"Today's exercise is capture the flag with a twist," Professor Helm announced, using a touch of his magic so his voice carried. Every student, no matter how far back, would hear him at a conversational level. "In the center of the field is a flag. The object is to grab the flag and bring it back out without any of the other students stopping you. If you drop the flag it can be picked back up again by anyone. How you choose to accomplish your mission is your choice. Once the flag has left the field a new flag will automatically appear in the center. The game will continue until no students are left."
The professor paused, looking over each face to judge their understanding. "Deadly force is not allowed, of course. Anyone using edged weapons shall use bokken instead. Guns are all going to be pain balls, both with standard rules for how you take hits. If killed you are to leave the field immediately and can only return when the next round begins. Any questions?"
"What about people who have glyphs on their weapons? They would be at a disadvantage without them," a student in the front asked.
A particularly nasty smile crossed Helm's face, "Disadvantages are part of war. Adapt or die."
Seventeen of the students groaned. Putting glyphs onto a weapon was a common technique. One that most came to rely on more than using their own natural skill to cast.
Of the remainder nine were mages, and four used blunt weapons to start with so wouldn't be going without. The last two unaccounted for? That would be Yukiko, who didn't think anything could stop her, and Simon, who didn't use magic at all including circuits.
Professor Helm noted all the reactions and was unsurprised by what he saw. He had read through the records of every student in front of him and thought he had a fair idea of each of their strengths and weaknesses. Those two were on the top shelf of students as far as he was concerned, and had earned that air of confidence. They'd be on the Diamond squad, he was sure of it.
Another student raised his hand, which he nodded to speak up. "Where can we exit the field?"
"Anywhere and anyway you can."
"Any other questions?" He looked over each student one more time and was greeted with silence this time. "Good. Grab your weapons and get the flag. The games start now."
Thirty two bodies moved as one, though at different speeds. He knew that each had decided on a strategy and their sense of urgency was dependent on that.
There were three sprinters. He guessed they were hoping to get to the flag first and keep moving to the opposite side of the field; away from the competition. If they had the speed that was a good strategy, and one only available at the beginning before the field was saturated on all sides.
A handful moved at a walk. They were going to set on the edge and pick off a flag carrier at the last minute. They would be fresh and the carrier wouldn't, making the fight one sided. They wouldn't be one of the first to leave, but their odds were high they would win when the opportunity presented itself.
The remainder was going to do whatever it took. Some were simply going to bull their way through, others were going to set traps and ambushes further in. The ones with a mind for strategy were going to be the trickiest and most entertaining to the Professor. Tactics was the class he specialized in at the Academy, teaching it at all levels.
The 'field' was their forest setting. Faux evergreens littered the area complete with ground clutter. It gave plenty of cover for ambushes and stealth. The flag itself was a small square so it was possible to get out unnoticed, but not so small it could be completely from someone looking directly at the student.
Turning around he walked the few steps to where he would be relaxing and enjoying the games. Once he sat in his chair he sent his mind outwards, finding a bird circling above, and viewed through its eyes what was happening below. It was the perfect view to watch for possible injuries and to return the flag to the center once it had crossed outside of the forest.
Carole ran off like she was fired from a cannon. The rules were simple, and speed was her bailiwick, so that was what she was going to use. She never slowed down to pick out a weapon and left hers clattering on the ground. Both would only slow her down. She listened close and heard two others following with the same plan as hers. She was only going to have one shot at this.
One was decidedly falling behind. He wasn't going to be a problem. The other was possibly faster than her, but if so it wasn't by much. It was a toss up on if she would make it there first or second. If first her plan continued. If the second she was going to have to risk a fight unarmed.
She had to keep her bearings and hope there was a clear way of identifying where the flag was at in the center. With the tree cover seeing too far ahead was impossible.
She had rested as much as she could to conserve energy. This was when that would pay off. With a powerful surge of magic she increased both her speed and endurance. She felt her lead on the other two increase immediately. As long as she could hold onto the spell she would get there first, provided she could find 'there.' It was among the simplest of spells, but it could be very draining.
She guessed the training area was about a mile round, which meant a half mile in she should be close to the center and her objective.
With her boosts at their current level of energy consumption she could run a mile in just under three minutes. Faster if she was willing to expend everything and have no energy to even stand. That was on a track with no obstacles. These were woods with many things to trip over or holes to roll an ankle on. She had to be careful which was doubling that time.
With those figures in hand she slowed down at the three minute mark. She expected to be near the center of the arena, and took in the environment. The trees had thinned slightly and she noticed a stone carne. Getting there at a quick dash she found where the flag had been.
Had. One of the other runners got to it already. Listening she heard the other runner moving in the opposite direction of where they had come in, just as she had planned herself.
She could work with that. Instead of a race it was a chase. She always liked tag. The situation when she caught up with her opponent would determine how she tagged her.
The pause to find the carne and assess the situation had only taken seconds. She guessed her competition had found it only seconds before that. Carole knew she was the equal to her opponent, so she pushed her reflexes to get every ounce of speed out of her magic and risked the dangers that had held her back before.
It didn't take long to find her. Her target had no reason to be quiet, and every reason to move as fast as possible. Carole had a good reason to run silent. She wanted that element of surprise. Having the reason and having the ability were two different things. She couldn't do it without slowing down.
Physical enhancements, as with most fighters, were her concentration in magic. She was already pushing those to their limits given the terrain. She knew she could overtake her opponent if given enough time, but her target had heard her coming and pushed her own speed to keep ahead. Carole wasn't sure she had that time before they reached the edge.
So instead she used one of the magics she was less familiar with: illusions. Separating from her she launched two shadowy forms, complete with sound. They moved faster and circled onto either side, then ahead, of her target. Her opponent took the bait, and tried avoiding the pincher maneuver. That slowed her down just enough. It was a matter of seconds after that they met.
Slowing down enough not to do major damage, her shoulder slammed the shadow in front of her. She made an educated guess that they would have to be about the same size to travel at similar velocities. While her target knew she was coming, she had not thought the attack would be that direct. Hit fully in the side Carole managed to drive her to the ground.
Carole had been correct in her guess, and the sudden attack had left her target, identified as Jenny Lawrence by her HUD, stunned. She didn't want to ruin Jenny’s chances of getting the flag during the next round by hurting her too badly, so Carole grabbed one of her shoes at the same time she grabbed the dropped flag. Fifteen feet in she dropped the shoe.
By the time Jenny put that shoe on the chances of her catching up was nonexistent. Victory was hers.
Yukiko watched the child fly off into the woods. Likely without any plan in her feathery little head except to run and get the flag before her competition caught up. Two others were already giving chase however, and one of them looked to be a possible match for speed.
It didn't matter. Let her have the first win, that wouldn't be nearly grand enough of a stage for her performance. She wanted enough witnesses watching to prove she deserved her status.
At a much more sedate pace, but still with a sense of urgency, she went to the area holding the bokken (A Japanese term she would proudly point out) and grabbed the two curved blades that would represent her swords today.
The other hopefuls were milling about trying to get their own weapons. Their numbers made it more difficult for any of them to grab what they needed. It gave her a slight edge on them, but not on the handful that hadn't stopped. She moved into a run well practiced for fluidity of motion with no wasted actions. She kept her breathing level and paced herself so she would not be winded when she got to her destination. She would be at her best when fighting off her competition.
The loss of her glyphs did not bother her. They were convenient. With them you could cast spells and maintain them without conscious thought. But they were limited as well. A glyph was not directed by the caster, only by what it was programmed to do when first created.
Everything her swords could do she could do if given a bit more effort.
The ones preparing for ambush were the first to leave the chase. The slower classmates were taking their time but moving with purpose. She was in the last group who were moving quickly. She wouldn't be the first one to get there, not including the three that had made a jump for the flag, but she would be close.
The sounds of fighting alerted her first. Honing in on it she found the source. It looked as if the rude blonde, Alisha, (these HUDs were very useful!) was holding court. The flag was lying on the ground beneath her as she fended off two attackers with a pair of Tonfa, a weapon still used by most law enforcement. It was an unusual weapon choice, but she seemed to be using them very effectively against two sword wielders.
It was a good opponent to start out with. She did not sneak upon them. She was sure that all three knew of her approach. If the swordsmen, Brian and Hunter, had been a bit more coordinated they might have had a chance against the blonde, but neither moved in the right directions to split her defense. A critical error and it proved they would not be worthy for her demonstration.
They did step aside enough to allow her to join the fray against their opponent. She did not graciously accept. If they assumed she would help that was their folly. Against unguarded opponents her twin strikes took them out without effort. Both accepted the hit and backed away.
"A fair fight, huh?" Alisha asked, smiling at the opportunity. This was a woman who enjoyed a challenge and a good fight. Yukiko did not enjoy fighting, but she was confident in her skills.
At a nod both women engaged with renewed passion. As expected with a tonfa wielder Alisha's defense was impressive, but she lacked the range to get in close against the longer reach of Yukiko's katana and wakizashi.
The fight was fast paced, and harder than Yukiko had expected. She grudgingly admitted that they may be equals in fact. She was aware when others caught up and started to watch. A couple tried to interrupt. When they did both combatants stopped and took out the interlopers, then bowed to each other to renew their match. They repeated this for any others rude enough to interrupt. It didn't take to realize that was a mistake and left them alone.
Both became winded as the battle continued. It was a flip of the coin on if Yukiko broke through the Alisha's defense, or if Alisha got close enough to deliver the final strike. Win or lose she knew she had to have earned her due respect with the rest of the students, just as Alisha had earned Yukiko's respect.
There had to be a winner however, and with an unorthodox upward slash Yukiko at last landed the decisive blow to Alisha's ribs. With a salute of respect, and that smile that had never once left her lips, Alisha accepted the strike and left the field of battle.
She had no time to enjoy her victory however, as from behind a wooden knife wrapped around to her throat, and in her ear "Death from behind" was whispered.
I never even heard her approach, Yukiko thought in sudden shock. Unable to do anything else she accepted her death and began to leave the field. She noted only one person besides her killer remained: the silver scaled chimera, Simon.
The attacker herself was stunningly beautiful, and her smile was sweet as honey. At a bar she would be the one every male would be buying drinks. It was a face she would remember, nor would the name ever have to appear in her HUD. Ana Mutet had earned herself an enemy. No one humiliated her like that without retribution.
Simon hated the tactic, but Ana was right; this was a fight and a victory was a victory. Had he been any different in the desert, raiding whoever he could?
On the way to the center Simon had noted where every ambusher he could spot lay in wait. He defeated each when he could do so conveniently. Ana followed in his wake, taking out just as many.
When they reached the center they saw a ring of students around two fighters. Simon stayed where he was, knowing he could not sneak up on them. Ana had no such difficulty. Using their diverted attention she began taking them out one or two at a time. When the last was gone they sat and waited for the fight to end.
Watching them he knew either one of them could win in a fight against him. Once Alisha lost Ana finished off Yukiko. Even if she hadn't been exhausted Simon would bet the outcome would be the same. There was no chance of her knowing Ana was there.
With the field mostly cleared she would have an easy exit, and once she left the flag would reappear here where he could grab it before anyone else had a chance.
About eight minutes passed before the flag appeared magically on the stone carne. Grabbing it he made his way towards the exterior.
He silently laughed when the mage attacked him. It was the most basic attack possible, but least energy intensive: A mage bolt. It grounding out uselessly into the ground against his scales. Simon didn't give any acknowledgement of the attack, moving forward at the same pace as before.
This was a resourceful one; he had to give him that. He instantly recognized the situation and changed tactics. First were the trees which attempted to grab him. Using his claws he slashed through the branches as he continued forward. He wanted to keep the mage guessing on how to effectively attack. The more he guessed the more spells he would use, and the more power he would go through.
Using the direction of the first attack he guessed where he was hiding. The perch on the tree would slow him down, but it completely immobilized the mage. Rule one: always have an escape route. It was unfortunate for his ambusher that it had been him. He had been specifically designed to counter magical attacks.
Having his location down he charged the tree. The mage stopped hiding, knowing he was made, and sent first fireballs, then ice shards, at him. The fireballs were nearly useless. He was resistant to heat, and the ice was even less effective as they bounced off his scales.
The mage panicked as the monster charged and jumped from his perch without thought. It wasn't the first time he'd seen that reaction. He'd used his appearance to the same effect when raiding. They didn't drop twelve feet though. The mage went down instantly grabbing at his left leg.
Simon slowed down to a walk but continued to approach hoping he could help. He may not be comfortable with humans, but he didn't want them to suffer either. The fear in the mage's eyes, which now that he'd gotten a good look at him he knew was Randy Smith, only intensified as he tried effectively to back away from him.
Good intentions or not, he wouldn't be able to help him. His presence was only going to make things worse. He sincerely hoped that the teachers were watching so they could provide the help he needed.
Turning towards the edge of the zone he headed out, but he felt no feeling of excitement at his victory. His final opponent's horrified expression proved what people thought of him and though he wanted to say their opinions didn't matter, they did.
They did because they only reinforced what he thought of himself.
ns 172.70.100.111da2