Inside the hidden hall where the first-year placement was being held, the noise of voices barely ever faded.
Rows lined the edges of the circular arena, occupied by stufons from different years and disciplines. Mages, swordsmen, alchemists, archers—it felt as though everyone studying at the Academy had been gathered here.
After Shego`Lo's announcement, everyone was ordered to touch their emblem twice to receive information about their first match.
Following the instruction, I touched my emblem and almost immediately saw a translucent inscription appear before me:
Tray (Alurik) vs. Mayfi
Arena Number Three
For a few seconds, my gaze lingered on the line with the name.
What worried me far more than my opponent's name was the fact that the system was still displaying both of my names.
Tray.
And Alurik.
I sincerely hoped I was the only one who could see that information.
Raising my head, I looked around.
Small arenas had already begun forming around the hall, each designed for one-on-one duels. They weren't particularly large, but there was more than enough free space inside.
A few minutes later, Shego`Lo clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"Good. Now that everyone knows their opponent and arena, I'll explain the rules," she said calmly. "To win, you must either destroy your opponent's emblem or force them outside the boundaries of the arena. You can track the order of matches on the display boards above."
She paused briefly.
"Mages are allowed to use magic. Swordsmen may use weapons. Simple enough."
After her words, lists of participants began appearing above the arenas.
My name was listed among the upcoming matches, though not in the first round.
That meant I had a little time.
Walking closer to my arena, I decided to observe the others.
The first onto the platform was a light elf girl with short hair, dressed in a neat white shirt and dark trousers. She held a staff in her hands.
Standing opposite her was a guy I had already seen that morning in the dormitory.
Mage versus mage.
The fight began almost immediately.
The elf girl took the first step and began weaving a long spell while remaining in place. Her mana control was good, but staying motionless made her vulnerable.
The guy realized that quickly.
He started advancing while launching bursts of air in her direction, trying to interrupt the spell.
But he was too late.
The next moment, the girl completed her weaving.
A powerful torrent of wind literally hurled him backward, forcing him to retreat step by step until he was pushed beyond the arena's boundary.
An irritated shout came from the loser.
The crowd responded with mixed reactions.
The next two matches were far less spectacular.
While waiting for my turn, I kept catching people staring at me.
Most of them were light elves, but one dark elf stood out in particular, barely taking his eyes off me.
Possibly my next opponent.
Judging by his uniform, he belonged to the magical division.
Potentially troublesome.
At last, my name flashed on the board.
My turn.
Stepping onto the arena, I almost immediately saw that same dark elf approaching me from the opposite side.
So I had guessed correctly.
The moment he stopped across from me, he looked me over with arrogant disdain.
"Half-breed, you should surrender now," he said openly contemptuous. "Otherwise, they'll be carrying you out of here on a stretcher. Assuming there's anything left to carry."
I tilted my head slightly.
So he had mistaken me for a half-elf.
Not sure whether that was a good thing or not.
"I'm not a half-elf," I replied calmly. "I'm human."
The dark elf clicked his tongue irritably and immediately began forming a spell.
I lunged forward.
This new body still felt unfamiliar.
Too light.
Too fast.
When the distance between us vanished almost instantly, not only my opponent but even I was caught off guard.
I struck first.
My fist slammed into his face with enough force to break his concentration and interrupt the spell.
Not giving him time to recover, I followed with a second blow—to the torso.
The dark elf tried to block it, but the next moment I heard an unpleasant cracking sound.
Apparently, I had used more strength than intended.
Bad.
I had no intention of killing him.
While he struggled to regain his breath, I grabbed him sharply by the neck and forced him down onto his knees.
There was no arrogance left in his eyes anymore.
Only fear.
"I surrender…" he rasped. "Don't kill me."
Hearing that, I released him immediately and touched his emblem.
A crack spread across its surface.
Defeat confirmed.
Turning away, I silently left the arena.
There was far too much attention on me now.
I disliked that immensely.
But the trial clearly wasn't over after a single match.
I activated my emblem again and checked the name of my next opponent.
Tray (Alurik)
vs. Nreu
Wins: 1
Losses: 0
For a few seconds, I simply froze.
Nreu.
Out of all possible opponents, my next match was against my own brother.
Fate clearly possessed a rather twisted sense of humor.
Somewhere deep inside, irritation began rising slowly, gradually turning into anger.
I didn't even notice right away when a faint scarlet tint appeared at the edges of my vision.
Bad.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down.
Lose on purpose?
The idea seemed logical.
If I lost, I wouldn't be admitted to study, which meant I would disappear from the director's field of vision.
But then what?
I couldn't return to the Empire.
After renouncing my claim, that path had been permanently sealed.
And I wasn't prepared for life outside the Empire either.
"We need to talk, stufon Tray."
Hearing the familiar voice, I turned around.
Ama`Lein was standing behind me.
From his expression alone, it was immediately obvious that the good news had come to an end.
Silently nodding, I followed him.
After moving to a distant corner of the arena, the dean stopped and spoke quietly.
"We have a problem. The director has become interested in Prince Alurik's disappearance."
I tensed involuntarily.
"He knows you were supposed to arrive here today, and he has started asking questions."
Wonderful.
"But that isn't the main issue," Ama`Lein continued. "You've already managed to attract his attention."
I stayed silent for several seconds, considering what I had heard.
The situation was getting worse.
"What are our options?" I finally asked.
Ama`Lein answered almost immediately.
"The simplest one is to admit that you are Alurik, and that the changes were caused by the goddess's blessing."
I looked at him in silence.
We both understood how terrible that idea was.
It would mean the end of any freedom.
"There is another option," he continued. "We create a new identity for you."
After a brief discussion, we quickly came to a decision.
A new country of origin.
New documents.
A new backstory.
"Jorial," I chose. "Kray would attract too much attention."
Ama`Lein nodded approvingly and pulled out a magical document form.
After a drop of blood, the document activated.
Now, officially, I was no longer Alurik.
At least on paper.
That only left the issue of the emblem and uniform.
"After the trials are completed, you'll be issued the Academy's standard uniform," Ama`Lein explained. "But you'll still need to get rid of these clothes."
I nodded.
Before he left, I stopped him.
"Do you happen to have a training sword?"
Ama`Lein looked at me in surprise.
"What for?"
"My next opponent is my brother."
After a brief pause, I added,
"And from what I understand, the final trial is monster hunting. Unless, of course, you want me killing them with my bare hands."
For several seconds, the dean silently held my gaze before touching his ring.
A simple sword in a sheath appeared in his hand.
He handed it to me.
"Good luck, stufon Tray. And try not to make me regret deciding to help you."
With those words, he headed back toward the director.
I watched him leave while fastening the sword to my belt.
The question of why he was helping me at all still remained unanswered.
But right now, there were more important problems.
Far more important.
Shifting my gaze back to the arena, I slowly exhaled.
All that was left was to wait.
Wait for the fight against my own brother.