Beneath the Dragoneye Moons

Chapter 397: The Gladiator Gauntlet XIII

Chapter 397: The Gladiator Gauntlet XIII

“Potions!” Sarama broke open her chest, handing them out to everyone. “Physical stat buffs.” Our [Alchemist] was meticulous, always explaining what she was handing out to everyone, even though we’d seen them a dozen times already. A safety precaution, given that some potions had the same color and even smell as other, entirely different ones.

We all got handed little blue vials of across-the-board stat boosting potions. I knocked mine back, feeling it burn and coil in my stomach. Iris retched, but the rest of us were a little more stoic.

Everyone but me got sensory-boosting potions. My senses were already absurd, and something about my new biology didn’t play well with the potion, turning the world into a kaleidoscope of colors and reflections, causing auditory hallucinations, instead of helping me.

A set of durability potions got handed out. At this level, with the sheer variety of things [Alchemists] could make, on-the-fly adjustments to our shields were critical, especially with some of Sarama’s more interesting concoctions.

“Last potion for everyone.” Sarama dug deep into the bottom of her chest, before pausing and looking up at Shirayuki.

“This is the right time and place for them, yeah?”

The kitsune thought for a moment, her tails going still.

“Yes.” She said.

“Great! I’ve got something special for everyone today. Potions of Potential!” Sarama emerged from her chest with six tiny vials filled with a murky white liquid.

“Very, very expensive.” Sarama had never mentioned how expensive potions were before, even though my rough estimates had us drinking diamonds worth of liquid each tournament. I looked at mine questioningly, wondering what it did.

“Right, Potions of Potential. They make you your best. They push you to be more, to fulfill your full potential. It’s hard to describe. Just think of them as a boost to everything you can do, and more.” Sarama said. “If, by some miracle, you can afford to drink these regularly, don’t. They’re not chemically addictive, but some people keep going back for more.”

That sounded like they were addictive. But what did I know, I was only the team medic. Welp. Bottoms up.

I tipped the tiny vial back along with the rest of my team, and felt energized. Every cell of my body had seen the light and was singing in chorus with angels. I wanted to bounce and dance and move and fight and fuck and live. I immediately saw the appeal at being able to feel like this all the time.

Sarama handed out a special potion to Iris and Sir Polarton.

“Totally calibrated for humans.” The dragonling said with a straight face.

Sir Polarton growled.

“Most excellent.” He wandered a distance away from us before downing it. Sarama wandered off to the other half of our strip to prepare.

“Thirty seconds until combat begins.” The [Referee] called out our remaining prep time.

“Elaine. Sweep their mages, then engage on the harpy.” Shirayuki was rapid-firing orders. “Sir Polarton. Go after the werewolf. Pascal. You’re on the elf. Sarama. Hit the beastkin. Iris. You’re needed to take out the kobold, Elaine’s Radiance isn’t efficient against her resistance. Ling Li. You’re on clean-up behind Elaine if she doesn’t manage to take out the gnome and the naga. Pick targets of opportunity after. Iris, you’re with Pascal. This is it. Do us proud. Break.”

Iris put a hand on Pascal’s shoulder, and downed her potion. She rapidly began shrinking, the [Mage’s] profile dramatically reduced. Her hand anchored her to Pascal’s shoulder, and he shifted his mallium to give her a defended place to sit on/attack from. Basically becoming gnome-sized, with the same ‘density’ as a full elvenoid. By the same token, at nearly the same time, Sir Polarton’s potion was causing him to grow enormous, nearly the size of Fenrir.

Sarama had a transformation potion. She had a whole variety of creatures she could temporarily transform into, but a manticore was her favorite. A series of cracking and popping noises put my teeth on edge as she transformed into a fierce manticore, cruel fangs, terrifying wings and vicious poisoned tail all.

Bless shields. My healing would interact poorly with that potion, attempting to force her back into her ‘true’ body.

I grabbed the makeshift enchanted sword I’d made, and bent my knees a few times, shifting my weight from foot to foot. I was ready. The Potion of Potential had me raring to go. To show off what I could to, to fight, to dominate.

Potent stuff.

“Fame. Honor. Glory. Fight!” The [Referee] kicked off my final fight ever of the Gladiator Gauntlet, the cloaking veil between the two teams dropping.

I was off at a sprint, charging across the field, my eyes snapping to my targets.

Tinbeg was fast, his endless teleports making him slippery. [Nova Lance] was faster, instantly blasting him, triggering his shield and forcing his teleport off the field.

It was incredibly satisfying, and only took a fraction of my mana. My eyes flashed to Norta, and I spent a moment [Imbuing] my [Nova Lance] with [Kaleidoscope].

Radiance lanced across the field, taking her out. A kaleidoscope of butterflies made of Radiance formed where my beam hit, and with a tiny thought, they quickly spread across the Hapensburgs team.

I detonated them before they could get too far, before they could react, but I was a hair slow. Xocoh managed to seize control of a quarter of them, but the rest of the Hapensburg team was engulfed in explosions. I didn’t think it was enough to knock anyone else out, but it would’ve done significant damage to their shields, softening them up.

Two down already, the rest weakened, and we were less than a second into the match.

I started a third attack against the pharaoh’s heir, but a deadly wall of Sand was already forming, acting as a shield. Sir Polarton roared defiance against the Sand, the entire storm shuddering under his ferocious assault.

I changed targets to the harpy, snapping my wings open and taking flight. I kept up [Nova Lance] on the sandstorm generator for two more seconds as the harpy and I soared into the sky, above the raging tempest.

The rest of my team vanished into the storm, and it was just the two of us, soaring in the air at dizzying speeds.

Physically, I was better than she was. I was faster, stronger. My goal was to end this quickly, and return back to the rest of the battle.

She had the advantage of being a dedicated aerialist, a natural-born flier with multiple skills and classes dedicated to the art of soaring through the sky.

Another day, another place, and we might’ve had fun simply flying together under the vast blue sky. Alas, it was not that day… although I did take a chance to study her with [Scintillating Ascent], seeing if anything she did could improve my own flying.

I took careful aim and hit her with a [Nova Lance]. Instead of her shield flaring into existence and marking her out of the event, the part of her wing I hit exploded into burning feathers. A defensive skill at work, protecting her shield.

The harpy wasn’t taking my blows lying down. Oversized feathers with jagged ends formed around her, shrieking down as they fired down at me. It was like a hail of javelins.

The potion of potential was doing good things for me. It crystalized the world, let me see everything that was going on in slow motion and high detail. It helped me instantly path out a way through the javelins that I would be entirely untouched.

I twisted, turned, dodged, and occasionally smacked a javelin-feather out of the way, noting that she’d effectively gotten off two attacks with each feather launched. The first against me, then the second blind shot of the feathers against Sir Polarton, who was a gigantic target, if hidden in the sandstorm below.

We continued to spiral up into the sky, dancing a strange waltz across the blue. I’m not sure I could’ve kept up before my biomancy.

She couldn’t be made out of endless mana, and whenever I had an opening through her featherstorm, I hit her with [Nova Lance]. Three hits later, and she was teleported out of the event.

I dropped my wings, and let myself drop. I twisted so I was diving headfirst, back into the storm.

For a few glorious seconds, I just let myself enjoy life. I let the wind blow through my hair, the breeze caressing my body. I let the fight and the battle slip away from me, and simply lived in the moment. It was a shielded fight. Nobody was at risk of dying. This was more like a game than anything else, the lack of stress was freeing.

My friends were here. We were all happy, fed, and safe.

Then the sandstorm was coming up fast, and I opened my eyes, snapping my inner eyelids shut. A free pair of biological goggles, no matter where I was.

I dove through the storm, looking for signs of the fighting. [The World Around Me] was only so large, and I needed to see further than the skill extended. Flying through a sandstorm was vaguely like swimming underwater with powerful currents. The sand howled around me, pushing and pulling me as I flew. The Sand gave ‘weight’ to the wind, pushing me around like no breeze could. Lightning flashed in the distance, and I banked, heading towards Iris.

Without warning, the Sand stopped, falling around me in great curtains. As I flew up to get my bearings, the [Referee] began announcing the most glorious words, and the sound of the crowd filtered back into the arena.

“Hapensburgs no longer has any members on the field. The School of Sorcery and Spellcraft wins this round! At 21 points to 14 points, The School of Sorcery and Spellcraft wins the entire match! As this is the final round, I am pleased to present to you the winner of this year’s tournament!”

We won!

WE WON!

I flew up, above the sand, making a happy little circle as I did so. I unleashed a tiny trail of the smallest little [Kaleidoscope] butterflies that I could, having them explode harmlessly behind me.

Like a trail of sparkling stars, like my own personal firework show.

Wooo! We won! I let out a cheer, joining the rest of my teammates.

The [Announcer] was babbling on, and it was all over. It was my last event.

The consequences of my actions would never catch up to me! Muwahahahahahaha!

I flew over to his booth and hovered in front of him.

“Your announcing sucks.”

I’d wanted to tell him that for years. I flew away cackling, off to find Iona and the rest of my team and celebrate!

The next few hours were complete chaos. We were leaving early the next morning back to the School, and had way too many things to do and not nearly enough time to do them in. End of the day, we were all students, and all missing classes to be here.

From wrapping up the last event, being shown off in front of various crowds, closing ceremonies where everyone, from all the different events and brackets got their prizes in front of screaming crowds, to a party mixing with everyone, it was just a non-stop whirlwind of activity.

We were back in our school robes, Iona and I both in purple. I wasn’t bothering with my Deception Ring or amulet at all. I was hanging on Iona’s arm at the party, letting the beautiful blonde be the lightning rod of attention. Not too many people wanted to talk with me when Iona, the [Paladin] that had her goddesses intervene during the event, was right there. With all that said, being on Iona’s arm made me look and feel good.

I might also have been a little tipsy. I had slightly better self-awareness of how much I’d drunk, but it was still a delicate line.

“Sir Polarton! Juuuuuuuusht the bear I wanted to seeeeeEEEEEe!” I greeted my teammate, half-swaying against Iona’s sturdy arm. Like a rock, like an anchor, she kept me upright.

“Elaine.” He growled back, his massive muzzle not moving an inch.

“I wash thiiiiiiiiiinking.” Wait, I’d be trying to sway? I was slurring my words? I’d had too much. Damn. I purged my system of alcohol, immediately sobering up. I shook my head.

“Sorry. I was thinking. Doesn’t matter you’re a bear, you’re practically an elvenoid like everyone else.” I patted him on the thigh, not daring to go through his clear white fur. Dude was big.

Auri classing up had spiked my companion bond level hard, and I was feeling the effects. I brushed another errant strand of hair back, sabotaged by the little phoenix in question.

Auri in my hair was interesting to some people, but she wasn’t enough to distract people from Iona.

To her great displeasure.

“Brrrrpt.”

“You’re right, they have no taste.”

“Brrrrpt!!”

“You were totally part of the winning team, the most glorious part of it.”

“Brrrpt.” Auri fluffed her flames up more, strands of my hair getting knocked out of place. I put it back with a sigh.

“I’d just gotten that fixed.” I complained.

“BRRRRRRRRRPTTTT!!!!” Auri shouted, grabbing my hair and tugging me to ‘look’ in a particular direction.

“Oooh! Mangos! Be right back!” I slipped my arm out of Iona’s, heading towards the most glorious of prizes spotted at the buffet table.

Mangos were an extreme luxury in Cartref Clyde, since Xerius was pretty far away. I shamelessly scooped up the dozen that were on the tray, Auri conjuring up a few [Mage Hands] to smuggle them under my robe.

As I gleefully pilfered the expensive delicacy, I was struck by the sight of a skinny demon, practically skin and bones, staring longingly at the buffet table. There was something about him that had me wander over for no good reason at all.

“Hey. You know you can eat the food, right?” I asked him in High Elvish.

He slowly, painfully shook his head.

“Gluttony is my Sin. To want, but never be satisfied.” He tore his eyes away from the buffet.

“Excellent showing. A good evening to you.” He walked off, vanishing into the crowd.

“Brrrpt?”

“Yeah, let’s get back to Iona.” I agreed.

The whole exchange got me thinking about curses. Demons had a twist on a racial curse, where each one had something they desired, but would never be satisfied by. They collectively called it their Sin, and some indulged, vainly chasing satisfaction, while others, like the fellow I’d just talked with, clearly took an abstinent approach.

Difficult when it was something as critical as food.

My own body was on an accelerated timeline, and it had me wondering.

I had less than a single quarter left at the School. I’d need to use [The Stars Never Fade] on myself in the next decade or so, if not earlier to ensure that I had zero problems from one of my organs aging too fast.

Should I get it done and over with while at the School, and use their resources and knowledge to research and find ways of mitigating my curse?

I should talk with Marcelle, and see what she thought.