Princess Usagi's Story

Several meters ahead, Jin paused at witnessing the fall of a massive man taken out by a pale-haired girl. She was formidable in her counter, her style a mix of aether and precise blows. The other had lost the moment he'd opposed her, that was obvious enough. And his company missed the memo, going after her as well. With a giant boulder twice her size and hurled it.

Another behind her--standing too close was struck down.

This fight like the last ended in moments. Three numbers flared crimson beside her marking the remaining players on the field.

That many left huh, they got their work cut out for them. It's unfortunate how many of them won't survive after this. How many won't return to waiting hopeful families-if any. Or—

He withdrew the katana, the Colourless December and swung in an arc behind himself, the tip of the blade stopping short of some kid's throat. His target held what looked to be a hunter's knife. Edged and already tainted in another's blood.

The boy looked no older then thirteen.

"Stand down, don't force my hand."

The boy's dull eyes widened slightly.

A man shot forth from the grass, as though Jin wouldn't sense his approach. It took little effort for Jin to catch and knock out the other with a precisely aimed jab.

The kid took the opening to run in the other direction.

Jin's katana pulsed slightly. It's never done this before. Perhaps it's got something to do with being here of all places. He resheathed the blade and kept moving. No time to worry about it.

She had always lived her life under a blanket of equal parts arrogance and equal parts confusion. A single blink would reveal that she had transported elsewhere, the simplistic dragon lazily rubbing her own eyes in an effort to dismiss the prospect of a daydream in favor of an actual change in scenery.

Below her was a short individual, no words were spoken between the two as they were already well-acquainted. The voice that guided her. The voice that woke her. Her own strength did not need to be tested and she was promptly teleported to the testing area without a single fuss.

A plain of endless tall grass, a swaying dry thicket. A beating sun, heat adorning the cusps of the winds and flavoring the air with a distinct fever. Her enhanced senses gave her an idea as to where she was despite not even haven opened her eyes yet. Her skin felt sensitive as the blades flowed and scraped her body, her ears now being alerted to a form of direction as the instructions for the test echoed throughout the field. Fortunately, she understood what she would have to do. Though, her definition of staying alive would contrast in the fact that she would exercise almost aggressive tendencies.

Allowing her wings to sprout and grow out, her body begun to shift and undertake draconic properties. Vermillion scales would begun to adorn her skin, growing draconic claws on both arms as the fabric around her woefully unfitting outfit straining and tearing in response. Bending her legs into a crouch, she leapt into the air, leaving a wave of force in her wake.

Floating several hundred meters in the air, she begun to rush her closest opponents. Larger giants or snipers that have taken vantage points, she shrugged off any form of self defense and attacked at blinding speeds. Landing blow after blow that certainly placed her targets well out of commission, she broke her victims bones before rising back into the air.

Noticing a larger concentration of warriors, she scrapped her claws against her draconic scales to rain upon sparks before holding her throat and expelling a wave of Aether from her mouth. The Aether ignited the sparks into deadly explosions that exploded like fireworks., singing the grass and ringing the air for miles. As soon as she had finished her rampage, she landed on a boulder, forming cracks from her descent. Sibylle would've leapt back up to continue culling the numbers, only to notice movement due to her enhanced senses. Normally she would've left the little guy alone, only targeting people that her instincts warned her about..but it seemed a more fickle emotion had the reins at the moment. Fueled by a childlike curiosity, she lept from the boulder onto the plains below and strolled over to where she had thought she heard the noise.

【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя: #ec6901 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #301934 】

A few moments of silence passed. No one called out. No sounds of rapid movement in his direction. No sharp pain or scorching blaze to indicate his impending death. It seemed he’d gone unnoticed by that monstrous figure. With a faint sigh of relief, he uncovered his mouth. He didn’t get the chance to get a good look at them between his panic and the silhouette of the sun, but no doubt they were some giant, brutish lizard creature if the tail and wings were anything to go by. Just what had he gotten himself into coming to a place like this? If that was another one of the competitors, it’d be insane for any normal person to attempt a test like this if they had to battle a creature like that.

“Guess my luck is still holding out if I managed to avoid a monster like that…” Art mumbled to himself, relaxing and resting his hands on his knees for only a moment before he felt it. The shift of the air and the shadow that darted over his head. Immediately, his body moved on instinct and twisted into position, firearm drawn and levelled directly towards the figure that landed no more than a few meters from his position with a heavy thud. Dirt and stray strands of grass blew into the air as she landed, another singular beat of her wings sending them scattering about the clearing that led up to the rock as she turned to face him. It seemed she was observing him and his weapon with something akin to curiosity as she took a few steps forward.

“A girl…?” He thought to himself, pausing briefly in shock and surprise. From what he’d seen of her earlier, he’d expected some completely ferocious beast from nightmares. And yet, other than some additional and changed appendages, she looked human. Around his age, even. That thought - if only for a moment - made him hesitate on taking the shot. That, and her casual disregard for the barrel aimed straight at her as she seemed to scowl at him. Steadily, she continued towards him, unflinching. That complete lack of fear… Was she that confident that he wasn’t even a threat to her? Just how powerful was she? Nervousness creeping in as she drew closer, panic eventually settled in as Artellis felt like this might end up being the end of him.

“Stop right there! Don’t come any closer!” Voice shaking a little as he strained to make it louder, Art did his best to sound commanding. Despite his training, he was having trouble stopping his trembling, which really wasn’t helping him maintain a clean bead right at her forehead. Maybe it was the fact she’d practically backed him into a corner? There was no way he could clamber up the rock faster than she could either reach him or toast him to a crisp, and his only other exit path would be trying to sprint right past her. As he glanced in that direction, Art faintly noticing movement behind her. Focusing on it, he identified what looked to be a large black Chul, though it wasn’t exactly looking in this direction. Still, that didn’t mean it couldn’t be used.

Extending his hand out, he pointed to the monster just a bit beyond them and behind her. “Look over there! That’s the… sort… of… opponent you-” Artellis slowly trailed off as the hulking monster made a few strange movements, before it began toppling backward. At the same time as the giant was felled, another figure leapt upwards, visible only for a moment in a shining uppercut before dipping back beneath the tall grass. Like nothing had ever been there in the first place. Lowering his hand, his attention now fully turned back to the girl in front of him. It seemed that she hadn’t even entertained the idea of looking over where he gestured. Still, she’d at least stopped approaching, and was simply staring at him with an expression he wasn’t entirely sure how to read. Well apart from the fact it didn’t seem to be a happy one with a glare like that. Perhaps a hunter observing their prey? The thought brought his fear and nervousness back to the forefront.

“Timeout! We really don’t have to do this! I mean, we just have to survive the hour, right? We both want the same thing, yeah?” Raising his arms up and away and taking his gun off his target, Art was somewhat relieved she didn’t jump him the moment he let his guard down. Seeing as he seemed to have her attention now that he’d started talking, Artellis continued to do so, hoping to at the very least buy himself some time to formulate an escape plan if she wasn’t open to negotiations. “I mean, a cute girl like you shouldn’t waste her time with a guy like me, I’m not even worth the effort! Hahaha!” Throwing in a little flattery, Artellis could only hope for the best that this didn’t backfire. Maybe if he was really lucky, whoever went and took out that Chul would come and save him next...

The senseless mumble guided her to his location, coupled with him popping out from cover to aim his weapon at her. Her lack of caution was not exactly born from spouts of draconic arrogance, but more-so her own precious naivety. Walking with an aura of the upmost nonchalance, she entertained her own stubborn curiosity, ignoring the man's increasingly louder pleas and cries in favor of a continuous stroll that would seemingly not stop for nothing.

Similar to how he was studying her, Sibylle's intrusive eyes laid focused on him. His outwards appearance didn't scream abnormal, and he certainly didn't move like a trained warrior. Her instincts told her to dig deeper, but her own stubbornness seemed to tell her to dispose of the normie and attend to other matters. Her own seemingly casual bloodlust manifesting as she aimlessly continued her saunter over to the cornered man. Turning a blind eye to the giant-slaying that was occurring behind her, she eventually met the distance until she was well into breathing distance. Bringing her hand up and out, her motions made clear her intention to punch him into a coma.

However, she seemingly stopped in her tracks at the mention of a single word. One ingredient she had plucked out of a sentence of smooth charisma. Human speech was not lost on her, so it was only natural that she clung onto the meaning. A single utterance of the word "girl". Was he referring to her? It certainly was a time of great unfamiliarity. Showcasing her limited spectrum of emotions as it was made apparent that his panicked attempts to compliment her have seemingly broken through and yielded results better than he could have ever imagined.

As quickly as it came, her bloodlust drained as quickly as beckoned. Her previously simple but stoic expression growing soft at the mere mention of a single word. She had never been called a girl, more accustomed to being referred to as a beast or simply an "it". Furthermore, the compliment did well to confuse her, unmoving as she let her simplistic mind work in an effort to process the charmer's words.

At this point, it was unclear how they stood at the moment, up until an unnamed warrior leapt from a top the rock and brought his sword down in an attempt to slice them both clean in two.

Surely, she could move quick to dodge, but it seemed that she wanted to protect the source of flattery for a few moments longer. Leaping into the air, she knocked aside the attack and subsequently the weapon before bringing her claw around the assailants neck. She flew higher before letting go and turning her body, utilizing her strong tail to smash the poor perpetrator back down onto the earth. After the spectacle, she flew back down to meet Art, hovering a few feet in the air and bringing her hand on his head. Here she spoke her first words since her arrival.

"Don't die." Soft, almost monotone, her voice sounded soothing to the ears, a contrast to her almost horrifying abilities. After her display, she flew back into the air, taking a more defensive position as opposed to flying out. While not directly apparent, it seemed that the fickle dragon was interested in protecting him.

【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#483d8b ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9b0044】

Therion checked his pocket again, the number was still slowly ticking down, meaning someone was actively taking out participants. "Well that was quicker than expected." In the distance, something was hovering about in the sky, no doubt one of the people responsible for the rapidly dropping number of contestants. "Speaking of rapidly dropping..." He turned to address the figure that had been following him for the past five minutes, "Have I walked into your ambush yet?"

In response to his question, a spear flew through the space where his head had been just a second earlier. Two more men emerged from the tall grass, wearing matching black jumpsuits; one was wielding a hook and the other had a needle tensely gripped in both hands. "You know that is a one-handed needle, right? And you're stance is all wrong, you have too much weight on your back foot." To the assailants credit, he took Therion's words to heart and adjusted his feet.

Another spear came soaring towards Therion, this one aimed center mass, but clearly the thrower was trying to push him into the other two. In response, Therion dropped prone, frowning slightly, "That's strike two. You won't like what happens if you get three strikes." The man with a hook darted forward, followed only shortly behind by the needle user.

Therion let out a sigh and drew the wand from out of his pocket, the thin silver handle was topped with a small red crystal and the flow of aether around it was slightly off. "Strike three. You're out." Lightning arced off the wand, moving through the path of least aether resistance, which happened to be the air around the hook. The hook's wielder seized up, unable to drop the hook that was now conducting thousands of volts.

With a light roll, Therion grabbed one of the spears that had been intended to impale him, made a quick calculation based on where the spears had landed, and launched it back at his assailant. "Let's see..." Therion's pocket blipped into existence, and just as the spear found its mark, the number of contestants still alive decreased by one.

Fried to a crisp, the man with the hook fell to the ground, unconscious if still alive. The needle user was petrified with fear, which worked just fine for Therion. Rising to his feet, Therion continued down the path he had been on, stopping only to pat the needle user on his back. "You need more practice kid, and you'll never get it associating with creeps like that." The kid's needle clattered to the floor, as Therion made his way to the flying figure in the sky.

---

As he got closer to the flying figure, it became apparent that she wasn't hunting people down, but rather, she was defensively flying around a certain point. "Which means she's smart enough to not dance to the examiner's whim... Hopefully."

"Hey! Yoohooo!" Frantically waving his arms, Therion did his best to draw the creatures attention. She appeared to be making use of some sort of flight item, and didn't seem to be afraid of being sniped out of the sky, which was fairly promising to find this early in the climb. "Heelloo! My name is Theri, I was wondering if you wanted to be friends?"

There she was, right in his path making him draw short and pause less he run her over. He regarded her with slight interest. What did she want? To kill him. No, she would’ve attempted. This was something else. Her interest apparent when she questioned his weapon of choice. Ah.

"It's of no consequence to you."

Once again his hand rested at the hilt, thumb easing sword up again for another draw. Several approached, and fast. Their intent burning through. Leaving him no other alternative than to engage.She wished to join forces and attacked another that attempted to sneak in a hit. Handled it expertly. A fighter, no doubt. Someone like her going through this alone wouldn’t last. But she’s looking to defy all, it seems, there’s a familiar look in her eyes.So much so, despite the enemies magnetizing to them, she kept her focus. He sighed and relented, "Jin." Then he withdrew his sword. Another subtle pulse. Strange.

Before he could agree to her offer, or otherwise, a shadow loomed over them. A force of might brimming with a deep-seated urge to conquer. He’s had his fair share of those types. The other held no qualms in striking out toward them. Her especially.

Jin swung in a powerful arc reducing the projectile feathers to cinders. The pulse came stronger as though drawn to battle. It's desire shocked through his veins. A cry of unbridled chaos. Of a sort he'd never felt. He clenched his teeth, shit. "Stand down." The tip of his blade trembled, he gripped tighter.

It was pointless. Dog eat dog world now.

That was the new reality. Proven further when the assault to his right leapt out of the grass armed with a machete. Immediately followed by another with a club wrapped in bloodied nails. This of course sparked courage from the rest, barreling out of cover.

Jin swung again. Blood arcing through the air as he felled one after another. The pulsing grew in intensity the more he struck down assailants. Was it igniting? Hopefully, it wouldn’t, not in the heat of battle.

Hak. It rang a bell, Uncle mentioned important figures of the Grand Families, she was one of them. Her aura suggested it and the way she carried herself. He focused back on the battle until all too soon; it ended. But that meant nothing to the weapon in his hands, vibrating as though expecting more. Bolts of lighting, colorless like the sword itself, sparked out.

Tipping the blade down he turned it on the earth, with his free hand he pressed his palm to the blade. Its edge bit into his palm, blood dripped down its sides. The blade’s pulse lessened, and the sparks died down. The blood absorbed into the metal. What did this mean? His thoughts cut at her words, she’d be extending their partnership. He re-sheathed and took the cravat from his neck, wrapped it around his palm to stem the bleeding.

"Alright." He shook her hand with his uninjured one.

Energy whirled all around him, but he closed his eyes to it, and the weightless feeling that passed.

Another strange figure, an overseer he assumed, informed them of a following test: one of the mind. A break as well. Good.

Hak showed a spot to rest while they waited. They were going to be a more permanent team, weren’t they? At the offering, he nearly shook his head, dismissing it. Except hunger rang true, and he ended up accepting the rice cake,"thanks."

Her curious orbs blinked twice, the simplistic dragon at least having the scattered awareness that her descent resulted in her stumbling upon an ensuing conversation she neither understood nor cared for. Still, the smell of the Ten Families was particularly pungent with their newfound ally. No matter his history, Sibylle felt the need to keep the man at claws length until he had the chance to prove his intentions.

Her body twitched from instinct as Art strode up to pat her shoulder, the next few pats not drumming up nearly the same jerking response. She could not explain why, but she couldn't help but feel at ease around the orange-locked man. Whether it was an beast's caution to a figure most unassuming or her sensing a kind soul or the ability to cultivate one. Whether the case may be, she could feel a spark from him and despite her simplistic nature, she uncharacteristically wished to see it flourish. She couldn't explain this feeling..but nonetheless, she always trusted her instincts. Sibylle took a deep breath as she noticed her studied gaze on Art had persisted for far too long, focusing her attention on Therion for a few sharp moments before finally relaxing her shoulders. As her arms finally fell to her sides, her tough crimson scales begun to dissipate into raining cinders. Shrunken wings, a smaller swaying tail and two large devil-like horns were the remnants of her draconic features as she shifted back to her base form.

"Sibylle." With a soft voice, she answered his call to introductions. As a slave, all she had was her own name, though she had not had much experience remembering it when her lifestyle changed to resemble that of a beast.

Her stoic expression seemed to shift at Artellis' ramblings, cracking a demure smile as soon as he finished. Whether her shift was due to his small joke, or the fact that he was undermining himself was unfortunately unclear, regardless, Sibylle returned his shoulder-tapping gesture from earlier by patting him lightly on the head once more. Her soft..somewhat demeaning pets acting as a silent reassurance in response to him feeling the need to mention that he would try to not "slow them down".

The same couldn't be said about Therion, however. Every moment her gaze met his, her eyes scrutinized into an almost childlike glare. Her mouth forming a pout at the prospect of being forced to ally herself with a Regular that smelled of royalty. Art's words alone were keeping her in line but it was clear that the dragon hated the prince for something that was well outside his control. Still, her now present lack of claws made apparent that her hatred would only manifest in petty glances and loud exaggerated huffs.

At the beck of what seemed like strategic conversation, Sibylle crossed her arms to show her aversion to contributing. However, her expectant glances with the group's sharpshooter explicitly showed that her vote was with him.

Since she ate her own rice cake without any issue, then it only meant she wasn't attempting at sabotage. He had to be just as wary, this was a cut-throat world there were in now. He took a bite, it didn't taste bad at all. So he'd enjoy it. When she spoke of their next test he merely nodded. As expected, the upcoming tests were going to be more challenging than the last. They were soon approached by another whom she recognized and warned him against shaking his hand. Not that it was necessary.

Turned out they were both well acquainted. But also hated each other.

While they exchanged biting words, he continued his snack. Soon enough, Hyun was off again.

She offered another rice cake which he accepted in thanks. "If you don't mind my ask, did he hurt you?" There had to be a reason behind their animosity. He could only assume the worst based off such a short exchange.

【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#483d8b ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #9b0044】

Artellis seemed dismissive of the things that Therion knew about the upper floors, but it didn't really matter so long as they could find some sense of camaraderie, which seemed to be going fine so far. The only issue was... "She's giving me that look again!" For some reason it made him want to stick his tongue out at her and blow raspberries. It’s not like she could attack him in between tests, at least not without serious repercussions.

The waiting area was well-lit and the other eighty-three contestants seemed to have come from all over the tower. Certainly they could find another two teammates here, the question was whether or not they should. “Artellis and Sibylle don’t appear to trust or like me much… Two others could be valuable insurance against a knife in the back. Or they could be the knife in the back.” A plaintive frown slowly crossed his face as he scanned the crowd, while leaning against the wall he had been led to.

“Well the next test is supposed to be a head-scratcher, so we won’t necessarily need more manpower. I think our recruitment problem hinges on whether or not we're any good at riddles.” From personal experience, people who enjoyed riddles were more conniving, and therefore more apt for betrayal. Though they didn't seem to have any plans to betray each other, and he could probably crack whatever problem the next test posed, even if they couldn't. "Do I... Trust them?"

The words of a Great Family Head echoed in Therion's head, "Trust, but verify." The pink-hued ears of a beast-lady caught his eye, she was sitting with one other guy, which was perfect. Grabbing Artellis's arm, he pointed over to the pink cat and her human friend. "What about those two?" Without waiting for an answer, he began to all but drag Artellis over to the two while gesturing for Sibylle to follow; he didn't dare try to drag her around.

"Hello! My name is Therion, and this is my team leader, Artellis!" Pushing the orange-haired man forward, Therion gave a wide grin before whispering, "This is the part where you lay on the charm, Arti"

Just a rivalry was it? He merely nodded, so they were just competitive, and yet it seemed to go beyond that but he wouldn't question it. However, her warning he'd keep in mind. When she brought up his sword, he lowered his gaze to its hilt. "What about it?" She had a distinct weapon as well, he wasn't about to interrogate her on it now was he? Soon they were called forth.

He stood and walked along with her toward their next test. A chamber. Despite the darkness, he could sense there was more beyond this. He continued in whence she opened the door. Eyes adjusting to the lack of light, and yet that was remedied when the area lit up before them revealing a row of doors. Red and green hued alternating.

They weren't alone either.

He eyed the stranger warily circling them reminding him of a viper sizing up prey. In a sense, they were. To this entire Tower, at any moment, they'd be devoured.

The administrator even voiced his thoughts. Eerily enough.

So, it was door roulette, hm?

He scoffed at the stranger, "Don't tell me, we only get one shot at this." Their probability of choosing the correct one was slim. And stressing over it wasn't going to help them any. He glanced at the girl, "The green one." He pointed to one across from them. If she had some kind of plan on deducing the correct one, she should speak up. Otherwise he'd go with what he chose.

---

---

Where he acquired his weapon? A mere hand off from his uncle really, a sort of token perhaps meant to aid in his quest if any. As for its infamous history, what it meant for him. No point worrying over it. A cross-that-bridge situation. He quirked his brow in answer to her suggesting he be a noble of sort. And to the last, he shrugged. Was it really just luck? 

At the proctor's words he gave an assured nod. He'd made his choice already. And so did his partner. 

Turned out they'd both been lucky or it was game over. 

Their door opened to light and the proctor confirmed it in his own creepy way. 

He followed Usagi out into an open space faintly scented of florals. Glimpsing up at open sky was a relief. He took in a breath and let it out long and slow. At least that test was easier than the last. And they were just getting started. 

Sensing her gaze on him he glanced at her, "Guess we wait for the next one." At least this waiting area has better views.