I kept my stance casual, spinning my spear while displaying a wide grin for Blondie. He avoided looking my way at first, but his eyes eventually veered toward me while the others pretended to size each other up.

His hesitancy quickly shifted to annoyance then anger as I widened my mask's smile.

"You've been lucky so far. That changes today. It doesn't matter if you have those damn Lightcrests in your corner. You're but a misguided adventurer thinking he's able to stand against those higher than him."

I deliberately cocked my head to an exaggerated degree. "Oh? What makes you think I'm not a noble like you?"

He snorted. "You're implying a broken branch is as good as a sword. Never. I don't care what the others believe, you're not one of us. You're a mockery to our kingdom."

"Others, huh. So you guys are talking about me."

Blondie's eyes widened and he let out a curse before raising his finger toward my chest like a pointed blade. "Shut up."

Wow, he's wound tight. Maybe I should get close and let Galarion have some fun. Just got to-

I shook my head. The thought had slipped in unbidden and I squashed the idea before it rooted. Using shadow mana without telling Myol was one thing. Allowing blatant and excessively public displays of mental mana would be too much. Especially considering what Galarion could actually do when he wasn't helping me keep my sanity intact.

Get it together. Let the idiots reveal their dumb façade. Crush them and force them to kneel with their faces in the sand. That's it.

The announcer floated into view but he kept strangely quiet. Instead of announcing the match, he raised his finger and activated the starting lights in the arena. Gloworbs changed and the first ring sounded, cutting through the back and forth between Peter and Helmet-head.

Plans ran through my mind, and I felt Sturmrorex's influence sneak in. First instinct was to screw the plan; ignore the plot the three crafted and take them on at once. My familiar's desire to devastate the arena the way Zharia had, sparked mana across my claws.

I reined it in and allowed a steady pulse jolt across my scales as I built a current of air around my legs.

The second alarm came, and Blondie summoned orange-red mana into the hilt of his blade. It flickered into existence and lit the jewel embedded into the pommel. The dull ruby caught the light and became a blazing red glimmering across the sand.

Showy. Impractically showy.

Strangely enough, he kept his blade sheathed. While the others prepared. Cocky, or something planned?

Helmet-head predictably summoned earthen mana into the center of his shield while he angled his sword at Peter.

For Peter's part, he unsheathed his greathammer and gripped it in both hands. I paused, noticing that no mana flowed into his gear, and none appeared inside his body. The runic device in his pocket continued to buzz in my senses but the human kept himself unpowered.

There wasn't time to prod deeper as the third alarm came and Peter launched into action. He lowered his head and charged across the sand. For a moment, his trajectory pointed him just right to accidentally touch my side but Peter turned my way and grinned.

His foot reached the center and he jumped. Peter crashed into Helmet-head's corner and he shifted his hammer into a low swing. Helmet-head raised his shield and rings of black stone sprouted from the metal center.

Clang!

Helmet-head tanked the hit, and the stone rings crumbled and reformed into a pointed wedge. With a quick slash of his sword, he slammed the tip of his shield into Peter's side. Peter pushed the hit aside using the shaft of his weapon and jumped back.

"I'm surprised. I half expected him to betray me the moment the round started," I muttered. Turning to Blondie I pointed my spear. "Well? Time to back up your barking? Or is running your mouth all you're good for?"

"If you think I'd debase myself because of a few barbed words, you are sorely mistaken. You want me? Then come and fight, Mordred!"

My eyes narrowed. That was incredibly more tame of a response then I anticipated. So far, most nobles were little more than xianxia young masters requiring everyone to bow to their superiority. In fact, Blondie had shown himself as another 'Grade A' example of such archetypes.

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What changed? What was he playing at?

A flash of indignant fury crackled inside my chest. Sturmrorex tightened the link and pulled back, but he sent a mental image of our boot on the rich-blood's chest.

I chuckled.

"I have a better idea, Sturm. Why play his game?"

Sturmrorex roared in my soul with approval as I sent over the idea. Mana rushed into the tips of my claws and I bent all but one finger down. Doing that act alone nearly collapsed the feeble control I held over the buzzing energy in my fingers, but Sturmrorex roared a second time and brought it to heel. The look on the noble's face filled me with smug satisfaction.

Blondie tightened his grip and scowled. "Too scared to act? All that bravado and you had the gall to insult us? Pathetic."

"Why do that when I can do this," I taunted.

As I splayed my fingers, five small electric orbs condensed above my palm. Blondie's eyes widened and he dropped low as the marble-sized orbs zipped through the air. It was different, controlling so many projectiles at once but Sturmrorex lent me his control–keeping the spherical forms together–while I guided the attack.

Two veered too far left and crackled against the sand where it dissipated, leaving behind needle-thin scars of glass. The third hit too low, falling short of reaching Blondie by a foot. The fourth and fith threatened to collapse Sturmrorex's skill entirely but I kept it together and they found their mark.

Four crashed into his boot, exploding halfway across the sand and the leather. Five though, smashed home against his shoulder.

Except, instead of a declaration of pain, mana from the gemstone rushed to meet the orb and created a thin fabric that caught the projectile and cushioned it's blow. Blondie snapped his attention to the ball of electricity and the ends of flame rag slapped together, overwhelming the mana.

Blondie shot to his feet. "You'll regret that!"

"Doubt it," I replied.

Mana flowed and I formed the spheres again. This time, I created only three and pumped them with more electricity. From marble to baseballs, the whining humm as they rotated above my palm cut through the deafened silence around me.

Blondie lowered his shoulder and took a half-step back. When he did, a growl escaped and he stood straight, raising his chin.

"Coward! The other houses were wrong about you. Nothing more than a coward hiding behind a mask and lucky skills!"

I ignored the taunt and glanced toward the blue side. Helmet-head and Peter circled each other at a slow pace. Divots in the sand showed where Peter had attacked and failed. Black fragments of stone sank into the ground leaving a winding trail that snaked from left to right, corner to corner.

Currently, they were next to the pillar, only a couple of feet away from reaching the neutral zone.

Was Myol wrong? He's actually going against the noble.

I roamed up and down their forms. The mana inside Helmet-head's shield gave off a constant bubble. It was lower in intensity than when the match started. On the other hand, his gloves and wrist were filled even brighter than before. I couldn't see the enchantments, but I could feel the runes one step away from being active.

Peter sported cuts along his arms and a tear against his thigh. He held his hammer confidently and hoisted it without trouble despite the injuries. Even now, I still hadn't felt him activate a skill. The runic device in his pocket held the same intensity, and that damn static field continued to obscure the mana around it.

Can't be protective. Myol wouldn't allow it. What the hells is it?

Something small entered my awareness, briefly penetrating the wind around my leg. I raised my boot and deflected the rock, glaring at the buffoon.

"Don't ignore me," he shouted.

"You…" I extended my arm and Blondie braced, but kept his hand by his waist. "You call me a coward, but you won't pull out your weapon. Why are you wasting my time?"

His eye twitched.

"Wasting your time? You're wasting mine and everyone else!"

A click. Galarion stirred and dragged something away but it brushed along my thoughts and fire scratched my chest.

I let the orbs collapse and brought the unruly mana into a single orb that pushed against my fingers. It swelled and turned into a bowling ball but I wasn't done. Flatter. Sturmrorex flexed his control and the wind ceased flowing around my legs.

The sphere bulged against one side before I stabbed my claws into my palm and pushed it back. Mana continued to flow, and it grew again, the electricity filling in the spaces, engulfing my hand in burning blue.

"You want my attention that bad? Have it then," I said.

From my hands, the sphere shot outward. Not as a ball, nor a dart or spear. The mana stayed concentrated in my hand but a fragment dragged it outward in a messy clump. It singed the air and the whistle drowned out the scream from Blondie's throat.

The beam of energy forked up and down, left and right. It happened in the span of a second, and I was barely able to keep track. However, my senses were fully honed onto the arc of electricity. To Blondie's credit, he didn't stand still and do nothing. In one swift motion, faster than even my attack, he drew his rapier. Brilliant white and pale blue met a corona of flaming red. It was as if the ocean and the sunset met together. A different tune split the air as the two collided.

Higher than the screech of my mana, visible distortions emanated from the blade. Before I could react, an invisible force tugged me forward and I stumbled to one knee. Blondie screamed as he wielded the rapier with both hands, gripping the cherry-red metal while the ruby in the hilt caught fire.

Another flaming rag appeared, larger than Blondie. Its folds stretched and it glided forward, creating a barrier against my attack and his sword. Suddenly, the screeching stopped and Blondie shouted in a strained voice.

"Do it now!"

Bend the world, touch the freedom. Turn stone into feathers and feathers to stone! Be free! Be grounded! Be cursed!

A new sensation exploded behind me and purple waves washed the world of color, staining it violet.

My skill collapsed and shooting pain burned my mana channels. It crawled up my arms and thrashed in my chest, cutting the flow of my channeling.

I collapsed forward and angled my head to see behind me.

Peter stood atop the pillar, surrounded by purple threads tethered to the air and the stone below him. With one hand, he raised his hammer above his head, while his other held a triangular device made of copper metal.

His eyes caught mine and he sneered. Peter dropped the device and it landed atop the pillar. In the same second, his hammer slammed down, crushing the metal into the stone.

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