Alexandrius Verrevia's Story

Well, he hadn’t been entirely sure what to expect walking into this but Brand had been hoping the games wouldn’t all be focussed on combat. This was good news for him, since he wanted to try his magic in lots of different situations to see what he could do with it.

He had tried a bit of performing with his magic before, so he had kind of an idea what to do, although those sparkly fireworks he’d shown at the guild HQ earlier would likely be lost in the sea of spectacles if he used it now. He needed something bigger, flashier.

“OK” he said, igniting a spark in his hand, “Let’s-” he was cut off by a wave of magic which dispelled his own, and he turned to a nearby mage whose own display had just begun. Brand’s first instinct would have been to show off his shapeshifting ability as a phoenix, which he was now realizing would be a not so great idea. After this rather moving performance involving a golden bird motif, something too similar looking would look like a cheap rip-off to the audience. After this finished he could already see a few of the more desperate mages across the arena trying to imitate it. Nevertheless he applauded the mage, having genuinely enjoyed it despite having such a high bar to go against.

“OK, maybe not that. Let’s see if a dragon gets-” almost immediately his attention was caught by the sound of thunder and lightning. He watched the draconic mage’s display of shapeshifting and storm magic, clapping resignedly along with the audience.

“Right, maybe one that’s more serpentine-” as if on cue, he was cut short as another two began their display, this time in collaboration. It involved a giant serpent-like dragon. Again he was very impressed, although this was starting to worry him since there was such daunting competition, and from the first group as well.

“OK. OK… crap, I can’t just copy someone else’s idea.” The knight that he defaulted to for combat might be interesting but it just wouldn’t grab people’s attention by itself. “Oh!” he snapped his fingers as the idea kindled in his mind.

With a small flourish, Brand enveloped himself in an orange blaze, shifting effortlessly into his usual awakened form, a large suit of armour covered in phoenix and wing motifs. He observed the feather like patterns on his forearm, appearing deep in thought despite having no visible face beneath his stoic helmet. He shook his hand downwards, and the flames broke up, reassembling to change the decoration - and colour. The inner glow remained a fierce marigold while the outer plates of his armour took on a marble of deep crimson flame which trailed black smoke, making an ominous but vibrant display. To match, his phoenix motif was replaced by an ornamentation of various bone shapes, namely skulls. This change spread over the armour, the result of which was spooky looking while being just goofy enough to not actually scare any of the younger spectators. Waving a hand over his helmet, it changed into a flaming grinning skull which he promptly removed from its ‘neck’, tossing it up and down in the air while it chattered and cackled.

He then spun around, being swept up in a cloud of black smoke. He them emerged, atop a matching flaming horse, rearing on its hind legs, while he held his laughing skull ‘head’ up in the air. The smoke from the cloud formed into a cloak around the rider as he galloped up into the air and did laps around the edge of the arena.

As the blazing steed galloped across the air right past the audience, the young mage balanced atop the horse and juggled his skull, which split into two, then three, until he was performing various tricks with about 5 heads along with various swords and daggers, also made of fire. He also added some hops, handstands and backflips in for good measure. In reality, this kind of performance was impossible for the young man as he had little, if any, acrobatic skill. But thanks to his magic ability, it was just a matter of manipulating the fire his awakened form was made from, and doing it in a way that convinced the viewer he had weight and realistic anatomy. Actually, even the ‘smoke’ was just fire that he had altered to suck in light instead of emit it.

And now, Ixa walked onto one of the center stands. Around him, contestants would feel a chill when he passed, even those such as Demor and Rayia would notice. This was not anyone getting spooked, but rather the temperature dropped several degrees around Ixa as he took center stage. He then winked at everyone and gave a nice little bow...and then it began.

Huge pillars of ice errupted, majestically being shined upon by the sun as their smoothness and quality was beyond the measure of a normal ice sculptor. And because Ice Sculptors did not rely on magic power, their creations were often of higher quality then an Ice Sculpture produced by a mage as they could focus more of their mind on the details. It was more direct and not through magic power, so they could be more precise and of higher quality.

But Ixa, he was different. It was not magic that propeled him, or at least not only magic. He himself had command over the ice and snow, as if he was the very thing itself.

Furthermore, one could only really tell that he was wearing a blue sweatshirt. It was so oversized, but his legs that were not covered were bare as if the cold did not bother him. And right now, he had actually left his shoes by the side of the stage, so he was standing on ice without it bothering him, as he rode his creation up to the top.

At the same time, to add some flare, snow and ice particles floated and danced around him, creating a glitterdust effect around his creation that captivated the audiences even more. And with the addition of his red eyes and snow white hair, he couldn't help but draw attention to himself.

And then, the ice he was standing on shattered, and revealed him to be standing on top of a refined bird ice sculpture as the particles fell all around him. Surely enough, the applause went wild for him...as well as another. Rivyan, off in the distance, seemed to have also caused a huge stir, including the fact he created three dozen rainbow colored birds at once.

Meanwhile, Astral and Luna were having their own rivalry go on. Suddenly, the entire day turned to night, and a moon appeared overhead. This moon let down a beam of light, a spotlight if you will, that focused on Luna as he went into song, using his charismatic, if not really manly, voice to soothe and capture the audiance....or at least, that was how it started.

But then, several blasts of starlight came and exploded next to the stage, and then illuminated Astral, who counter sung him...

Well, to put it simply, the two tried to outdo each other and it turned into a duet of sorts? Its better not to question those two when it comes to rivaling each other.

As for Azaken...he was putting on a show. With enough pyrotechnics to make Allo cringe a little and be worried from all his visions, Azaken did what Azaken did best...cause a chaotic scene and attract attention. In retrospect, he had a brilliant personality for all this, although thanks to his disguise no one had recognized him yet...or even that he released a powerful hallucinogen to affect some of the contestants.

As for Jaune, he had summoned Kimaru and was doing a one boy one spirit routine, creating rings of magic and then hopping through them while bringing around storm and lightning for special effects. As for Shinku, he was proving fire magic could do more then just destroy. From the fire, he forged and smelted metal he had brought with him, and used the fires to take shape and form all sorts of things. For while all forms of fire he was good with, his true specialty relied on the creation power of fire, and its ability to change and manipulate things.

Cyrus of course showed off his flying ability, taking to the skies, moving around freely, and showing a clear domination of the air above. He also made use of his skills with a bow and shot targets down as they appeared, while also always giving the audience a smile.

ANd in one corner, Nao...showed something spectacular with his lightning. Not only did he become lightning, but he created a sort of sphere, in a way line art or constellations, with his lightning and made it form all sorts of things around him. It expanded and grew, and showed everyone a new side of lightning they would not have expected as the lightning projections moved about around him and put on a circus show.

As for the judges, they looked ojbectively and inquisitively.

"Truly, that contestant...Nao Toreta...what an interesting application of lightning".

Trisha said that as she admired Nao.

"Indeed, it seems like we have some talented storm users all around. Look at that one boy Jaune, or that one sorcerer Demor. Truly, we are seeing some unique and exceptional displays of storms".

Allo mentioned that as he tried to look as if he was enjoying eager, like there were not certain people out there who seemed to enjoy giving him heart attacks...such as Emerin on accident various times, and Azaken because its Azaken.

Lyrian however eyed Altian and Emerin.

"I liked those two the best so far. They know their strengths and weaknesses, and compensate for each other. They also understood you really could work together for this event...and their ability to understand and read each other's actions and react. Although I do want to see what they can handle solo, as a team they seem quite formidable".

"Well....I think that Rayia is rather nice. She is not pushing the limits but instead keeping it safe and elegant. A rather wonderful display".

"Oh oh! BUt look at those two! Its weird, I think Astral and Luna are trying to compete against each other only...but they have unmistakable turned into a great duet!"

"I will give them that".

"They way they use Lunar and Astral Magic is magnificent".

"I think that one woman, Elysia Ryder, also shows potential as well..."

The commentators continued to make observations and remarks, occasionally pointing out a negative but mostly it was positive. Although, as people were still performing, they were not done yet and continued to give on the spot commentary as the last few people got their shows in.

On their stage, Norme and Jezebeth stood back to back, rather intense looks on both of their faces.

So, shortstack, what do you suggest we do first, hrm? You know we're not suited for this, at least with these rules in place.

I know. We have no choice though. We have to put on a display that can rival these around us. We'll just roll with some improvisation. It just means I'll be using Roaming Pit a lot. If you can use Lava Wall inside the pits, that may be a solid appeal round.

Oh, my Norme. You're so intelligent! I might just be smitten, mmm hmm hmm!

The duo began their appeals, first with Norme glowing with an orange aura as magic flared off of him, a large orange gate opening upon the floor at one edge of their arena. From within, several orange horned demonic creatures climbed out, each one appearing menacing and durable, their total eventually coming to number about 20.

Jezebeth stood opposite Norme and channeled magic herself to encase their arena within four walls of igneous rock that spanned several feet wide and high. Several glowing orange lines cracked through their construction, brimming with a desire to burst.

Following the summoning of the creatures, Norme gave the order for them to rush forward, an order he followed by immediately opening several pits upon the arena's floor. Each pit began moving in erratic motions to try and catch each demon, their display being used to form several symmetrical patterns as some caught demons while others missed.

Jezebeth then used a burst of magic to crack the walls, spilling lava into the arena, and into each pit, filling each to full capacity, and even overflowing them. As the lava spilled over, Norme created a massive earthquake that cracked the floor thusly to allow him and Jezebeth elevated land to stand upon as lava filled in the now encased stadium, the pits being used to swallow the summoned demons.

However, just when it seemed to be finished, the demons reemerged from the lava, looking entirely different. They had changed and become more fearsome in appearance. Red colored with fire spewing from their heads and extra horns, they seemed even more aggressive. Jezebeth then broke the walls entirely, allowing the lava to spread across the arena floor while the demons began running amok, attempting to interfere with some of the lesser competitors.

At this point, as Norme and Jezebeth moved to finish, a laugh Norme didn't want to hear echoed throughout the entire Colosseum, audible to all. Similarly, a musical beat began playing throughout, audible to all.

From the sky, an entrant; a figure flying in, was warping the immediate area around her, creating a bizarre visual effect that normally was only visible when black holes were involved. Upon a closer look, she was not flying traditionally, but rather, was surfing the air. Seeing all the flair and magic going on already, she changed her course and glided straight through the performances of other contestants. Any magic that strayed near her was wrapped around her as if pulled in by an intense force that it couldn't escape. As the magic swirled around her form, it simply vanished, as if consumed by whatever effect surrounded her.

Swooping low, the ground-based performances were next to be disrupted, whole figures and shapes being disrupted and consumed into the vortex that seemed to surround her. Passing over Norme's lava field, she began to glide the lava as it rose up and curled around her before being sucked into her as everything else was. She even took the lava walls with her.

Changing her glide to a pose of traditional flying, she continued her path of disruption as two brilliant beams of light began emanating from her. With precision, she landed on the most central of available arenas as her collected magic from everyone else's performances ejected with brilliant power in the beams of light, forming several stage effects and elements needed for a performance.

Striking a post in her idol uniform, miniskirt and all, that had a vague militaristic tone to it with the peaked cap and vest, she awaited the creation of two backup dancers, created entirely out of the same magic that created her venue. With speakers, lights, and all sorts of effects, the music picked up as she began a striking walk forward. With attention presumably on her, she spoke, her voice audible as before, magic augmenting her headset and speakers.

Greetings, people of Questrios City! To all my fans, and those soon to be, it's so great to see your support of myself in this competition! But no competition is complete without the main feature! Enjoy the main attraction!

With almost flawless timing, the girl and her magic created backup dancers began their synchronized and practiced dance routine to the music, a song that she sang with a level of forwardness uncommon even among seasoned singers.

--

I can't keep up with you as you say such nonsense
You ask, "Can I do what I want?"
Who do you think you are?

Just be quick on the uptake and get what I want even without telling
But be sure not to see into my thoughts
You can touch me only when I let you
Just keep wagging your tail and stay

Screaming is just vulgar
I won't let you say you can't go on any longer
Make me moan and satisfy me
I don't know what brilliant ecstasy feels like

I want to know
Just let me know
With your warm hands
Hey, hold me tight

I hate love tactics
They're just irritating
Shall we act like our feelings have gone cold?
Do whatever you want

Shall I attach a collar to you?
I wonder if a leash makes you a little tamer?
You behave better as a pet dog
Anyway, listen to me
Your answer should be just one bark, okay?
Stop barking and back off a little bit

Shouting is just vulgar
I'd say you're pathetic if you can't go on any longer
Fascinate me with your technique
Love me at full blast until I go off

I won't be attracted to you or fazed
You ask, "Won't you come over here?"
But I won't fall for that
I won't let you do what you want
I'm a killer lady

The one who's blind is not me but you, right?
You have no choice
Answer yes, or yes!
Yes, very good~ ♥

Screaming is just vulgar
I won't let you say you can't go on any longer
Make me moan and satisfy me
I don't know what brilliant ecstasy feels like

Ahh! I utter an exclamation with grace
I won't tolerate that anymore
Did you get it? Hey, are you listening to me?
You ask, "Can I do what I want?" …how selfish!

You're so sly
Just for today
With your warm hands
Hey… hold me tight

--

Throughout the song, itself a darker and more mature piece despite her apparent youth and age, the dancing could almost be considered a little provocative with some of the motions, though every bit of the performance had magic strewn throughout, literally using everyone else's magic she siphoned to power the magical flair she added to her performance.

Additionally, some of those present would feel quite taken by her music, definitely growing a liking for it that wasn't present at the start. The more they listened, the more this feeling grew. It was subtle, and easily shaken with even a fraction of willpower, but it also felt like it was purposefully being extremely subdued to the point of near ineffectiveness.

After a short time, she ended the song accordingly, finishing as she always did a show, with some dialogue and a reminder of the post-round handshake events she would be participating in, where they could shake hands with her, and procure an autograph. The magic that formed her stage began fading, returning to her in the same vortex as before. This time, however, the magical energy that was absorbed simply vanished, and was no more.

Norme himself actually seemed to get upset, which was apparently rare enough that Jezebeth was intrigued, moving to his side in her usual flirty fashion, as if to see what was wrong.

As everyone finished their first event and everything finally settled down, the commentators were still at it, pointing out all sorts of things, bringing up interesting dialogue, and so on. Everything seemed to be all well and good, and while there were those that really stood out, there were also a few who...well, no one really remembered them. Plenty of people who were clearly only focused on combat fell out as well, and so the first event was finally completed.

And then, projected onto the sky above, a screen that showed all the people who passed was put up. Everyone who had made an impact was on it, and there were still hundreds of people left. That showed just how large the event would be though, as if that many were left, there would clearly be many more rounds to eliminate the competition.

And with that, Aedrios Gale stepped forward and began to address everyone.

"Well done to everyone! As you can see, the winners have been decided! But for those who did not make it, do not lose heart! For everyone surely made a marvelous effort in their performance for the first round! Now, there will be a break for everyone to rest up and recharge, before we get into the second event that will happen today! We have prepared locker rooms for the contestants to rest in, eat your fill of food and beverages, and shower off or change if you feel it is needed. After all, the second event...shall be a race! But don't be fooled into thinking it will just be a normal race, so make sure you are properly prepared...and ready for anything".

With those ominous words, the doors to the locker rooms were open, and several scents of delicous and delectable food could be picked up from within. During the break, they would also be showing various scenes and performances from the last event, in case two epic performances happened at the same time which caused the audiance to miss one or the other.

ANd inside the locker room, which was rather large, there was a large main room full of benches and tables, a buffet table larger then any seen before, some rather nice ambient music, drinks of all kinds, some workbenches for people to work on or adjust their gear, sports shower rooms to shower off and cool down, as well as lockers to store anything of excess that one might not want to weigh them down during the race. There was also a supply of people in maid and butler uniforms to help assist anyone with anything they could.

...of course, the way it was said...

"Speed is going to be important" Jaune mentioned to Shinku and a few others nearby, as he sat down on a bench and too off his shoes and socks to relax. He also had Kimaru appear, who began to blow magic wind on them both. "But I doubt the race is going to stick to the stadium. They will have it all planned out and monitored of course, but if I had to guess, the race will involve Demon Beasts and traps. Not to mention other contestants".

"I suppose a wind attribute person like yourself would think that...though I am surprised you are putting thought into it at all. You typically just go all free willed and roll on instinct" Shinku added as he grabbed some food and began fueling up. "Well, its rare to say this, but you are probably not wrong. It depends on the specifics, which they are being so shrouded with".

Akamaru appeared on Shinku's back...but in his humanoid form, as a young boy with red ears and a red tail. He pointed at a few male and female contestants who were by the showers, taking off their gear and clothes and some already entering the showers. "Should we shower too? It seems like others are doing it".

"Akamaru! Just, go back into your animal form! Not here!" he said, and the boy became a fox.

"So shy...but we cant lost now, so early into it!"

"Just...shut up. Jaune, how about you..."

But Jaune had already done the same, left his clothes folded in a locker nearby. "Come on Shinku!"

Shinku just facepalmed, remembering again that Jaune was always like this. Never listening, never being concerned, just jumping right in...

On the other side, Ixa was near Ryder, stuffing his face with more food then should fit into his body. On the other side was Snowflake, although she had shrunk down her form so it was not a hassle.

"I hope the race goes through someplace cold. That would be the most ideal for me".

"You should probably be prepared for heat. Looks like a number of people are fire users".

And budging into the group was Nao.

"To be fair, a lot of mages are fire users. Its the most common, at least that is what it feels like. They all hear stories of fire and fire and more fire, so they go fire. I prefer lightning myself. How about you...Ryder was it? Name is Nao. Nao Torretta".

"You going to change too? It looks like a lot of people are layering down, shorts and shirt. Some are even just going shorts".

"Well, admittedly one of the reason people are changing is because the feel of wearing fresh clothes will feel less burdening to them, improving their mental fortitude. Also, a lot of people who won were those who gave it past their all, so they built up sweat. The smart thing to do would be to shower that off, and wear fresh clothes, as it will make it easier to move in and let you be faster and more efficient. But...well, lets just say there is an advantage with my stuff to where using the same gear is helpful. That said...showering off might be best".

"Wait...your gear is special?"

"Hey, I aint answering that anymore. We are competitors after all" Nao said with a smile.

Cyrus meanwhile had taken out a brush, and was brushing off his wings. He wanted to have them in the best condition possible for when they raced, since having them would surely give him an advantage.

"I should probably anticipate part of the race going underground though. Whether they limit it to the city, or take it outside, there are plenty of caves and underground tunnels along with subways. And if they use spacial magic, it could go from the mountains to the deserts to the arctic. Its a gamble basically. Carry too little, and you may be unprepared. Carry too much, you might be overencumbered. In other words, the race is not just about speed. That should be obvious from the start. This test is about cleverness as well, and how we will use our magical abilities to deal with the situation...this is going to be so much fun!"

And Azaken was...he seemed to be sitting calm and still? Even if he was using a fake name, his fake personality was not usually this calm...if his mind was still where his body was, anyways...

I will just take a peek at the race, and have some long range summoning gates put some monsters in areas to make this more interesting. Get their focus away, prepare for even more mischief...

And Astral and Luna meanwhile, were preparing in their own way...eating large amounts of food to fuel up, while arguing about what the best food was at the table.

And Emerin, he was trying to pull Altian all over the place.

"We should try this out! And this! Look at this delicious food! Oh, I wonder if their showers are like back home also. What do you think we will see during the race? You think it will be a tag team race? A three legged race? Maybe we get chased around by monsters? Oh oh, what magic do you think that person can do?"

"How about asking me instead of your friend?" Rivyan mentioned as he sighed. "And for the record, I can use all sorts. Maybe you will see them during the race".

The chaos of having so many mages, with all their various personalities, was becoming clear as they socialized and interacted with each other in the room.

Elysia couldn't help but snicker at Nao's interjection, or rather at the idea of the people unfortunate enough to try melting Ixa's ice... There were plenty of his pursuers who had tried that after all, only to be sorely disappointed before wising up.

"Yes", she answered to his following question. "Nice to meet you Nao. You can call me Elysia if you'd like."

As Nao started to talk to Ixa, distracting the boy Elysia took the chance to grab some of Ixa's food from his plate. She surveyed the room as she began munching on it. She couldn't help but notice once more just how many of the group were children. Talented children for sure, and she was looking forward to what they'd become in the future, but somehow she couldn't take most of them serious as competition.

She noticed one of Ixa's siblings in the group, and figured that they'd probably go talk to him later.

As the first round wound down and Aedrios Gale began to speak, Demor's body began to glow brightly again, and he returned to his normal form, shuddering as he blinked, and continued to recover from the strain that Dragon Force puts on his body. A locker room? With food and showers? Sounded perfect. As the doors opened, Demor walked with the crowd of mages towards the locker room, licking his lips. Food sounded great, as did the shower.

A race, eh? He sighed and found a locker, stripping down and tying a towel around his waist before heading over to the buffet table, and quickly piling multiple plates worth of food, and heading back to his locker bench to chow down while listening to Jaune and Shinku, as well as the others as they discussed the possibilities for the next round of the games. Regardless of the obstacles that would appear in the race, Demor was naturally much faster than the average human eye could see, and was equally as agile with his years of battle experience and the added agility due to his tail. His magic was versatile enough for most elemental blocks, and he was tough enough to power through a lot even without the need for his magic.

Finishing his food rather quickly, he walked past the boys, his eyes lingering on Nao, sensing the boy's affinity for Lightning magic before he walked past and stretched his shoulders with a groan, his tail moving to take the towel off his hips and place it on a hook so he could shower without getting the towel soaked and making it useless. As he stood under the hot water, his body shook and he half chuckled to himself, the steam and hot water revitalizing him as it cascaded down his scarred body. Spotting Jaune, entering the showers, Demor smiled and lifted his chin in greeting.

"Yo, Jaune! How'd you do? I sort of... black out a little when I go Dragon Force." he said, shrugging, his eyes naturally going towards the female contestants that he could see, if the showers weren't gender segregated. His eyes didn't linger for long, but he did feel his lips tug back into a smirk, teeth glistening.

"Lot of Storm Users, or lightning users here.... plenty of fire users too." he added with a shrug, dipping his head under the hot water, scrubbing his hair clean before sighing and rinsing off, turning around and opting to let the hot water run down his back for a few minutes while he and Jaune talked.

After finishing talking, however, he turned off his water and began to dry himself, humming a Draconian Lullaby to himself. Demor wasn't being his usual flirty self that Jaune and Iviri had come to know outside of the competition, but then again, perhaps it was the competition that was making him act this way. The combination of all the other mages and the prospect of fighting them making his normally laid back, care-free attitude give way to his competitive, serious nature.

Inwardly, he was concerned. There were so many children competing. Or at least, those many would consider to be under age or children. He had no doubt about their powers, but the fact that they were here concerned him - how powerful could the most powerful mage on this world be? How powerful was he in comparison? He had heard there was a ranking system, but didn't really get to study too much in detail about it.

Guess he'd have to do a little research after the Grand Magic Games, he supposed. After drying off, he wrapped his towel around his hips again and walked back to the locker he'd chosen for himself, getting dressed slowly, almost as if in pain. Now that he was in the light, and mostly bare to the world to see, those watching him would be able to see the many scars that his body had. Many had healed and were merely discolorations in the skin by this point, but at the same time, the area of his upper back where the wings seemed to sprout from his back when he entered Dragon Force seemed to be deep cuts. Not bleeding or even painful looking, but definite differences in texture... valleys in an otherwise smooth surface. As he dressed, many joints popped audibly - perhaps his body was stiff after his performance, or perhaps he wasn't in as good a shape that he portrayed out in the arena.

Or perhaps it was all a ruse to make the others under estimate him, allowing him to snatch victory.

Slipping the last bit of his clothes on, he made his way back to the buffet table and served himself again, this time taking his time to eat as he watched the others around him, Emerald, Reptilian eyes looking out with a predatory gaze over the crowd. Searching for weaknesses or lack thereof. Searching for those who he could defeat easily, and those who might give him trouble.

Race-Wise, Demor wasn't worry in terms of needing to pack. His cloak kept him relatively warm in cold climates, and being Reptilian made him predisposed to warmer climates. His speed and agility could get him through obstacles, and his power could handle most anything that stood in his way. Needless to say he wasn't worried for now. If anything strange popped up that he wasn't accounting for, however, it might have him reconsider his options, but for now he was confident.

And Ultimately, confidence was what won the day more often than not.

Altian let Emerin lead the way as the driving force of what they should do, what they should try, and what they should talk about before the second challenge. He didn't pay any mind to being dragged across the room, nor did he mind the overly excited and emphatic nature of the scene around them, nor the occasional stares and glances they got in every room they went to. It made him wonder exactly how many people were witness to their performance in relation to others. Sure, they listed who passed and who didn't and maybe it wasn't important, but it was a question that nagged at his curiosity. How well did they perform in comparison with the other performances?

He had to constantly remind himself that it wasn't important as he explored the insane waiting room with so many different types of food he had only read about. To be fair, it was easy to forget as Altian realized how hungry he was when his stomach growled. His mouth was practically salivating at the plates of Hop Scotch Burgers, Magical Matt's Mashed Potatoes, deep fried turkey, and even the iconic city cuisine...the Classic Questrios Club: A monster of a sandwich with every exotic meat that could be salvaged in addition to flavorful peppers, crunchy lettuce, and some secret spice and sauce that brought all the flavors together. He knew that each one costed a good 20 quid out in the stands and they were getting them for free, basically. Part of the perks of being a competitor.

He didn't hesitate to grab one of these legendary sandwich in addition with some turkey breast (pulling out the wish bone with it), some classic Groovy Gear French Fries, a serving of Vincent's Veggies to balance out the unhealthy stuff, a Calypso Colada (which was not an alcoholic drink, but a tropical fruit smoothie), and a Hesh Cake to remind him of home.

"You should get one of those Questrios Clubs," he pointed the gigantic sandwich out to Emerin, "They're super expensive in the city and you may never get another chance to try one again! Mmmff..." he couldn't help but moan in satisfaction as he bit into this sandwich, the rush of flavors filling his mouth and blending together like a sautee symphony, "Oh, id so guhd!"

As he ate with Emerin (who likely had three times his appetite and that was saying something), he glanced around at some of the other remaining competitors, watching them chatter among themselves. Most of them were in high spirits, of course. They all made it past the first round. A few were hardcore analyzing the room, trying to get a read on what others could do, figure out their opponents and understand how they could surpass them. A few were stressing out over how they could prepare for the upcoming race, most notably a pair of fat, bard-like wizards who were attempting to whip up a speed spell on the fly. It was easy to tell from some people who was confident and who wasn't...who was here to have fun and enjoy the moment and who was here to compete and take home the victory. And some people remained ghosts or unreadable husks, not wanting to reveal anything or give away any thoughts as if it might betray them and lead others to exploit their weaknesses should they ever be found out.

But all the while, he couldn't help but wonder what the next challenge was going to be. Of course he knew as much as everyone else knew...it was a race. But something about the atmosphere told him this wasn't going to be a typical race...something about the design and the structure and overall feel of the Grand Magi Games. This was going to feel different.

And as the massive amount of people slowly recharged their batteries, the nature of their performances coming through on the big screen as it replayed round one, and the cryptic messages and mysterious nature of the judges and their intentions played through his mind, a hunch began to form.

"Hey, Emry-Shu," Altian nudged his best friend on the arm as they continued, "I'm getting a vibe that this next round could throw some crazy, unexpected turns at us. There's so many people here still...and there's so many more events to get through. That first round weeded out all the combat-centric magic users. I feel like this next round is going to do something similar."

His voice was low and close, not out of secrecy, but so Emerin could hear, "Every time we get to work together again, let's do it. But I have this strong feeling like at some point, sooner or later, we might not get to do it anymore. When that happens, I may not be there to help ya. And it's the same the other way around. So promise me that no matter what happens, we do our best, we try our hardest, and we trust each other. And even while we're competing, we're rooting for each other. Cause I'll be rooting for you no matter what, Emry-Shu!"

"Spit Pact on it!" he stood up, hacked up a lugie, and spit it into his hand, offering it out to Emerin. He knew the Spit Pact was their promise shake and he knew that the blue-haired boy would do the same and they would shake. Not that they needed it since they basically grew up as best friends and they trusted each other more than most people would trust another in the world. But Altian knew what it would do to Emerin: Bolster his confidence in case they couldn't join forces and have it be a reminder that no matter what, no matter how, they would never become enemies.

Like true best friends...

As more and more food was supplied, from Flameboar meat, to Pickled Squid Tentacles, to Zuuumba, which was some combination of of fruits, meat, vegetables, and a bit of dairy. There were also sweets, such as cookies, cakes, and ice cream even. Not to mention the assortment of cheeses.

"Hey...ELysia...is it me, or is there some food missing from my plate?" Ixa asked innocently.

Meanwhile, Jaune made note of some others before he looked back at Demor.

"I have never seen so many magic users in one place before" he mentioned, as he looked at those in the shower room alone. "There are a lot of powerful magical auras...although, none were anywhere near as intimidating as that guild leader, Aedrios Gale. Jaune felt that he stood no chance, in any situation, against that man, that was how overwhelming it felt to him. And Jaune usually was just a bright optimistic cheerful person with no sense of modesty.

It was a bit interesting to others, seeing how Jaune who was small and Demor who was large were interacting so casually.

"That said, you did really great! It was really flashy! Although, that one guy cried I think when you ate his magic" Jaune mentioned. "Also, I am curious. That whole dragony thing you did...are those scales aerodynamic or something? If not, you might have trouble with wind resistance in the race".

Indeed, if one thought about it, all of the racers would want to reduce wind resistance as much as physically possible.

"I think there is a few people who might be problematic for the rest of us in the race. For one thing, there is this one kid, people keep seeming to get sick around him. Also, another one, Nao Toreta, can turn into lightning, so he might just zap on ahead. There is also a few others...this seems like it will be really fun!"

And while Jaune was there, Emerin was with Altian, eating unreasonably large amounts of food and other such things. However, when Altian questioned what would be involved in the race, Emerin went and pulled an...Emerin....

"I bet they will have blizzards, and deserts, and dragons, and mountains, and jungles, and forests, and monsters, and traps, and all sorts of things! I bet they will have things that we never even thought of before! I bet they will have magic no one would ever consider there! Oh, and agreed!" he said, finishing the pact with Altian after his mind had rambled in ways that probably didn't make much sense.

Before anyone could say much else though, enough time had passed that the announcement system sparked to life, and told everyone the next event would be starting soon.

To Ixa's query she bluntly replied, "It tasted as glorious as it looked, no worries.", as if not understanding the point of the question. She did understand though, and Ixa would probably know enough of her tells by now to know she was teasing him slightly.

---

His response to that would probably factor his knowledge about how serious Elysia was about food, due to her past. Sure, she could have conjured food during her solitude, but had stopped doing that at some point for various reasons. Her magic was capable of directly sustaining her anyway. Over 17 millennia of life had come and gone until she actually ate again.

-That one time with the meat Ixa had hunted not counting, since her magic absorbed that.-

She had burst into tears at finally tasting real food again. The fact that she managed to be this lighthearted about something to do with eating was a sign she was recovering.

---

After his response she decided to get her own plate. She saw a monster of a sandwich, which looked rather tasty, and floated it unto her plate with a cantrip, much to the dismay of the second in the actual line for food. Ah well. This was a competition between mages after all, which was just as serious of a business as food.

About halfway through her sandwich came the announcement that they would be resuming soon. Staring forlornly at the remains of the culinary wonder that was the Classic Questrios Club, she decided to have her magic break it down, to replenish itself. It was not technically needed, what with the Seed hiding itself within her soul, but she didn't want to be overly reliant on what could be seen as a cheat, even if it was legally allowed.

-And yes, she had checked when they were at the Mage's Guild-

As Demor dried himself, he stuck around outside the range of the water as Jaune talked to him, smiling at the positive feedback. He looked to his tail as he brought it forward, the seven-foot long, thick appendage twitching in a fluid motion. Water ran right off it, or just beaded on the scales. "In that form that I changed to, I can fly at will, without having to use my magic." He explained. "Otherwise, I have to use my magic to dart around fast enough to simulate flying. That's how I got into the cloud to begin with." he finished. Demor laughed at the idea of that mage whose magic he ate after shoving him crying, and he patted his belly.

"What can I say? I liked what he was cooking!" he chuckled. As Jaune went on to talk about the other contestants a bit, Demor nodded, but then smirked when he mentioned Nao, leaning forward with a cheeky grin on his face. "I could always just straight up eat him when he does that." he said, a playful tone in his voice before he laughed again and shrugged.

"Guess we'll find out, eh Jaune?" he asked.

It was as Demor was starting to get dressed that the announcement of the next event starting soon rang out, and Demor paused. So soon after the first event? The other contenstants were still eating or showering or... god knows what else. He shrugged to himself - who knew what kids and young teens did nowadays anyway?

Those cute girls in the maid outfits though.... Demor's Emerald eyes looked one up and down, and as she caught his gaze she blushed, and he flashed her a toothy grin and a wink as he continued to get dressed, tying his cloak back into place around his shoulders and neck so that he was moderately prepared for the race to come.

But a race - an event of extreme physical exertion, so soon after a chance to eat, and based on the other contestants.... himself included, they ate too much too fast to be able to perform at their best. Now that he thought about it more, the whole thing sort of seemed sketchy. Maybe the food wasn't there to eat, but to pack for the race?

Using his tail as a kick-stand, Demor leaned back on the bench near his locker, and watched the rest of the contestants quietly. Idly, he wondered, who wouldn't make it through the next round, and how they would fail.

"Hello everyone! This is your favorite super reporter, Trisha Adlers, here today with a few others in the commentators box over here! First off, we got the kid with the strats, the big blaster, Iviri Rixy!"

"...how did I get dragged into this?"

"And on my other side, we got the doc with the glasses, the teach with the skills, the one who is at the top of education, Dr. Simon Azler!"

"I also got knighted recently, so I have another title".

"Seriously?! Alright then, as the contestants are gathering on the starting line, lets give everyone an overview of the enxt event!
This event is a race, but is it a normal race? Heellllll nau! Its a race with obstacles, traps, monsters, and other hazards! And also, it is a race that will be involving gates! Dr. Azler, can you explain the gates to us?"

"Yes, developed by one of our brightest students and teachers, Milo Mills, they will detect the unique bio-signature of all the participants to confirm they have passed through and are the right person! We have scattered them randomly across the course, so you cant just teleport around! You gotta run the actual course!"

"Oh ho! So they gotta go for the long haul then!"

"Indeed! Now, we have hired some extra help as well to provide some....randomness...to the event! So everyone, be ready for anything and everything! And that includes each other! Just remember that if you stop to do a full fledged fight, others will leave you in the dust! Now then, Ms. Adlers, please tell us about the Race Zones!"

"Alright! There will be at least five gates in each zone, and there will be five zones to race through. Zone One: The City Zone, will have our contests race through the city landscape! Zone 2, the Jungle Zone! After running through the final gate of a previous zone, they will be transported to the next zone instantly! So from City to Jungle in the blink of an eye! After that, we have the Desert Zone, and then the Winter Mountain Zone, and then finally....the Mystery Zone! We wont know what is in it until someone reaches it! That is right people, a zone of mysteries where we wont know what happens!

"Alright! It looks like with the end of that, everyone is ready to start! So, on your marks...get set....GOOOOOO!"

Right as go was said, seven different dragons that were ridden to help oversee and guard the event roared with multi colored breath, taking the place of the pistol that one would expect to be fired.

And in that moment, a bolt of lightning was seen rushing on ahead. It made weird curves and turns isntead of a direct line, but there were others who flew up into the air like Cyrus, and others who ran at top speeds and had the wind bend around them to reduce or negate air resistance like Jaune.

As for Ixa, he had created ice skates on himself and skated towards victory.

"Haha! Sucks for all of you! I have super speed!" one man said as he rushed past everyone, gaining a high position in front....until suddenly, he hit...well, nothing. It looked like he hit solid air.

Solid Air Barriers? Well okay then...

"Akamaru! Level 3, Jet Boots Equip!"

"GOt it!"

Suddenly, advanced spiritual boots appeared on Shinku's legs, and he jumped over hte invisible wall....only to hit a floating invisible wall. He quickly recovered and landed though, and kept running.

"Follow me, Alt-Shu!" Emerin said as he grabbed his friend's hand while creating portals for them to run in and out of to speed up their pace.

"Astral Acceleration!"

"Lunar Leeway!"

And of course, it looked as if....Astral and Luna were competing with each other compared to everyone else, again.

Rivyan meanwhile just seemed to glide along normally....when suddenly, a strange sniper bullet came out of nowhere! A barrier appeared and protected Rivyan from it, but it was also a stun bullet and would only stun someone. For a long time though.

Rivyan looked back at the source, only to see it was hidden behind numerous cloaking spells and mana disruptors. Still, he had an idea of who did it...

Meanwhile, Ixian was on his invisible platform with his sniper rifle out.

"Well, I guess that should be expected. No matter, I get paid a bonus for every single person I take out, so lets rack up that reward money! Yeah!"

Ixian motivated himself, and then begna taking pot shots at other members of the races.

And meanwhile, Azaken seemed to be...keeping up well enough also.

Demor hung back for a second, watching everyone move, and run into some invisible walls, as well as get sniped. Interesting. A zoned Race, eh? Very well. Crouching, he readied himself and then took off. There was nothing but a cloud of dust from his spot. His tail flicked out, and he was gone. High-Speed Cameras, or people who were trained to recognize and perceive extreme-speed movements would be able to see him, but normal people would only be able to see him in between steps, where he had to make contact with the ground, and slow himself to make minor course corrections. Watching the people in front of them, particularly the boy arcing across the world as a bolt of lightning, Demor was able to follow them and for the most part avoid the invisible walls that littered the field.

Eyes widening as his senses over-lapped, he stopped suddenly, using his momentum to spin himself on his toes, his hands pressing against the surface of one of those walls to get a good feel for it. His tail lashed out, and he vanished again, moving, finding another wall directly in his path, and using it as a spring-board. "That was too close...." he thought, mixing his own heightened speed with an Arc Flight cloak, and therefore using that to further enhance his speed and sensory abilities to dodge the invisible walls, darting between them in arcs of lightning, sometimes seen, sometimes not.

Regardless of that, however, Demor was quickly closing in on first place.

A race it can't be that easy... Rayia looked around at the others. Then the roar of Dragons. The racers where off and many right into a invisible wall. Rayia let out a laugh at the fools.

Rayia opened herself to the force sensing what lay ahead she charted a course through the barriers. Using the force she began to increase her speed. But then a shot rang out.

Rayia looked to where the shot came from a man on the air? She focused her force sight seeing the platform in her mind's eye she attacked with the force gripping at the platform and pulling it down.

Rayia didn't wait to see if the sniper fell to his doom or not she had a race to win after all..

“I miss being able to shower…” Brand sighed as he caught sight of the blocks. Arguably the most irritating effect of his heavy use of pyromancy was his weakness to water. Drinking it was fine but when it got on his skin it tended to drain him. Luckily he didn’t sweat and had no need to clean himself up after the first round, and besides, he could have just incinerated any dirt on himself.

Scanning the room, he noted to that he’d spotted a few other fire mages during the performances, and lightning users too. Although they seemed like popular magic types, some of the mages had really stood out in the crowd.

As these thoughts stewed in his head, he ambled over to the table and foraged himself a modest plate of food. He didn’t want to lose whatever he ate now halfway through the next round after all, and he had a pretty average appetite when it came to it. Speaking of which, if the next round was going to be a race he had some planning to do. He thought about what strengths and weaknesses he might have as he chowed casually. Speed and agility would probably be involved to some extent, and he had those plenty, so he was feeling pretty confident on the whole.

When the time came for the next event to begin, Brand listened intently to the speakers explaining how the trial would work. Sounds interesting enough, he thought to himself, until one phrase metaphorically sucker punched him in the face. Winter Mountain Zone.

“Oh no.” he remarked. Water being cold and solid as well didn’t help much. If it had just been a contest of speed he might have been able to blast himself through a snowy zone, but with the gate mechanic, it was clear he was going to have to actively explore the area.

As the starting signal sounded, he shook his head clear (as best he could, anyway) and launched off. If he was going to struggle later on in the race, he reasoned, he should get as far as possible now by powering ahead of-

“OOF!”

Brand clutched his head as several mages left him in the dust. He looked around wildly as he tried desperately to get his bearings. “Huh? Wha-?” he noticed the same tragedy had befallen another hapless mage nearby. Curious, but in a hurry nevertheless the pyromancer prodded the air in front of him. It felt solid. The pyromancer shook his head in frustration and burst into flames, shifting into his knight form and charging ahead.

Bam.

He didn’t fall over this time, but the impact did not help his attitude. He kept going, and kept hitting or near-missing the barriers along the way. He was falling even further behind. This is hopeless, he thought, there's no way of getting ahead, how is it so - then he did something that surprised him. He stopped, wondering why he’d done something so idiotic and then found himself standing still and thinking, much to his own horror.

Suddenly his whole demeanour changed, the frustration was gone, and for a second it was if he didn’t even notice how many mages were overtaking him every second, a few even giving him funny looks. He ignored them, and set off again. The pyro-knight leapt up and glided low through the air, holding one palm out, which he used to project a small but constant gout of flames ahead.

Onlookers might soon realize what he was doing - as he neared a barrier, the flames would hit it as if were a normal wall, making them visible to him and allowing him to figure out a safe passage through the obstacles. Gradually, as he began to overtake some of the more inept mages who kept getting hit by the invisible walls, he would pick up more speed, getting more used to this method, until he was quickly climbing the ranks back toward the middle of the race.

Altian felt a little bit better after the handshake. He wanted that reassurance that no matter what happened, even if they would be forced to compete against each other, their friendship wouldn't ride on the result. But then again, he never had to worry about that with Emerin. He was about as carefree as people could get. His power usage was a direct representation of that. So why did he ask the question? Was it for his own reassurance...or perhaps it was his own reminder to not take this competition so seriously? He did value his friendship over everything else, but there was still a small nugget of competitive spirit within him that wanted to go as far as he could in this competition.

There could only be one winner, after all...

There wasn't enough time to unpack everything battling inside of the bookworm as the PA system blared and the next event was announced to begin shortly. He stayed by Emerin, of course, as they walked back out into the center of the stadium where the next event would begin.

And it was a race he hadn't expected...mostly because it was to be expected. He knew that the Grand Magi Games got crazy and that no two years were ever the same in design or structure, but this felt like he was overthinking the process a little bit. The gimmick (apart from the traps and obstacles they would be racing past) were these gates scattered in each zone that allowed the contestants to progress to the next one. And they weren't specifically situated at the end, so teleporting past all the obstacles would be a waste of time. But he steeled himself and prepared his mentality as he nudged Emerin with a grin.

"Hey Emry-Shu. Ya think we're gonna go through Ezra Desert?" he asked, knowing that if they did, that would be a huge advantage for them.

"I dunno, Alt-shu..." Emerin replied. He did not know the full scale of the race, but he was interested in seeing where they would go. That said...he looked down at their clothes. "However, we are both overdressed for the desert, and underdressed for the cold...well, if we keep hurrying maybe we can pass through before it affects us!"

And with everything explained, the dragons roared and the race was on. Emerin led the way, taking Altian's hand as he started whipping up portals for them to pass through. They passed through the first one with ease and appeared just in time to see the super speedy man run smack dab into the invisible barrier. He couldn't discern exactly what magic spell was being used in the moment as there were several that could allow invisible barriers to exist. But he did have a quick tactic to get around it.

"Try short distance portals," Altian suggested as they went, "Randomly placed throughout. Make the distance no less than a few feet between. That way, we aren't missing anything except walls."

It wasn't a foolproof strategy, though. There was still a marginal chance they would be running into the barriers. But now that they could cut the space they were travelling through down and Emerin had the energy supply of a demi-god, they could keep this up until the walls weren't a problem anymore. With each portal Emerin created, Altian stabilized with a little bit of his own energy, controlling it to ensure it wouldn't collapse on them as they went through each one. He'd heard many stories of portals doing that to people and causing surprise paraplegic conditions to the caster and that would be the dumbest of ways to go out.

"Too much energy," he noticed, "Try using a little less magic. Remember, if you can control this energy, you can be efficient with it."

And that was something he'd told him before. They helped each other out as much as possible, constantly trying to better one another through various ways. Emerin usually tended to overcompensate, creating powerful torrents when a simple rainfall was required. Meanwhile, Altian tended to underperform, his focus on efficient mana use resulting in putting too little mana into the spell. But they both had tips and tricks to help bring out the best of their other and this was no exception.

"Alright! Lets do this!" Emerin stated, and began to use what he liked to call Portal Dash, which involved creating several portals in a row, never fully materializing out of any of them instead of just opening two portals over and over again. Interestingly enough, he had not even realized he was doing this, or that this was not actually what Altian had told him to do technically. Emerin was not the best with directions, which resulted in Altian usually being in charge of navigating them, and it appeared much like a blur of energy in a way.

In truth, Emerin was kind of doing what he told. The theory of Portal Dash was practically identical to what Altian had told him, just with a different result. There only difference was control. With Random Short Distance Portals, Emerin would have far better directional control then with Portal Dash, and it would be harder to track his movements. But with Portal Dash, it was like creating a tunnel of portals, only the tunnel was litterally being created right in that moment and disappearing in the next, allowing only Emerin and Altian to travel through it.

Naturally though, Emerin had little knowledge of this and would need Altian to point it out to him later, as he thought they were just running through as he created the random portals immediately, like running through a lane.

And then, that was when Emerin sensed it...

"Alt-shu! Duck!" Emerin shouted, not realizing that with what he was currently doing he did not actually need to shout that. As they might appear to others as a comet of energy flying around and forward, they would duck as they passed one of the cars...or, what they thought was a car, but suddenly transformed and tried to suckerpunch them! And if that was not enough, Emerin suddenly noticed they had to dodge as the streetlights began shooting out lasers randomly!

All of that caused him to forcibly dodge, which allowed two others to pass them...and then suddenly, fall into holes that opened up as they ran across them and down into the ground.

"They are really going all out!"

"So, who are you all rooting for?" Trisha asked with energy. "Any favorites you think you will win?"

"I-I dont think that we are allowed to have favorites..."

"Dont be so shy! And of course we are allowed to have some opinions of our own, so long as we try and talk about everyone! Its the judges that have to be impartial, not us!"

"I...I see..." Iviri mentioned.

"So, who is it? Who is it?"

"Ummm...Well, I kind of know too many people in the Games to say".

"Oh relax, I am sure you wont hurt their feelings!"

"I really cant though..." Iviri mentioned. He really did know too many people participating. There was Demor, Ixa, Rivyan, Nao, and a couple of others. Iviri knew quite a few people.

"Awww. What a buzzkill. What about you Doctor?"

"Oh no, I am not opening that can of worms either. A lot of my students and alumni are participating. I only wish them all good luck".

"Haaaaaaaaaa...."

Meanwhile, in the race...

Astral and Luna were neck and neck, near the upper middle, or lower upper groups. They probably could be going much faster, but they were constantly clashing with each other, making it difficult for either of them to get near the lead.

Meanwhile, Ixa was gliding forward, and occasionally create a shield of ice to stop Ixian's stun bullets. At the same time, Nao who had shot out in the beginning was nearing the first gate. He had passed through all the checkpoints, so now it was time to enter the first of the transport gates.

It was easy for him to move fast inside a city, especially one he knew the layout for, but now...now was where it would get tricky.

At least he was able to avoid or run past the robots that got in everyone's ways. And so, having passed through all the Checkpoint Gates inbetween the start and the Transport Gate, he went through and...

"You have got to be kidding me! Full Charge Kick!" he called out as he spun himself around in mid air and delivered a kick to a very large snake that had been waiting right at the gate. The electrical burst stunned it momentairily, but this left Nao in a free fall. It appeared the Transport Gate from City Zone to Jungle Zone did deposit into a jungle...but the cave was near the edge of the cliff, and according to the signs and navigation robots that pointed the way, everyone would have to go down the cliff anyways. After all, the next gate was miles away deeper into the jungle.

As Nao landed though, he soon realized roughly where this Zone was, or what it was based on. Some of the swampy jungles to the north, full of peril such as sludge pits, murky water, and quicksand. And those were the normal threats. There was also something known as Sinking Grass, which was like Quicksand but looked like a grassy patch of land. The only difference in how you could tell what it was was that the grass was a slightly different shade of green, and that there wouldn't be anything in it.

There were also giant serpents like what he encountered before, as well as trees that had tops that would shoot out weird tendrils, wrap them around creatures that could fly, and quickly pull them into it to be eaten. Interestingly enough, it only seemed to target creatures that could fly though. You could tell what they looked like from leave shape, size, branches, and the fact you would see a spot that looked like normal bark from the sky...until it opened up and shot those tendrils at you to pull you in and swallow you.

And then of course, there were Murkwolves, Killer Moles, Deathromas (flowers that spew poisonous gas), and so on.

As for what he landed in, it was a Sinking Grass pit. It had already started to swallow up his shoes, but he had no intention of sinking, or running the entire race barefoot, so he let out a powerful electric charge. Unfortunately...Sinking Grass was essentially made of Earth and Rock, so it was fairly useless. As a result, he took out a piece of cloth, and ran electricity though it. This caused it to take the shape of a sword, which he used to cut up the ground as he pulled his sleeve up a little and shot a grapple hook out of a gauntlet device on his arm. Combined with the disruption of the ground, he was able to pull himself up.

"Alright then" Nao said as he surveyed the surroundings. "Lots of trees in the way, not organized nearly like the streets so I wont be able to move as fast in lightning form. Lets just do short zaps from branch to branch for now. I definently do not want to be airborn here. Leaving aside the Skyhook Trees, pretty sure I saw some flying creatures up there that would eat people who tried, and fighting all of those things would just slow me down".

And with that, he began zapping from branch to branch, moving quickly as possible while avoiding any Stickybark trees, which were trees so sticky it was better then military grade glue or duct tape.

Meanwhile, Cyrus who had been flying at top speed sped around the corner in the City zone as he saw a few others enter the Transport Gate to the Jungle Zone before him. Confident in his wings and speed, he rushed right through...and because he was flying, did not fall off the cliff as everyone else did. He also did a barrel roll to avoid the snake, however...

"GRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRR".

"Uh oh?"

He panicked a little when he saw two flying serpents hop out of the forest to try and eat him, as well as spotting several things that looked like Skyhook Trees.

"This seems extremely prejudiced against people who can fly!" Cyrus complained as he began to take evasive measures.

And back in the City Zone, Jaune and Shinku were also making their way towards the transport gate along with their Armor Spirits, while in Level 3 forms. Jaune was in the lead, but Shinku had been using bursts of fire to keep up. Still, they were not anywhere close to being in the top ten yet.

Well, maybe they were a little close given how many holes they had seen triggered, but they didn't know for sure. Still, they were not out of the race yet either.

Demor quickly found himself dealing with traps and obstacles that not many others in the race were even aware of yet. The random pitfalls, the additional walls of near perfectly invisible matter, and then the challenge of finding the checkpoint gates within a swirling city? All of it was insane, but for whatever reason, either due to his own pure speed or dumb luck, Demor was progressing very well. He didn't know where exactly on the leader-board he was, but based on the fact that he couldn't sense anyone nearby him, he guessed somewhere near the top.

It was as he made his final approach to the gate leading to the Jungle Zone that one of the random laser blasts managed to catch up to him, making him stumble through the gate, skidding to a halt. Once through, the feeling of imminent doom consumed him, and before the giant worm that proved to be the source of that feeling could actually consume him, he moved out of the way, and with a Teravolt Claw, kicked the worm away before darting off the side of the cliff, launching himself a good couple hundred feet in what he thought might be the right direction before beginning to fall.

Using his tail to guide his trajectory, and his Magic to coat his body in Lightning so as to not be snatched up by the trees that seemed to be trying to eat him, Demor landed safely, and took off again, albeit much slower than before due to the unfamiliar landscape and area around him. Slow enough for normal cameras to finally be able to see him, if there were any around for the audience to watch from.

'So far so good.' he thought as he raced through the jungle. If he kept up this speed, he should be out of the jungle in no time, he reasoned. Using his senses, he reached, and found a small influx of magic power, which if anything was the same from the last zone, meant he was going in the right direction. Turning towards it, he burst through the trees and landed, skidding to a halt through the checkpoint gate, and in the middle of an Orc Camp.

There was an awkward pause as the Orcs all stopped what they were doing to stare at the intruder, and then all madness broke loose as they all simultaneously attacked. Most of them were easy to deal with - Demor didn't even have to use his magic. Hand-To-Hand combat was good enough. That being said, however, this was their home, and they were used to the Terrain, Demor wasn't. Using his tail, though, he was able to maintain balance in situations where anyone else would have fallen, sometimes even using his tail as a third leg to stop his falling and then using his momentum to continue the fight. Despite winning against most of the Orcs, Demor was being pushed back.

Then it went Dark.

Dark, hot, and slimy. Demor had been eaten!? A carnivorous plant had ensnared the Male Drachini in its jaws, and was already beginning to digest him! Not taking the time to think, Demor his first gut reaction and thrashed around, only speeding up the digestion, his skin beginning to blister in some spots while his tail was fine, the acid unable to hurt his scales just yet. After taking a moment, he coated himself in Lightning, and let out a mighty battle cry before thrashing around once more, and quite literally tearing his way out of the belly of the plant, steaming as the stomach acid evaporated within his Lightning Cloak.

With a mock salute and a smirk, he left the Orc camp in a flash of lightning, and kept running. The rest of the race wasn't going to win itself!

Almost as if the strands of fate itself moved at Seki's word, an Origin ship appeared. Maybe, if one had their sensors calibrated a certain way, or in a certain style, they might notice some weird irregularities further away, near the edge of the system, or maybe they wouldn't. However, any of those irregularities were well outside the imminent combat zone, but close enough to come nad help in a moment if they needed to.

The Origin ship that was heading down though was one of unique design. Forged from Dwarvern Hammers, Spun by Elven Magiweavers, and driven in a powerful spirit by human craftsman, the Royal Diplomatic Vessel The Hero's Grace came down towards the meeting sight. It had no weapons at all, visible or detectable on scans, though it did have the ability to deploy drones, which included repair and intercept drones. All of its systems and power not dedicated to flight and other systems, were purely on defense. Clearly, this ship was not meant to attack anything though, and posed absolutely no threat to the delegation short of landing right on top of them. However, it was heading towards a nearby landing zone, so the chances of that happening would require the planet itself shifting and reversing in the rotation of its axis, or the entire place with them in it teleporting right under it.

Basically, it was the least threatening ship there by all accounts, but at the same time, you could ram an asteroid into that thing and it would maybe get a scratch.

And then, as such, the group from Origin came and arrived. It appeared that, aside from the Royal Guard, they had three main members. The first was King Alexandrius Verrevia himself, wearing his diplomatic clothes. A fancy array appealing to the eyes, but without so much that makes him appear arrogant and snotty. Beside him was his Royal Bodyguard and leader of the Royal Guard, Atrinix Joore. Of the three of them, he was the only one that was armed, as he had a large sword on his back. Alexandrius himself sighed a little at that, if only because he felt it was entirely unneccessary, but Atrinix's job was to be paranoid and wary and prepared for all potentials.

And then, the last member was registered to be one of his stewards, that oversaw various government transactions and operations and kept everything running, Tyrios Arden. He seemed to be staying in the back, not really appearing that important, but he certainly had a major charismatic charm that was practically out of this galaxy.

"Hello, esteemed delegates of this peace conference" he said as they arrived, and then turned to the Mauhasinan party. "And thank you for inviting us to this meeting. It is always nice to have friends that think of each other".

He might have passed through some of the gates throughout the city, but Brand was still far behind everyone else. Back in his normal form, he was using blasts of fire to propel his movement, having found it almost as effective and much more efficient than using his knight form.

“Oh!” he exclaimed, as he passed through another. As if in response a kinetic blast reeled overhead as he ducked just in time for it to blow his hood over his head. He grunted, pulling it down and looking back, skidding on one leg as he tried to keep his balance. Three grimacing mages were closing up behind him, two of them taking aim. The one in the centre still had her palm out from the spell she had just fired.

“We’ve reached that point already, huh?” he remarked, as the guy to the attacker’s right threw a fireball at the pyromancer. Brand rolled his eyes, yet another fire mage trying to attack him.

The iron ball, coated in flames to trick Brand, hit him squarely in the face with a very satisfying metallic sound and Brand was sent tumbling, just managing to twist in the air and get back on his feet, surfing awkwardly on a stream of flame so he could concentrate on his attackers. The iron ball bounced heavily into the ground between the two parties. The assailant grinned at having read him so easily and caught him off guard. Just as the other two were charging another kinetic blast and what looked like lightning of some sort, Brand swerved to the side, fire-skating in zig-zags either side of the street.

Ducking to and fro, assorted spells zipping over his head and around him, Brand weaved in and out of lamp posts which to all their surprise began firing lasers in all directions. With a short yell, Brand hopped of out the path of one of the projectiles. Grinning, Brand shifted into the form of a firebird and darted from side to side of the street, agitating the turrets enough while dodging them with ease, so that his pursuers were soon otherwise occupied and he could speed ahead.

Feet connecting with the ground as he switched back to normal, he glided through another gate. He could see the next one up ahead, and as one of the competitors passed he swore he saw them disappear. He gritted his teeth with apprehension - if this was the final gate there was probably something in store. Just at that moment, two rather unassuming cars ahead unfurled themselves and two enormous robots stood on the way. The dustbins either side of the street also gyrated, taking aim and firing cannon-blasts which Brand avoided precariously, screaming. He grazed his cheek as he barely got past a robot as it punched the ground. The second he more time for, and passed between its legs. Both followed up with another attack, but he had already passed through the gate and vanished from their sight, giving them a playful sneer.