After eating, they made a quick visit by the general store to pick up some necessities. The clerk welcomed them back to campus before they headed back out. The rest of the day was spent wandering around campus and visiting the library to sate Henry's growing boredom.
Damien spent much of the next day in the library as well, much to Henry's pleasure. When he returned to their room that evening, Sylph sat on her bed, eyes closed in meditation. A slip of brown paper rested on his bed.
He sat down, picking the paper up and scanning over it. "Well, I guess some things stayed the same. Guess who left us a letter?"
"Delph?" Sylph guessed.
"I'm not giving you points for that one. It was too easy."
"What does he want? Wait, don't say. He's probably telling us to show up to the arena. Sometime early, too, I bet. Before the sun has risen?"
"Right on all counts," Damien said as Sylph opened her eyes. He handed her the letter, but she'd already guessed just about everything on it.
"I wonder what he's got to say. Classes, maybe? Either that or something about the tournament or ranking battles."
"Or he just wants to punch us around now that the school year has started," Sylph said. "Fifty-fifty chance."
They both chuckled. Sylph set the letter on the floor near the door, and they spent the rest of the day training before heading to bed so that they wouldn't be tired the following day. With Delph, it was always best to play things safe.
The following morning, Henry prodded Damien awake. He headed into the bathroom to get ready, then met Sylph at the front door. It didn't take them too long to get to the arena, where a small crowd of students was slowly building.
Of the ones present, Damien only recognized Loretta and Cody. He gave them a small nod. They both returned it, Loretta looking slightly more pleased to see him than the bald boy was.
They didn't move to chat. It was too early in the morning and nobody was willing to break the silence. Several minutes passed. Nolan and Reena showed up along with Mark, but nobody appeared after them. There were less students there than there had been at the start of the previous year.
The wait didn't last much longer. Delph appeared from a small gray dot in the center of the arena, brushing his cloak off and wearing his typical scowl. He cast a critical eye over all of them.
"All here I see," Delph observed. "Good. A lot of students get lax over summer, but I hold you all to a higher standard than that."
"Are you still our professor this semester?" one student whose name Damien had never learned asked. "I thought they changed every year."
"Your nonprimary subject teachers will change," Delph said.
"Unfortunately, you aren't getting rid of me that easily. All of you were volentold to officially set your major as a Battle Mage, and your bands should reflect that. If they don't buy a new one—it's outdated. And if you don't like it, take things up with Whisp."
He paused a moment, gauging their reactions before continuing. "We'll be hopping right into things this year, so your new subjects have already been assigned. Many of you already know your teachers, as they reached out to you during the summer. This will just make it official."
Delph pulled a bundle of papers out of a pocket in his coat and walked amongst everyone, distributing them. By the time he was done, everyone other than Damien and Sylph had received one. They glanced at each other but didn't mention anything out loud.
"There we go," Delph said. "Happy? I don't care. It's not my problem if you don't like your subject—complain to the teacher. Or Whisp. That would be funny. The school has chosen teachers and topics that it believes will benefit you the most in your path."
There were a few grumbles at that, but nobody protested. Delph clapped his hands together. "Good. Now that we've got that out of the way, I'll cover my own schedule. Like last year, we'll be meeting every other day.
I'll contact you the day before with the location. The Intermurals are coming up, so try not to be too pathetic. If you've gotten out of practice during the summer, you better start getting back in shape. I expect an outstanding showing from every single student in my class."
Everyone automatically gave Delph a nod.
"That's all for today," Delph said. "School starts tomorrow. I'll let you do whatever it is that kids do for fun. Be ready to train tomorrow morning.
Dismissed."
People watched him warily for a few moments. Nobody left. Delph rolled his eyes. "I was serious. Get lost."
Students finally started to disperse. As they left, Damien cleared his throat.
"Professor? You didn't give us the slips with our classes on them."
"Didn't think I'd need to spell it out for you," Delph replied, nodding at something behind them.
Damien and Sylph turned as a brilliant red portal sprung open behind them and Dredd emerged from within it.
"I hope you've enjoyed your break," Dredd said without a hint of a smile. "I'm sure this year will be incredibly informative for all of us."
The remaining students glanced from Dredd to Damien and Sylph.
Their gazes turned pitying, and many of them inched away from the intimidating professor's new pupils.
"I don't think Dredd's tutelage is contagious," Damien muttered as he spotted Reena trying to hide herself behind Nolan.
"You never know," Dredd said, his face completely straight. "Better not to take the chance, but the others shouldn't be too concerned. I only waste my time on the best."
The shift in feeling was abrupt and very tangible. Pity turned to a mixture of jealousy and annoyance almost instantly as an invisible targets painted themselves over Sylph and Damien's backs.
Aside from Mark and the Gray twins, the rest of the students quickly dissipated, heading out to train elsewhere in the arena or leaving it altogether.
"Was that necessary?" Sylph asked, pressing her lips together. "You've made it as if the rest of the class is now competing against us."
"They are," Dredd replied. "There was no tension in your class. Delph made you all dislike him, but that resulted in a sense of camaraderie that wasn't making people strive to beat each other as much as live up to Delph's standards. While his methods aren't ineffective, they could still be improved on."
"So you've just made us the public enemy instead of Delph," Damien said. He crossed his arms. "How is that any different?"
"They'll strive to do better than you rather than live up to Delph's expectations," Dredd said. "It's subtle, but there's a difference. The former is driven by desire while the latter is fear. Besides, this will also force the two of you to continue fully applying yourselves to training. You're ahead of Delph's pack right now, but there are others who aren't far behind."
Right on cue, Mark broke away from the Grays and approached Dredd.
His sword hung from his hip and the boy's hair had grown significantly longer since Damien had last seen him. Mark also sported a long, jagged scar that ran from the bottom of his chin across his neck and down below his shirt.
"Professor Dredd, if I beat one of your new students, will you take me on?" Mark asked. Delph let out an amused snort.
"Yes," Dredd replied. "And that offer stands for anyone, but don't think about challenging them more than once every two weeks. I'll get cross if you're too much of a bother."
"Damien, then," Mark said, drawing his sword and pointing the blade at Damien. "I'm not confident I can stand against Sylph, but I've seen your techniques. Don't feel too bad—I'll come for Sylph afterward."
Damien's eyes narrowed. "Well, that isn't offensive in the slightest. It's not like I've got a choice, though. Are you actually going to use your sword?"
"I am," Mark replied. "Don't be scared. I've practiced with it a lot. Cut up a whole bunch of monsters. I probably won't chop you too bad on accident. Professor Dredd is too well renowned for me to pass this offer up.
No hard feelings."
Sylph glowered at Mark, but her expression quickly turned placid. She gave Damien a firm nod, then walked to stand beside the Grays and the small crowd of students that was starting to gather.
"Are both of you prepared?" Dredd asked. "There are healers on standby waiting to jump in at the first instant, so no need to be overly cautious. Deadly blows are permitted to a degree, but any attacks that instantly kill are not."
"I'm ready," Mark said. Earth ran up his legs and up his body, forming into sleek armor all over his body. It grew thicker over his vitals while still leaving a thin layer of protection over everything else. When it was done, he looked like a breathing statue.
Damien drew in a deep breath, casting his mental net out and drawing Ether into his core like a sponge. As the energy filled his body, his nerves stilled. Compared to the Corruption, Mark wasn't particularly panic inducing.
By no means did that mean Mark was weak. On the contrary, he was probably one of the most dangerous students Damien knew due to his ability to manifest the demon he had as a companion. That didn't scare Damien. In fact, he was startled to find that a different emotion was surfacing. Excitement.
Henry? What do you think about us switching up our tactics a little?
"And what could you mean by that?" Henry asked with a bemused chuckle. "You almost sound cocky."
I want to actually go all out. It's not like I've got that long to enjoy this, as we don't know when the Corruption—or that other Void creature—will make their moves. It might be fun to stop feeling like I'm barely holding onto my spot behind Sylph.
"I'm all for it," Henry said with a cackle. "As long as I don't do anything and am careful to cloak myself when she's around, Whisp shouldn't have any way to detect me. You don't have to worry about giving yourself away."
"Wonderful," Damien said aloud. Ether pulsed around his hands, condensing into two crackling gravity spheres. "I'm ready as well, Dredd."
"That's Professor Dredd to you," Dredd said, shaking his head.
"Begin!"
Mark blurred forward, swinging his blade for Damien's shoulder.
Despite the stone covering him, the boy's mobility hadn't been affected in the slightest.
Damien blinked out of the way with Warp Step, appearing behind Mark and tossing both gravity spheres his direction. Mark spun, sand leaping up from the ground and forming a barrier. The spells clashed with two loud pops, destroying each other.
Ether leaped out of Damien's hand, forming into a gravity lance and launching through the air. Mark darted to the side, avoiding the spell and closing the distance between himself and Damien.
He thrust his blade toward Damien's chest. The sand beneath Damien's feet shifted as well, springing up and wrapping itself around his feet.
Damien could feel Ether seep into his legs, trying to restrict his own magic and stop him from activating Warp Step.
A sand pillar erupted from where Damien's foot touched the sand, driving itself into Mark's stomach and launching the armored boy into the air. Damien sent a powerful blast of mental energy into Mark's spell, tearing it apart and ripping himself free.
Before Mark could fall back to the ground, Damien drew a deep breath and thrust his hands upward. A sphere of destructive energy formed in both of them, elongating into two thin blades.
Mark spun as he fell, knocking Damien's magic away with his blade and landing on his feet. He hopped back as another pillar nearly launched him a second time.
"Your reaction speed is much faster," Mark observed. "You've been training as well."
"Let's see whose was more effective, then," Damien said, using the brief respite to overload a gravity sphere. Streaks of purple lightning danced through the dark orb as it formed in his hand.
He threw the spell at Mark. It zipped toward the other boy, detonating a short distance before reaching him. The sound in the immediate area grew quieter for an instant as the spell sucked it in.
It returned in a loud crack. Sand ripped through the air and Mark tumbled forward, unable to resist the powerful magic as it tossed him around like a child's toy. Damien sent another gravity sphere flying at his opponent.
Mark's armor surged outward, detaching from him and throwing itself in the way of the spell. He dropped to the ground in a roll, new armor forming around him.
"Is that all either of you can do?" Dredd asked, disappointment dripping from his words. "You might just be Year Twos, but I expect something a little more impressive from both of you."
Mark let out a low growl. The armor covering him rippled, expanding outward as Mark grew several inches. Jagged spines jutted out from his elbows and back, and his hands flickered with yellowish-red flame.
He darted toward Damien once again. Damien Warp Stepped out of the way as Mark's sword sliced through the air where he'd been standing. The other boy wasn't any faster than before, but he could tell that his strike carried a lot more strength than it had before.
Sand wrapped around Damien's feet again. He cursed as Mark bounded toward him, not leaving enough time to break the spell and escape. A pillar shot out toward Mark, but the boy twisted out of the way before the attack was even out.
Damien launched a gravity sphere at Mark. His blade flashed, flaring with red energy and carving the spell in two. Then Mark was on top of him.
Damien hardened his Mage armor, raising his hands to protect his head as Mark drove his blade into him.
It struck the armor with a loud crack, knocking the air out of Damien's lungs but failing to penetrate his defenses. Damien formed another pillar beneath Mark, but the boy spun out of the way as if he knew it was coming.
"He's watching how you move when casting each spell and predicting what you're going to use," Henry warned Damien. "Confuse him."
Damien sent an appreciative mental message to Henry, then drew Ether into himself again. He started to cast Enlarge, then released the spell as soon as Mark went to dodge. With a smirk, Damien dropped all the spells and shattered the spell keeping him grounded.
"You figured it out?" Mark asked, watching him with much more caution than he'd shown at the start of their match. "Who trained you?"
Damien didn't respond. He Warp Stepped a short distance away, casting Devour and binding it in place with mental energy before blinking once again and repeating the process. He traced a circle around Mark, placing ten of the spells before the strain got too high.
"What a waste of Ether," Mark snarled, stomping the ground and launching himself toward the other boy. In response, Damien released the mental energy holding all the spells he'd just placed.
Ten black circles sprang up around them, forming a miniature wall.
Damien hardened his mage armor and blocked Mark's strike with his left arm. With his other, he sent a gravity lance launching toward Mark.
Mark twisted out of the way, and the spell shot harmlessly past him. It vanished into the dark circle behind him. The armored boy reared back and thrust his sword at Damien again. Energy flared around it as he poured Ether into the strike, hoping to carve through Damien's armor with a single blow.
Before the attack could connect, a gravity lance shot out from the dark circle to Mark's left. It slammed into Mark's side, digging into his armor and sending both sand and blood spraying across the ground. The spell then detonated, cracking what Damien suspected to be a rib.
Mark staggered, his armor reforming even as he gritted his teeth through the pain. Damien summoned another two gravity lances in his hands and hurled them both at Mark. The sand beneath him shifted, yanking Mark to safety as both spells disappeared into the dark circles.
"Which one do you think they'll come from?" Damien asked, nodding at the circles surrounding them. "Could be the one behind you."
Mark snarled. "What kind of magic is this?"
A lance launched out from a circle off to Damien's right. Mark spun, raising his sword to block it. The other lance emerged from the circle Mark had turned his back to. The earth-wielding boy managed to block the first spell, but the second one drilled into his shoulder blade, chewing through his armor and sending him to the ground from the force of the spell.
Damien Warp Stepped forward, forming a powerful gravity sphere in both of his hands. Mark rolled over, but he wasn't fast enough to stop Damien from slamming both of the spells into his chest.
A red portal formed right before Damien's magic could connect, absorbing both of the gravity spheres. An instant later, a ripple of magic washed over the arena. Damien's magic vanished like a droplet in a rainstorm and all of the circles snapped shut.
Fatigue hit Damien like a hammer, and his head felt like it was splitting open as agony tore through him.
"I was repressing the side effects of overusing your mental energy," Henry said. "I can't do it any longer without risking damage to your psyche, but you'll be fine. Well done."
Why didn't you tell me earlier?
"The fight was over before anything got too serious. Besides, it looked like you were having fun."
Damien grimaced, trying and failing to block out the pain. Dredd strode up to them, energy still fading around his staff. A young woman came alongside him, jogging to keep up with his long strides.
"That was more like it," Dredd said as the woman knelt beside Mark, giving them both a small nod. "Decent fight. However, Damien is clearly the winner."
Yellow energy washed over Mark. His chest cracked as his broken rib pulled itself back into place. The armor covering him faded away, sinking back into the ground as his wounds were healed.
"What did you train against?" Mark demanded. "You couldn't do that last year. Or were you holding back?"
"Good fight," Damien replied, offering Mark his hand and answering neither of his questions. Mark eyed it for a moment, then let out a sigh. He accepted it, and Damien pulled him up to his feet.
"Were you holding back that time?" Damien asked, pushing the pain down and trying to speak as if he weren't about to burst into tears. "I know you didn't use your full powers last year."
"Not much," Mark said with an annoyed grunt. "I could have gotten more, but I would have lost control of my abilities, and I'm not allowed to do that. Whisp would kill me. But what kind of attack was that last one? It must have used a stupid amount of mental energy. I didn't even realize that was possible. Ten—no, twelve spells at once."
"We were both training all summer," Sylph said, walking up to stand beside Damien. "It would be pretty ridiculous to expect that you were the only one that improved, Mark. As for how, that's a secret. Can't go giving that away for free."
Mark pressed his lips together. Then he gave them both a small nod. "I see. I underestimated you, Damien. And you as well, Sylph. Your training is much more effective than I had thought. When I next challenge you, I will come prepared. Your abilities are damn solid, but I'll be ready next time."
He swept out of the arena. Sylph glanced at Damien, then frowned.
"We've both got an appointment to get to as well. Please excuse us, Professor Dredd."
Dredd nodded as Sylph ushered Damien toward the Arena exit. As soon as they left the crowd behind, she looped an arm around his back, supporting him. "How bad is it? Are you okay?"
"Thought I was hiding it better," Damien said through clenched teeth.
"Pretty bad, but I'm fine. Just need a shower."
Sylph nodded, increasing her pace as much as she could without leaving him behind. Damien leaned heavily on her shoulder as they made their way back to their room.