The Path of Ascension

Chapter 133

When Matt and Liz returned to their rooms that evening, Luna and Kurt briefed them on what their other personas had been up to.

Which amounted to not much.

Their managers had enjoyed a very casual walk around the city. The only interesting thing that had happened was when they were invited to a mask wearers only gathering in two days.

From what they put together, it was billed as an exclusive and elite event, put on during every Tier 10 tournament. The next gathering was actually the sixth one held so far this year, as the organizers sought to round up all the Pathers that had arrived in the last month. Or at least, all the masked contestants.

Commonly referred to as TheMasquerade, the events attempt at using an official sounding name had been widely usurped by the colloquialism. Over the course of centuries, it had simply stuck better with time. And now, few people even bothered remembering the original.

It was public knowledge that newcomers would be tested in combat to determine if they were worthy of their masks. If a fledgling member failed to meet the group's standards, they would not be invited back a second time. Matt and Liz, or rather, Quill and Torch, saw it as an opportunity. They were ready to create a splash, and cement themselves as top contenders in this year's tournament.

To do that, preparations were in order. The duo spent the next day gathering resources for their respective specialties.

Torch sought supplies for her alchemy, and Quill began selling his talismans to help fund their endeavors.

Aster, thankfully, jumped at the chance to hang out with the other beast bonds, so she didnt need to hide in the apartment while they were busy, or don her Lassie the dog persona.

Matt felt bad about excluding her from their preparations, but he was ecstatic to see her spend time playing. This was her first opportunity to make beast friends with advanced sapience at her own Tier. These bonds didnt quite reach her effective mental age, but at Tier 10, the cognitive gap between her and her peers shrank considerably.

These new bonds she connected with might be the companions she spent her years in the beast academy with after reaching Tier 15.

Tier 15 represented a massive upheaval in a bonds life, since they were sequestered by the Beast Kingdom once reaching it. For the following decade, everything would change for them; their form, their level of sapience, their home, their routines, and the people they could spend time with would be completely uprooted. Sparking these new friendships now would only help lessen the severity of the transition later.

After ensuring that Aster had everything she needed, and the reasonable things she wanted, Matt lingered just long enough to enjoy the sight of the feisty little fox horsing around with an actual horse. He shook his head with a chuckle before rushing back to transform himself into Quill.

Torch was already out raiding the market booths that were selling herbs, and Quill only stopped to check his reflection before using the suites teleporter to zap himself into the middle of the market.

Swirling white holes once again adorned his eyes, gazing out through the eyeholes. The manifestation of his Concept stood out brilliantly against the dark mask and silver-etched feather pen.

More than a few people stopped to stare, and Quill brushed past them without acknowledging their presence. Right up until one man stepped directly in his path and refused to move.

The challenge was clear, but not the reason. Quill just cocked his head, waiting for the other man to speak.

The man stayed silent, and after a few seconds of silence, Quill moved to brush past him. His obstacle sidestepped to block his way again.

Suspecting the man wanted to expose his abilities, Quill strongly preferred to avoid the confrontation. This wasn't the ideal time or place to make a splash.

But if the brute insisted

Matthew Alexander would never rise to such simple provocation, as Talous more than proved.

But Quill was not Matt.

No, Quill was the type of person to send a message. And much like a talisman, it would be the kind of message that was only ever used once, because that would always be enough.

Brett Zangari, as Quill's AI registered him, was a known lackey for one of the stronger masked contestants, Emerald Blade. Or at least, one of the stronger contestants who had arrived so far. Brett had egged numerous other masked contestants into fights out of the blue. After seeing Felix fall into the same trap yesterday, Matt had been prepared for such a situation before he donned Quill's persona today.

For appearances sake though, and his own conscience, he would prefer not be the one seen striking first in a crowded public area. His idea would work out best if this goon was the one to escalate the situation.

So, Quill made one last token effort to bypass the thug. As predicted, Brett refused to accept that outcome, and slapped his hand on Quill's shoulder as he pushed past, leaned in, and tried to say something.

Quill was prepared, and reacted faster than he could speak.

A [Jolt] burst from his shoulder into Bretts grip. His assailant stiffened, and then toppled to the ground.

With a mocking snicker, Quill theatrically spun back to face him and made an exaggerated spitting sound. Don't touch the goods unless you can pay for damages. Next time, Ill collect the hand as collateral.

With a slight mental effort, Quill molded a cheshire grin into the hard outer shell of his mask, and leaned forward.

Now be a good boy and tell your owner to send a real dog instead of a puppy next time. Or wait until the masquerade in two days. Ill put them in their place then. No need to rush the inevitable.

As he saw the rage boil over on the downed man's face, Quill was already lifting his leg when his opponent lunged from the ground. As his assailant lunged, Quills boot landed squarely in Bretts face as he followed through, stomping his head hard into the ground.

Bad dog! Heel!

Or at least, the stomp was hard for a mage with a normal seventy-thirty cultivation split. In actuality, less than a quarter of Matts base physical strength went into the blow, but as Quill, he had worked hard on limiting his physical abilities to plausible levels.

With the opportunity present, Quill spread his arms. And if any of the big doggies want to come play, Ill be around. But be warned, I play ruff. Quill paused for effect. Get it? Ruff? Like a dog?

A burning red face and loathing glare were the only response.

His masks smile shifted into a cartoonish pout. Ahhh, you didnt like that one? Or the heel pun either? Tough crowd. Well maybe tough isnt the best word to describe you, runt. But, whatever.

He pointed to the ground. Now staaay. Stay!

Knowing how his wide green eyes with white holes spreading mana would contrast with the mask, Quill performed a refined pirouette and dismounted Brett's face, staring him in the eyes as he swaggered backwards.

Beneath the Quill persona, Matt felt weird about hitting the man while he was down, but he had started it.

As a melee fighter, the man was undamaged; at least,his physical body was. His pride was definitely wounded, if the growling was any indication.

Shrugging mentally, Matt reset himself and his mask as Quill.

Huh. You even growl like a dog. How shocking. He cast another [Jolt], controlled with [Lighting Manipulation], to let arcs of electricity jump between his fingers.

Switching to making shoo motions in the opposite direction, he commanded, Now be a good puppy and go home. When Brett didnt move, he repeated in a much more hostile tone, Go home.

Then, he strutted off into the crowds and messaged Torch.

She had similarly been challenged to a fight, and similarly avoided giving away any important information, but Quill sighed.

The masked contestants were far more ruthless to anyone they suspected might be top competitors.

The anonymity that the masks afforded them allowed them to push limits that they normally wouldn't dare.

Masked contestants very often won the competitions, which explained why so many sycophants like Brett were willing to throw their own pride away to get into the good graces of someone who might become the next Light and Shadow.

Matt and Liz both found the behavior pathetic, but they expected to inevitably attract their own hangers-on as Quill and Torch rose in fame.

Leaving the crowd behind, Quill made his way back to Sallys enchantment shop and started flipping through the talismans that he had taken an interest in yesterday.

After pulling out the more specialized versions, he took a moment and tried to peer into the enchantments she had imbued into the parchments.

As he expected, her obscurement runes blurred the details too much for him to discern exactly how she created her elementally inclined [Mana Barriers].

Sally saw him perusing the talismans and introduced herself. I see you have a good eye. Those are my little pet projects. You wont find anything half as good in other shops. Im Sally, by the way. Owner, proprietor, and best enchanter on the block.

He nodded along as she spoke, but didnt stop leafing through the papers, inspecting what runes he could make out through the obscurement enchantment.

Quill would return pettiness and bad behavior tenfold, but Matt refused to let himself start any trouble, and that was a personality trait he shared with Quill. His alter ego would eagerly dump gasoline on a fire, but only if someone else started the fire first.

Tapping the papers, he asked, How did you manage that? Im a dedicated talisman maker myself, and I have no idea what you actually did here.

Sally shook her head at the question. Im not going to share my trade secrets around, especially not with a direct competitor. That would just be plain dumb.

The only thing he had to trade was the knowledge of using mana types, and how to incorporate them in enchantments to offer. Except, he wasn't sure that was a fair trade either. Under the mask, Matt bit his lip, but finally made a decision. It was worth the risk if he could learn something new.

Turning, he asked, What about a talisman duel? Would that satisfy you? That would build your reputation as well. Good advertisement.

Puckering her lips, Sally shook her head. Talismans arent my main seller, and I dont get anything of equal value out of the duel.

Withdrawing one of his talismans, Quill lobbed it towards her. Inspect my work. I can trade knowledge for knowledge. Honestly, I think Id be getting the worse end of the deal. The trick Im putting up works with almost all types of enchanting.

Eyeing his unobscured talisman paper, Sally shook her head again. These are some weird formations. Is it a Talent?

Quill shook his head in the negative and waited for her to make up her mind.

Finally, Sally reconsidered. An exhibition match won't do me any harm, and will help me stand out a bit.

She put her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow at him. Though, Id really like to know who Im dueling first. You got a name, stranger?

Oh! Where are my manners? Quill, talisman maker extraordinaire and soon-to-be tournament winner.

With an agreement, they called the guards. After being informed it was an exhibition match, and not a true fight, the officers happily complied and a familiar glass orb thunked down between them.

Having talked to Luna in preparation for something like this, he sent an AI voice message to Sally.

Connect to the orb and ask for an open view. That way, the people can see what really happens. Otherwise, theres no point in this match.

He got no direct response, but a confirmation pinged out stating that the orbs counter-espionage functions had been disabled by mutual agreement.

Just as with Felixs duel, the two of them were in a simulation of the outside surroundings, just without any other people. Matt nodded at the quality of the orb. All the details were perfect, as far as he could tell.

Slipping back into his boisterous personality for anyone watching and the recording, Quill proclaimed to the crowd outside, Hello everyone! I am Quill, and with me is the Sally from Sallys Superior Supplies.

He actually had no idea what she called her business, but rolled with it. The two of us will be performing a talisman exhibition match today. For those of you not familiar with the many fine dueling traditions used by enchanters, a talisman exhibition match occurs in alternating turns. One enchanter launches an attack with one of their talismans, and the other enchanter must defend against it with a talisman of their own. Then, the roles swap, and we rinse and repeat. It's all about the quality of the talismans, and matching or countering the opponent's moves. Not so much a duel to the death, as a way to show off the power and variety of a crafters talismans.

Gesturing at Sally, he continued, As the challenged party, my esteemed opponent gets to choose to start as the attacker or defender.

Sally didn't hesitate, and a box of talismans hovered next to her as she called out, Ill be taking the offensive, and kicking us off with a standard [Mana Bolt].

Quill copied her action, and a dozen talismans hovered around him. He plucked a talisman out of the air.

Ah! A traditionalist after my own heart. Then its a standard [Mana Barrier] for me.

[Mana Bolt] versus [Mana Barrier] was the traditional opening exchange. Starting off with the absolute basics showed off just how much power a crafters enchantments could hold, all other things being equal. The two spells had no significant weaknesses, but neither was anything particularly weak to them.

With a gesture, Sally activated the talismans, and the precharged spell raced out to slam into Quills prepared [Mana Barrier]. The energy dispersed without causing so much as a ripple on the shield. Defending was always easier with talismans, as the maximum amount of mana one could put into a talisman was dictated by the Tier of the animal skin used to make the parchment. While there could be a variety of monsters used in their production, the maximum mana would fluctuate by only a minute amount.

Still, static defenses were almost always more mana efficient than ranged attacks. Defensive talismans always held an advantage if all else was neutral.

At least, that was the normal convention.

With it being his turn to attack, Quill copied her and sent his own [Mana Bolt]. The glowing missile slammed into Sallys [Mana Barrier], causing the spell to flash opaque as it struggled to stand against his attacks power.

A flicker of shock came over Sallys face, but she quickly mastered herself and snagged a talisman from her box. Suddenly, a bolt of ice careened towards him, only to be scattered against another standard [Mana Barrier].

Quill laughed. My talismans are the best there are. It's my whole thing after all. I might only do one thing, but I do it better than anyone else.

His mana barrier fizzled out, having used up the remaining bits of its charge. Quill flicked through his talismans with exaggerated movements, even going so far as to pretend to lick his finger before pulling out a parchment.

Having made his selection, he tugged a [Wind Blade] out of the pile and fed it a drop of mana to trigger the effect.

It was actually kind of fun not to rely on his mana pool during a fight. He could charge all of the talismans he wanted beforehand, and use only a single unit of mana to unleash skills worth thousands of times that.

Fighting with a talisman was all about preparation and using the resources you had at your disposal.

Even with this being an exhibition match, he still enjoyed the give and take between Sally and himself immensely.

Not that he was getting serious yet. When you knew an attack was coming, [Wind Blade] was an easy option to identify, and the best way to block one was common knowledge.

His opponent countered with a weird [Earth Barrier] variant, one that he didnt recognize. After a split second of confusion, understanding hit him. This was one of Sallys special elemental [Mana Barriers], and he quickly saw the differences. Where the normal [Earth Barrier] would have summoned a dome of short lived earth, Sally's talisman summoned a dome of mana, but converted the neutral mana to earth mana on the fly.

That was something he could have accomplished by inscribing and charging the parchment with earth aspected mana. Seeing her spell in action, he was sure that she wasnt using that method. Whatever rune she was using, he wanted it for his own use. He could see a dozen ways to pair that with aspected mana, for even greater results.

Still, her talisman blocked his [Wind Blade] with minimal strain, clearly benefiting from the elemental advantage.

Quickly understanding what he had done, Sally asked, Are you seriously willing to throw away this much mana on an exhibition challenge?

Under the mask, he smiled.

She had noticed how well her dome had stacked up. While it had survived without a hitch, she felt the barrier shudder under the impact. If she hadnt had the complete elemental advantage, he might have blown through her dome with the last attack.

Quill shrugged and retorted, Easy come, easy go. But that attack's strength wasnt from having more mana. Like I said before, theres a trick I know. A damn good one. It's a worthwhile trade. For you, that is.

Sally grimaced and launched her own attack. A [Fireball] flared forth that Quill countered with yet another basic [Mana Barrier].

With his next attack, he responded with a [Fireball] of his own, and Sally countered with one of her unique water [Mana Barrier]s.

They exchanged another half dozen blows before Sally tilted her head back, growing frustrated. Damn. Why dont we end this here? I can't break your defenses, but youll eventually break mine when I guess wrong. At this point, Im just burning through sellable goods for nothing. Plus, youve sold me already. Whatever this cheaty nonsense is, its worth trading for.

With that, they were both teleported out of the orb, and Quill sighed at seeing that only two people were watching.

He had hoped for more, but shrugged off any disappointment. The recordings of that little fight would be widely popular after the masquerade.

Following Sally into her shop, he asked, What do you know about enchanting with other types of mana? Like most crafters, you must have realized that some other crafters have much stronger enchantments. Mostly the big guilds and noble brats. I know their secret, and if you want to be an actual competitor in the coming crafting tournament, you need to know it.

Sally perked up at that, but held herself back. Is this something that will get me locked up or killed?

Quill dropped a box onto the table. Not at all. But it's kept quiet because it lets them keep the best prices on items. Eventually, you would have put it together yourself, or be forced to join them. It's about the mana used. Not just the aspect, but the sub-aspects of said mana. In that box, there are conversion stones for the basic elements of mana. Nothing unique about them, but their sub-aspects havent been scrubbed out, and thats the difference.

He scooped up a stone and handed it to her. For example, this water mana has a sub-aspect of stillness that pairs exceptionally well with barriers. A water barrier with that particular mana as the base will be far more effective than a normal one.

Quill explained the other three elemental types, to Sallys shock.

How did you learn this?

Quill shrugged. Its a part of my Talent that I don't want to talk about. Suffice it to say, I can take advantage of mana types without having to carry around a spatially expanded building, like most crafters.

He was calling his growth ring his Talent. That was the cover they had decided would keep him out of the limelight for his mana. Rather than saying he could charge talismans an unlimited amount, he was just able to freely convert his mana to any type he had absorbed before.

With his ring, no one could find a single fault in his cover story.

Sally sent him an information packet with her unique talisman types to hold up her end of the bargain. He would delve into the details once he had some time to tweak his enchantment methods, but he was able to pick out a few facets of the nuances behind her tricks.

As Quill painfully set aside the data he had been so eager to acquire, Sally asked, Can this be used for everything? I mean all enchanting?

It can. While I dont use it, I know of a friend or two who has. Now, you just need to start collecting mana types. I'm happy to sell you some to get you started, but take my advice and work on the basics first. Youll need to change most of your current runic structures to get this to work, after all.

Under his mask, Matt smiled. From seeing her in action, he knew that she was far more skilled than he was. Giving her the information about using matched mana types would be like putting wings on a tiger.

She could go anywhere after this.

The question was, if she had enough time to fully digest the information and change her style. The best of the crafters would have had this information for years.

Pulling out a feather pen, he drew out a series of runes. These are how you can lock regions of the formations to only use specific mana types. You then need to set up converter runes, but it's not that complicated. Theyre just harder to enchant, and more expensive to initially charge. The efficiency also goes down if the wielder doesn't have a compatible mana type, but the damage increase is well worth it, if you ask me.

The other enchanter shook her head and asked him to clarify a few more points about the runes needed to stabilize the multiple mana types, but Quill could tell that her mind was already racing.

Seeing that she was about to dive back into her crafting, he turned to leave. Once he made his way back to a teleporter, he activated it to find himself in Mara and Leons apartment.

Mara and Leon were waiting with popcorn and together cheered, Good show!

Leon added, I liked how you stomped on his face. You really brought him to heel! Well done!

Matt rolled his eyes as he started stripping Quill's armor off.

Pulling off his boot, Matt mused, Well Im glad someone appreciated that stupid pun. It seems wrong to be such a dick to people, though. Just feels unnatural.

Mara was more focused on Sally. It was nice of you to give the girl that information. If she can scrounge together a decent collection of mana types, in time, she might break into the top hundred enchanters. There are a lot of nice rewards up there.

Leon just shrugged. Get used to the hecklers though. People will probably hate you for any perceived power. Light and Shadow were detested during their tournaments, and they didnt act like pricks at all. People love to tear down the competition. Once you win, all that hate will turn into favor as your star burns brighter. And better to remember that it's all an act. One day, youll probably merge your identities, and then youll have to deal with rabid fans. And you were kind to the girl. Being a dick to only those who are particularly assholes wont make too many people mad.

An equally serious Mara added, You can always change your mind. Theres no real reason for you to be the next Aiden sorry, Duke Waters. You can let someone else deal with it. Live a comfortable life, and just work on the mana projects you enjoy.

Matt met their eyes and saw nothing but acceptance.

Firming his will, he said, Those that can, should. I can protect the Empire by making a splash and showing were strong. The stronger my competition and the heavier my restrictions, the better it will be when I pull back the mask and show them that the Empire has another Ascender not to be trifled with.

Taking a deep breath, he stood and said, I don't have to like it, but Im in the position to make a difference. So I should. And I will.

Looking back at the older couple, he added, Just let me know if the fame starts getting to me. Please.

Two goofy grins met him with enthusiastic thumbs up.

Matt dove into making talismans for the upcoming masquerade, and was joined by Liz, who explained what had happened to her.

Nearly the same as you. People tried to accost me and see what powers I revealed. I did set up an alchemy contact, though I didnt have to fight anyone for it.

The next two days flew by as they prepared for the Masquerade.

Stupid nickname aside, it was their first time coming into contact with the best competitors in the Tier 10 tournament.

At the appointed time in their Quill and Torch personas, they entered the teleport pad and appeared in a vast marble ballroom swirling with decorative gold inlays. Vibrant, scarlet draperies adorned the walls and pillars.

The second floor's wrap-around balcony was packed with people drinking a variety of beverages as they watched the ballroom floor fill up with the newly arrived masked contestants.

As the hour ticked over, a trio of gem-like masks stepped forward and held up a hand to silence the room.

Emerald Blade stood to the front and hovered off the edge of the balcony with both Sapphire Shield and Ruby Wand behind him. All three were using their Concepts, if the ripples that Quill was feeling were accurate.

Not a surprising skill in and of itself, but the ease with which they managed to hover told him that theyve had their Concepts for some time, and pushed their limits hard.

Sapphire Shield and Ruby Wand were women, and from the way they stood next to Emerald Blade, and their general physical closeness, he suspected that they were all in a relationship.

Quill noted that as a potential weakness.

Emerald Blade waited until he had everyone's attention and said, We welcome you, newcomers, to our august presence. Sadly, not everyone will be invited to next week's gathering. If you cannot defeat one of us on the second floor, you will be deemed unworthy.

He gestured, and a number appeared over everyone's head in Quills AI. The lower the number, the stronger we are.

Emerald Blade, Sapphire Shield, and Ruby Wand were all marked with a seven. Seeing that, Quill knew it was a ranking by team. He focused up as Emerald Blade continued to speak.

Challenges can be held by team, or by individual. You all have three attempts to win, but losses don't matter here. Your only task is to be victorious once. Healers are, of course, on standby.

No one said anything for a long second, but knowing what he had to do, Matt looked at Liz through their masks and asked her if she was sure that she wanted to do this.

With her nod, he lifted them into the air with his Concept.

Laughing, he asked, Are you lot the best thats down here? If so, that works out perfectly. I already intended to give you a spanking for that little gnat you sent to pester me, but we didnt want to pass up an opportunity for a decent warmup against a strong team. All the better if I dont have to choose! We can knock you losers out and this little entrance exam at the same time. Saves us a fight. Looking about, he leaned back into the Quill persona after his slight slip from his real irritation. Come, gather round everyone. Ladies and gentlemen, please, will you bring your attention to me? This will be a feast for your eyes to see. Like nothing you have ever seen before! When this is done, your jaws will be on the floor and you will be begging for more!

A chorus of laughs met with Quill's grandstanding, but Torch withdrew her spear and silently pointed the flaming weapon at the crowd.

The silent threat was well understood, and those that were at the point of her spear quickly shut their mouths.

Torch's stylized face was like a marble goddess. Her stern mask brokered no argument, and the power of her flame skills silenced anyone not cowed by her gaze. The flaming hair was only a backdrop that amplified her gravitas.

Not letting Emerald Blade speak, Quill asked, Oh, wait! You never answered my question. Are your team actually the strongest here? Whoopin your asses now saves time, but I think Id still prefer a real fight. Based on that lame puppy you sent to do your dirty work while you hid, you lot must be pretty damn weak too. Where are the top five at least? Maybe they could give us a decent challenge.

As Quill chopped his hands, he saw a flicker of anger in Emerald Blades posture. That was good, as he was still irked that the man's lackeys had tried to fight them two days ago.

With an upraised hand, Emerald Blade said, As a newcomer, you don't know the rules, but prance around anyway. You can't challenge the top ten without passing through number eleven. If you

Quill interrupted him, Yeah, no. It wasn't a question. We can fight here, or you can get one of the guards to grab us an orb. Youre getting your ass beat either way.

Ruby Wand asked, Have you ever heard of respect?

Torch pointed at the red masked woman and asked, Have you ever heard of earning it?

Sapphire Shield was about to speak, but Quill interrupted her.

I've heard it both ways. Laughing at his own joke, Quill waved for a guard. An orb, my good man. When you want to get to the top, you can't hesitate in the face of a challenge.

With that last statement, he knew he had Emerald Blade at a loss. If the man insisted on forcing Quill and Torch to fight the other top ten members, it would make him look weak.

And with so many eyes on them, Emerald Blade wasn't willing to lose out before the tournament even began.

As the glass orb was tossed between the floating teams, Quill said, Power is the only thing that can speak. Rules don't matter in the face of it. Today, well show you what that looks like.

Before Emerald Blade could get in a word, they were sucked into the empty space. Instead of a blank space, they found themselves in a mirror of the ballroom, but back in the now cleared floor instead of at the edge, where they were floating a moment ago.

Not sending the message to open the viewing for everyone else, Quill withdrew his staff as Torch did the same with her spear. Entering the orb had returned all of their weapons back to their storage items.

Matt still wasn't sure how the orbs worked, but all resources spent inside were truly spent, and damage to items was emanated. Everything was real, except for wounds.

How the seemingly mass-produced orbs managed that, he had no idea.

Emerald Blade withdrew an oversized saber that had a heavy air around it.

It felt like an earth enchantment, but Quill didnt count on that being one hundred percent accurate.

For all his mockery, this was one of the best Tier 10 teams in the Empire, after all.

While not all the contestants had arrived, most of the best had had the tendency to arrive early, and make a name for themselves.

Sapphire Shield and Ruby Wand had their respective weapons out, and Quill took note of each of them. Sapphire Shield had a kite shield paired with a spiked mace, and Ruby Wand had a staff taller than herself.

Sending a message to Torch, he said, Careful of Wand. Something is off with that staff shes using.

Torch sent back, Got it. Any changes to the plan?

Quill shook his head, and as the countdown reached one, he rushed forward with Torch taking the lead in a streak of fire.

It was amusing to see Liz move that blazingly fast. While most others would attribute that speed to some fire Talent or skill, it was actually Liz using [Blood Manipulation] on her own body. With an internal Concept as a shield, no one at their Tier could feel her using it.

As Torch passed him, she punched out with the butt of her spear, and a [Fireball] launched out.

Sapphire Shield smoothly stepped in front of it and blocked it, but that was enough to break line of sight, which let Quill withdraw a talisman and throw it in the air.

A second [Fireball] crashed out, but Ruby Wand shot a [Ice Spear] through the center of the skill, trying to dissipate it.

That would have worked, but Torch grabbed the fire with [Fire Manipulation] and wrapped it around herself.

She thrust her spear out in a lunge, only to have Emerald Blade sidestep and Sapphire Shield block with a spell that Quill didnt recognize.

It looked like [Mana Shield], but the skill extended out nearly a foot in each direction, which wasnt typical for the skill.

Ruby Wand had circled left and shot a [Mana Bolt] at Quill while Emerald Blade rushed him.

As a mage, he was considered the weakest link, so they had expected the strategy. Especially considering the numbers disadvantage.

Slapping a talisman on his chest, Quill raced forward for two steps with the parchment's help. That was enough to break the trajectory of Ruby's spell and make Emerald's slash miss.

Pulling out a number of talismans, Quill threw two at the ground and watched a series of [Ice Pillars] rise up, cutting him off from his two attackers.

Intending to turn their advantage into a victory, Quill turned to attack Sapphire Shield, but his instincts screamed that he needed to move.

Trusting his intuition after years of combat, he threw himself into a roll.

Where he had been not even a second ago, a massive [Mana Arrow] that was larger than he was shattered a pillar that held up the balcony as it impacted the far wall.

Activating a [Mana Barrier], Quill blocked the sword blow that tried to chop at where he was rolling.

Pulling out another talisman, he aimed at Emerald and activated it at point blank range. The [Jolt] hit the other man in the chest and sent him stumbling back.

Considering the thousands of mana he had shoved into the paper, Quill had expected more damage. That level of talisman had killed Tier 10 bosses in a single shot before.

That Emerald Blade had survived the attack was a testament to the power of Pathers.

With a second to breathe, he looked at Ruby Wand and saw her aiming her massive staff at him. An arrow glowed in the arc of the staff. Or, more accurately, the longbow. A true magic archer wasn't something you normally saw, but with the power of that last shot, he pegged her as having a Talent for the specialization.

Giving her a pure mage name was a good cover. That longbow didnt have a string, and could double as a staff.

He sure didnt expect that.

Pushing them to reveal it would explain the scowl on her crystalline mask.

Once Emerald Blade was blown back, Ruby Wand let loose a second, charged [Mana Arrow]. Quill wanted to curse, but kept himself in front of the arrow, casting two [Mana Barrier]s on top of each other.

She had chosen her angle well, and if he dodged, Torch would have taken that attack on her flank.

As the [Mana Arrow] landed, it shattered the first layer of defense, and Quill cursed as the second shield finally dissipated the spell. He had created those with standard mana types, but pumped close to five thousand mana into each of the papers.

It only confirmed his belief that the woman had a Talent for spell archery. It wasn't easy to punch through that much armor, but now that he knew, he swapped the talismans he was using.

After the arrow hit, Quill didnt pause, and rushed left to get behind Torch and reset the battle lines.

Both teams paused as Sapphire Shield disengaged from Torch.

It didnt escape anyone's notice that Sapphire Shield had burns all down her less protected right side.

Even her shield was blackened after fighting with Torch for a minute.

Quill, keeping in character, shouted, Youre all so weak. And this is the top seven? How pitiful.

Before Ruby could send the arrow at him, he threw up a talisman, and it started to suck in heat as a massive ball of fire began growing over Torch.

Sensing that they shouldnt let the spell grow, but unwilling to shoot at a mass of energy that large, Ruby shot the skill at Torch.

Quill cursed internally. That was actually the right move, as Torch needed to stay still to fully utilize that little trick. Shooting the skill would have only sped things up.

Torch shoved her spear butt into the miniature sun and sucked it into her armor.

Like a sun herself, Torch sidestepped the arrow and lunged at Emerald Blade.

Unwilling to stay in her heat range, the sword wielder tried to back up to maintain distance from Torch, but she was far faster.

Her spear let loose a portion of the fire and burned a hole through his chest armor. Quill had already moved to prevent Sapphire's shield from attacking his partner's rear, and sent a barrier of spells from his talismans.

They were enough to stop her progress, so he used his staff and cast his first real spell of the fight. The [Jolt] wasn't anything special, but he didnt intend for it to do anything but break up Emerald Blades attack pattern.

As he hoped, the difference in timing was enough to catch Sapphire Shield off guard, and the next [Earth Spear] took her in the leg.

There was no breaking of bone, as he hoped.

Seeing Ruby point her bow towards the sky, Quill raced forward and cast two [Mana Barrier]s over Torch and Emerald Blade.

As an unending [Arrow Rain] slammed into the shield, he cast a [Water Bullet] at Emerald. The other man ignored the attack, despite it carving a line into his armor, and focused on defending against Torch and her relentless assault.

While most of her attacks were melee oriented, and her fire skills were weaker because of their being in her outer core, Torch made up for those deficiencies with aggression. The items that increased her fire damage at the cost of mana didnt hurt either.

As the [Mana Barrier] was about to end, despite the [Arrow Rain] still falling around them, Quill cast another pair of [Mana Barriers]. Suddenly, it felt like he was fighting against the person with endless mana. That [Arrow Rain] had lasted for nearly a minute, when the normal spell lasted about five seconds.

Knowing that she couldn't keep up the spell forever, Quill prepared to take out the annoying ranger mage.

Twisting his staff, he summoned three talismans into the prepared holsters, and then another five in a circle behind the first.

The [Arrow Rain] ended, and Sapphire Shield must have been warned by Emerald Blade, as she was standing with her shield raised between him and Ruby Wand.

Smiling under his mask, Quill activated the five-layer talisman array.

A three-foot-wide pillar of ice raced out and slammed through Sapphire Shield's glowing shield. The fact that she lasted longer than initial contact was impressive, but as her magical shield cracked, a [Phantom Armor] appeared, then shattered in quick succession.

Quill had to dodge the arrow that Ruby Wand sent at him, but he already saw that Sapphire Shield was dissolving in a ray of light.

Turning his staff, he cast the second three talisman array at Ruby Wand.

Seeing another arrow already racing towards him, Quill held his ground and tracked the dodging mage as he sent a triple [Jolt] at her.

She vanished in a spray of light, as he expected from that level of damage output.

Turning to Torch and Emerald Blade, Quill watched as his partner was able to quickly overwhelm the other man. Each slash and thrust of her spear inflicted wounds of burnt flesh and melted armor.

It wasn't long before Torch sidestepped Emeralds massive saber and punched her spear through the man's chest.

Once they were alone, Matt asked Liz, Are you ok?

She nodded. Perfect. I was able to match up to both of them in pure physical ability, though theyre better with their pure weapons handling. It's what I expected.

That was her greatest weakness as Torch. Liz needed to fight in melee range with a sixty forty split, with the majority of her cultivation going to her mana cores.

While she could match the more physical fighters as long as she used her boosts, once she ran out of mana, she would be placed at a disadvantage.

Quill's limits with a normal mana pool for active spells and limited physical ability were far less restrictive.

Liz was afraid that her weaknesses would drag them down, but as she proved to herself with this fight, she was able to fight two on one for a while against dedicated melee fighters.

Kurt's and Luna's training wasn't for show.

Their advantages over the general contestants were numerous, and Matt felt that if they were to both go all out, they could easily take out all of the competition.

Just Liz with her [Blood Manipulation] could have probably taken out both melee fighters in seconds.

Her Blood Iron and growth glove would have allowed her to overwhelm and suffocate them as soon as they tried to attack the weak mage, as they did with Quill.

Liz would have been a near reminder of why Duke Waters was so feared.

The setting started to dissolve, and Quill caught Torch with his Concept as they returned to their previous positions.

The number eight now hovered above the gem trio.

Matt didnt feel like rubbing in a well-fought loss, so just said, Well fought, but not nearly enough to beat us. Where are the higher numbers? Color me interested in meeting them.

Emerald Blade had regained his composure and gestured to a door in the corner of the ballroom.

Head up, and you will find the top ten lounge. If you think it will be easy to beat everyone, you are sorely mistaken. We didnt use all of our trump cards either, of course.

Torch waved the words off with a flick of her fingers. Neither did we.

Ruby sounded infuriated, but her mask hid the expression. You can't rely on talismans for every fight. Youll eventually run out, and be brushed aside. A gimmick can only take you so far.

Truly, your insight is staggering, and I had never once considered that I might have such a flaw with my primary weapon. I suppose I shall now reconsider the strategy which I have spent decades relying upon. Thank you for your sagely advice.

That earned him some snickers from the crowd.

"It just takes mana to make the talismans. Easy come, easy go."

While he didnt know exactly what version of the fight they had seen, he knew the use of so many talismans couldn't go unremarked.

Walking through the air, he and Torch stepped down to the balcony and proceeded up the stairs.