CHAPTER 29  (Patreon)

The festival would finish with a melee gauntlet. There was a good reason for the melee to be regarded as most important.

The Silver Sea Tournament was a fighting competition. Even though the islands within the archipelago hadn’t waged wars for centuries, the tournament remained as a remnant. Maybe it prevented warfare. It happened every five years and the prodigies of the islands could compete in contained bloodshed. Lavish rewards were granted to the winners from a pooled prize pool.

Our particular island was at a disadvantage. That was because we hadn’t developed a culture of fighting. We had Junglers and Fishers. And while Fishers could be dangerous in their own right, it was the main island with the largest jungle that had the champions. The actual Warriors won the tournaments.

The best we had were Hunters. Some boys who wanted to impress the girls also ventured into the jungle and usually picked up the Hunter class. It was just rare, because there was no tradition. The correct Skill combinations for acquiring the Class were known, but without transmission, the levels stayed low. 

Even so, Hunters were much better suited for fighting, and they would dominate this gauntlet as well.

But… There was a lone sorcerer among them, who was about to upset the scoreboard.

After the last competitions were completed, the arena was being prepared.

“Are you sure about this?” father asked.

“Yes, dad,” I said. “This was the plan. We are going to need money to buy passage on a ship. To get enough money for all of us, I need to win the Silver Sea Tournament.”

“I don’t think you need to win,” father said. “Top three will likely suffice.”

“Nah,” I said. “I’ll win.”

“Be careful, little gem. These boys won’t hold back,” mother said.

Father mussed my hair and laughed. “Which means you shouldn’t hold back either!”

Mother and I shared an awkward look.

I looked at the boys piling around the edge of the arena. They were tall and muscular for their age. Most of them bore the blue warpaint, but some of them had green and black. Those were the tallest and most powerful looking.

“Are those Hunters?”

“Yes, that is Alik from the Labaid village,” father said. “They say he is the favorite.”

“I recognize him,” I said.

The tall boy stood out with dignified air. I saw a lot of the girls giving him pining looks. He however, had his eyes fixed on me. When I stepped forward to clearly join the competition, he raised his eyebrows.

“So if I take him out first, I get most points? Or how does this work?”

“It works on a judge's ruling. There are two judges from each village. The elders and usually the highest contributor,” father said. “That would normally be me, but since you are participating…”

“Don’t tell me it’s going to be Marek,” I said disgustedly.

Father laughed. “Well it would have been, but he went back to the village. It will be Konako.”

“You are judged on how well you perform,” mother said. “That means how many people you can incapacitate, how long you manage to stay in the arena, and simply how impressive a fighter you are.”

“Sounds simple enough,” I said. “So it’s a free-for-all.”

“I think you should keep a low profile,” father said. “Nobody is going to target a three year old.” “Their mistake,” mother muttered. “They are in for a surprise…” 

“I will have to be careful…” I muttered as I tested spell formulas.

“Just stay out of the way of the strongest fighters,” father said.

“You’re right, little gem,” mother said and leaned to kiss me on the forehead. “Go get them. Just don’t hurt those poor boys.”

“Wait what?” father asked in an alarmed voice.

*

Jonaka was a little worried. Of course he had faith in Luka. The boy had toppled Marek with that magic, for spirit’s sake. Magic was doubtlessly powerful, but this was a free-for-all with a dozen participants. All boys at the cusp of manhood, ready to prove themselves. Boys didn’t die in this gauntlet, but they did get injured. And toddlers didn’t usually participate.

Jonaka could hear the muttering about Luka joining the fray, and he and Ramona got a few looks.

“Is that your boy there?” a person next to them asked.

“Yes,” Ramona said. “What of it?”

“Isn’t he too young for this?”

Ramona only smiled. Jonaka looked at her and shrugged.

The person next to them scoffed and muttered. “Fools… getting their child hurt for nothing.”

An anxious part of Jonaka agreed. Most of the boys even had Classes. That was a huge advantage, and it was certain they had been training for this event in particular. The prizes for the Silver Sea Tournament were valuable. Jonaka himself had participated, but had lost before the semifinals, when he had faced a girl from Aligapa with a Warrior class. While he had been a talented boy, the difference in fighting strength had been enormous.

He was a great Fisher, but the Hunters and Warriors from the larger islands had been completely out of his league.

And Luka wanted to challenge them too. And as far as Luka and her mother were concerned, they seemed to think Luka could win! But in the tournament everyone had a Class!

“Oh look, it’s starting,” Ramona said excitedly. She smiled up at Jonaka, and noticed his worried expression. She caressed his cheek.

“Just watch, love,” she said with a little grin.

The melee started with shouting, running and clashing of sticks and wooden shields. Most of the boys had a wooden stick for a spear. None of them were adept at handling the shields, but they clashed with more brawn and bravery than skills. Some of the largest and boldest ones rushed into the fray, while the meek stayed in the outskirts. In the bustle and clamor, Jonaka looked for his son’s small figure, but couldn’t see it.

So he focused on the centerpiece of the melee. Alik of the Labaid village. He was tall and strong for his age, reminding Jonaka of Marek in their youth. Only darker of skin and fairer of face. It was clear why he was the favorite: He moved in the fray with grace, speed and power. His thrusts created space around him, and some of his dodges were so uncanny, that Jonaka could tell he had a Class Ability that was movement based. Maybe Dodge or something like that. 

“That Alik boy is powerful,” Jonaka said. 

“At least two Class Abilities,” Ramona said. “Do you think that’s Spear Thrust?”

“Yes,” Jonaka said. “I know it is, because I have it. But where is our Luka?”

“I think…” Ramona started to say as she searched the cluster of fighting with her eyes. “There!”

Jonaka turned to look where his wife pointed and his jaw dropped.

A little toddler jumped high into the sky, and launched a massive torrent of water mid-air. A veritable waterfall crashed on the gauntlet, and the entire crowd gasped in a shock. Jonaka could not believe his eyes.

The water kept flowing and sweeping away most of the boys like flood water. Most of them were thrown outside the arena, unconscious or otherwise too stunned to continue. Only a few of the strongest boys survived the sudden giant wave of water by instinctively huddling together and forming a shield wall.

Jonaka had a sudden realization. Luka had only been playing in the previous contests. This was his true power. And it was incomprehensible by his standards. He blinked and looked around. The crowd was standing silently, just staring. No cheers, no jeers, not a single peep. They were all watching their entire value system be invalidated by the overwhelming force of Luka’s magic.

Jonaka’s chest swelled with pride. Luka was so… overpowering. Jonaka’s wonder only deepened. 

There were four boys left. Alik took charge of the other three and they all rushed towards Luka. He extended his hand and several small globules of water started emerging. 

“Spear Charge!” Alik shouted. 

That was interesting. Alik had a third Ability. And this one was purely combat related, not fishing related. He must have learned it recently, because he still had to shout the ability’s name. That was a telltale sign of someone still working on perfecting a Class Ability.

Luka let loose the water globes. This had to be the Water Bullet spell Jonaka had been told about. His son had even shown it to him once, where it had chucked off a piece of bark when aimed at a tree.

But this was ten bullets, and when Luka released them, they shot out with terrifying speed, crashing in a fusillade against the rushing four boys.

Alik took a few shots, but managed to dodge and retreat. The other three boys weren’t so lucky. Their shields shattered under the force of the bullets impacting, and they were thrown back. A lot of them were holding their sides or legs, because the bullets had caused considerable injury.

Jonaka stared at the scene with wide eyes. He now understood everything better. This was still not the full power of his son.

Those boys were alive, because Luka didn’t want to kill them. He only had hurt them enough for them to withdraw. He could have killed Marek just as easily. With the wave of a hand. Jonaka couldn’t even fully wrap his mind around the fact that his boy was Classless and he was in complete control of this gauntlet.

I cannot even imagine what he will become once he grows older and gains a Class…

Ramona nudged Jonaka’s side and grinned at him. “See?”

“I— I had no idea…” Jonaka said.

“He did kill the Silverback, love,”

“Yeah… you said that already.”

“I did,” Ramona said and kissed his cheek. “But you didn’t believe me before.”

Alik was clearly afraid, but to the boy’s credit, he mustered another attack. Luka did something complicated with his hands and soon the stick that Alik was using for a spear flew out of his hand and clattered out of the arena. 

“That was one of those kinetic spells,” Ramona said.

Alik trembled, but the people of his village egged him on. He rushed at Luka for a final time, but it was pointless. 

Luka was in complete control. Jonaka wasn’t sure why he didn’t simply finish Alik off. Instead he had conjured some new magic. A large floating orb of water emerged above Luka’s head. Then he used another one of those kinetic spells. The older boy was pushed on his back and then Luka tried to trap him inside a globe of water. However, it moved so slowly that Alik managed to dodge it.

“What is he doing?” Jonaka asked. “It looks like he is playing with his food.”

“That is exactly what he is doing,” Ramona said.

“Why?”

“Oh, he just likes trying out new magic.”

*

I couldn’t get the water trap right. Keeping that much water floating was one thing. Moving it fast enough to catch this damn superathlete was another. Every time I steered the globe towards Alik, he dodged it.

At least the hovering trick had worked. Kinetic spells under my feet had pushed me upwards while I unleashed the Water Jet. A baby jetpack! Actual flight was still a long way off, but I was pleased.

Of course, I’d started preparing that whole display before the gauntlet began. Gathering enough mana had taken ages. It wasn’t something I could casually repeat in the middle of a fight. The mana was much sparser here than it had been around Mez’s temple. So I had to spend several minutes gathering the massive Water Jet.

But it was something I was eager to develop further later. I was sure to get better with practice. And what I had learned from Mez was that the further towards the pole of the world I would venture, the thicker the mana.

That meant practicing those big killer moves would be pivotal. Who didn’t love throwing around MEGASPELLS?

Since I wasn’t currently able to glomp Alik into my water trap bubble thing, I decided to Water Jet him out of the arena, to give him some dignity. I had learned during the gauntlet that I was being way too gentle with this guy, because he had a Class. Everyone Classless had been pushed out by the waterfall I crashed into the arena, but the Classed combatants had been only inconvenienced.

So I applied more force than I was comfortable with. Alik was struck by controlled a blast of water with a force equivalent to a mild car crash. That did the trick of removing him from the competition with minor bruises. Damn, Classes made people tough. I wanted one!

Either way, I had won.

[Achievement Obtained: Prodigy!]

For defeating a serious Classed opponent without having a Class yourself, you have received a boon!

[Reward: Perk — Prodigy]

Description: Unlocks special Class options when eligible for Class acquisition. All Class Abilities gain 10% additional Ability Experience. 

Oh, I liked that. This was a pretty neat Achievement. It would certainly make for interesting Class options. Also it appeared I would get Class options. I wondered if there was some kind of institution that catalogued different classes. Was there some grand library? Were the good ones gatekept by the rich and powerful? Could I acquire some super special class because of my advantages.

Damn, I really wanted to find a scholar specialized in these things.

Well, I’d have to do that another time. I turned my attention to the audience.

What followed after my victory in the crowd of five hundred people was absolute silence. Everyone stared at me like I was an alien stepping out of a spaceship.

Huh, I thought. Maybe I had been a little bit too excessive. I wondered if I had gone a bit overboard.

That was until my village burst into cheers.

“That’s our Luka!”

“Amazing!”

“Little God!”

Then someone from another village joined the chant. And another. Soon enough the whole lagoon was roaring.

“Little God! Little God! Little God!”

I grinned. They were all so ridiculous. As much as I enjoyed the positive attention, I really hoped this silly nickname wasn’t going to stick…

That reignited the festivities, and despite their shock, the islanders were quick to embrace this new turn of events. Soon enough I found myself hoisted in the air, and was thrown around and shaken like a trophy, until I finally reached my parents in the sea of hands that wanted to hold me. It was really fun. My father started throwing me in the air, and I took the opportunity to practice a bit of kinetic magic, making myself linger a bit longer mid air than what was natural. 

What good was all this power, if you didn’t get to show it off sometimes?

The proctors proclaimed me as the winner, and I was seated on a podium. A large wooden throne had been built and painted with bright colors. I sat on it, and because of my size my tiny legs dangled in the air. I kicked them about happily and preened as people cheered. Alik was seated next to me in a much more modest chair. He would also be allowed to participate in the Silver Sea Tournament. He nodded at me and I nodded back. His face was impassive and he must have been holding back a lot of emotions. But to my surprise he offered me a hand.

“I am Alik. Little God, you are truly powerful.”

“Thanks,” I said, shaking his hand. “But I’m Luka. Don’t call me Little God, it's silly.”

“But this is godlike power that you’ve shown, is it not?”

“It’s just magic. Anyone can learn it.”

“If this is magic, I should like to learn it,” he said solemnly and bowed his neck to me. “Would you teach it to me?”

I had to give it to this guy, he had character. There was a grace to him and his words and actions, that much surpassed what I’d expect from a prepubescent boy. But then again, he had already shown me that during the gauntlet. Even when he had realized he was entirely outmatched, he had not taken a single step back. I figured I kind of liked this guy.

“Maybe,” I said.

I could teach him, but I didn’t want it to get in the way of my own training. But befriending Alik seemed like a good idea since we were going to both participate in the tournament. Meanwhile as we talked, the crowd cheered and the announcers declared us worthy and all that good stuff. I wasn’t really listening.

“We will be leaving for the Silver Sea Tournament soon,” Alik said. “But before the competition begins, time will pass in travel and preparation. Could I learn something in this time?”

“Aren’t you angry that I beat you?”

Alik raised his eyebrows and looked at me silently for a while. Then he answered. “I am disappointed that I lost. But there was no disgrace. I outperformed myself, and even gained a Class level.”

“Congratulations,” I said. “Are they hard to get?”

“This…” Alik said with wide eyes. “You have this power and not even a Class?”

I shrugged. “I’m pretty young. No class yet.”

“What is your total skill level, if you do not mind me asking?”

“It’s ninety-six,” I said.

“High for your age. Very high. But overall? That is low. How humbling for me,” Alik said and shook his head. “You are still some ways from a Class.”

“That is okay,” I said. “I still have a lot to learn with my Skills.”

“It will be interesting to see you compete in the tournament.”

“Do you think I will win as easily as here?” I asked.

Alik winced, but he mastered himself fast. “That is painful to hear, as true as it was. But to answer your question, no. Many of the larger islands will have Warriors that are prepared to deal with and overcome your current strength. They will likely have countermeasures for magic in the capital.”

Well, I hadn’t shown my full strength here. The Silverback was still stronger than even Alik. I just hoped there was more mana in the capital island. Either way I was glad to be able to train for a few months before the tournament actually began. But if there was travel and all kinds of distractions like gathering knowledge about my opponents and dealing with arrangements…

Hmmm…

Yeah, that would be annoying…

I think I had found a good reason to teach Alik magic.

The crowd cheered again and interrupted my schemes. I turned to Alik. “Let’s talk later. If you have a skill slot or two available, we can create an arrangement.”

Alik smiled and nodded.

This was an interesting turn of events.

I'd come here to win a place in the Silver Sea Tournament, and now I had that, a new Perk, and a talented Hunter asking to become my student. And soon I would leave for Aligapa

And I already had an idea how to put him to work. Naturally, I suppressed the supervillain cackle. I needed to win Alik over, before revealing my wily ways.