength men have, allowing them to becoming faster, stronger. The bear you two fought is actually an example of an animal starting to get mutated by its magical element.¡± The rest of the trip went by quite fast, Ike and Melissa spoke quite a lot trying to get more familiar with each other. However due to the forcefulness of the situation they only spoke to each other about superficial things, allowing Ike only slowly to get more familiar with her. When they weren¡¯t talking Miss Babcock would often give lessons about the world and the dangerous animals in them. After three days of traveling the carriage stopped at the end of the path through the forest, a clearing lay ahead of them and right in the middle of the clearing Ike could see the large outer wall of a city. Caroline one of their escorts on their trip from Ilesha to the city of Zaria said ¡°We have arrived, you will need to walk the last little bit.¡± When they got out they could see their three escorts and the carriage¡¯s driver starting on their way back to Ilesha. While their training trip was just beginning.