Tournament Part-1

It was the day of the tournament. The school was decorated festively, banners and stuff were put on the entry gate.

I was in the changing room, getting ready for the air battle. some basic Events were already finished, and it was finally my turn. I got out into the grounds. it was sunny and kind of hot, I saw the announcer on a flying platform above us.

"This is free for all match." his voice wasn't familiar, he must have been called for this job. "If any students from the audience want in, they are welcome to do so."

After that, a few more people joined us. we had to wait for them to change, and the rules were explained to us.

"Although this is a Battle Royale, you are not allowed to kill, if that wasn't clear. you will be given a pair of wristbands. to pass, you have to wear a pair until the time runs out. Those who don't have any bands for five continuous minutes will be disqualified. no weapons are allowed, as this is a test of your strength. magic usage is allowed.'' The timer was set, and we had one hour to survive. The bands were Velcro ones, easy to remove. As we all got ready for the ring, the final rule was set, "the entire land of the third year is the battleground. GO!"

I immediately went to the roof. it will be hard for non-flyers to get here fast enough, and it gave me time to think. I peeked down, it was chaotic. non-flyers fighting each other and flyers above them, dodging and looking around. I slid down one of the vents, there were several of them, and all connected to different places. The one I am using connects the library, cafeteria to the roof. I got in through the cafeteria, it will be the safest place for now.

I sat behind the counter and started planning. "If I need to survive for the next hour, hiding would be the best option. but if I get attacked, it will be troublesome. We are not allowed to remove our bands, and people will come for them. DAMNIT!"

I heard a noise outside the cafeteria, someone must have heard me. I tried looking through the door's window, I saw the place where the clock is placed, there was a timer running instead of regular time. it counted down, and it was showing fifty minutes. Only ten minutes had passed since the start of the game.

"Gotta move." I backed away slowly into the staff-only area. it had a few more doors, I followed several doors to find an escape route. The path I took ended up in a large warehouse-like place. It was large and open, with doors on each wall. I checked each of them. more storage. wires. pipelines. too dark to see properly. more storage. One opened to a room that looked familiar. It was the basement of the building's staff room, but it was rarely used.

"look at all these sheets," I mumbled, thinking I was alone as of now. "This is basically storage for stationery items." {Wait, I can use these.}

I got my hands on Every sheet of paper I could carry and pens I found. I drew as many magic circles as I could and stuck some on my shirt and pants. pocketed some and kept others in hands. After tracing back my steps, I found a door that was too dark, I used fire to see inside. The rooms had no windows and a single door that I used to get in. I was able to hear my own steps echoing as I walked. Although the place seemed deserted, the air smelled as fresh as outside.

There were sounds coming from up above. someone was running, then a big slam. some more rough sounds of the destruction of school property. someone was above, possibly fighting.

Which place inside the building has enough space for people to fight? the changing rooms, that had shower space? or the toilets? {staying here might not be a very good idea after all.} my gut feeling told me to go outside the building.

I walked back to the staff room. I slowly got out through the window. sounds of fighting were still coming from inside. I sneaked around the first floor, just to stay safe. I saw a group of unconscious students, most people had only one band. Although I felt bad, I took the other band from some people.

"someone really got here?" I heard a voice that gave me creeps. "are you dumb?" She was the same girl whose arm I broke.

"Hey." she saw my face and jumped back a little, "I know you. you are the one who broke my arm." she held out her fingers, "looks like I finally got my revenge." multiple attacks of different elements, all from a single arm.

{damn it.} I couldn't dodge them all. my legs got hit.

"You know that this uniform has no magic resistance. you won't be burning just your clothes this time." she kept on with her attacks and closed in. her magic changed to lightning, although it was weak, she kept up the numbers.

I was unable to move soon after a few strikes. she sat down beside me, keeping the attacks going. "Let me tell you, you are strong." she said, "but you don't have guts to harm people, Even if it is not much of a deal. When you broke my arm half a month ago, I started training, as you can see. I learned to fly and cast multiple circles and whatnot."

Her attack frequency got low, but it didn't stop. I can heal, just need a few clear minutes. I opened my palms, an earth circle, and one wind. I put mana into both, to blow dirt in her eyes.

"Nice try." The plan worked. but she was washing her face, "but it is useless."

"It isn't actually." finally able to move, I flew up.

"trying to run away?" she followed.

I pulled out some more circles, fire, earth, and wind. I planned to put up a cloud of smoke to delay her. it didn't go as planned. the only thin layer of smoke behind me was all I could pull off.

"You can't hide." her attacks were barely missing me. {Just how much mana do you have?}

I reversed in full speed towards the smoke. Although it was a surprise attack, she put up a large circle before I got close. I threw a wall of water as a decoy and zig-zagged behind her.

"How did you?" she gasped, hands ready to fire.

"I am stronger." I grabbed her neck with a lightning circle in my palm. Using the remaining mana, I shocked her. "That's all." her body got limp and she fell on her knees. I escaped before she woke up. {That line was cringy, I shouldn't have said that}

Now I was out of circles, low on mana, and didn't know how long I had to wait. I got to the roof and hid in a closed vent, trying to heal. I looked at my burned leg. It was healing very slowly. " that girl. She was tough."

"only ten seconds left." I heard the announcer, "after only survivors pass. now, three, two, one." I sighed after the countdown.

"survivors, gather around. time for your review. you have five minutes."

I got down, still not healed. others were somehow in worse condition. cuts, burns, broken bones, and much more. I saw Tom in the crowd, he had only two bands and no visible injuries whatsoever.

"You bands have two hundred and fifty threads each. For every rule broken during the match, ten threads will be burned down. please go on." he signaled some people. they started distributing the results, my list looked kind of long.

[BREAKING INTO RESTRICTED AREA: 29]

[STEALING: 2]

[USING MAGIC INSIDE BUILDING: 8]

[DAMAGE TO SCHOOL PROPERTY: 1]

[TOTAL RULES BROKEN: 50]

{What? When did that happen? didn't he allow the use of magic?}

"didn't you allow the use of magic?"

"yes, he did."

"What is the meaning of this?"

As others argued, I felt two of my bands heating up. "Now, now." the announcer sailed calmly, "it was allowed for combat, not for personal usage. Also, destroying the school property costs a heavy fine and you all walk away for free. let the elimination begin."

the bands got lighter, then one by one, the threads came apart. In less than ten seconds, I had only two bands left, along with the ash of others on my hand.

"if you still have a pair on, or more if lucky, come forward." Only eight people walked to the front. I recognized a few of them. After me was Tom, then Robin, and a guy from air battle team practice. a girl I always saw in the audience during practice was also there.

Other people were unknown faces to me but had more bands than me. all looked pretty beaten up, except Tom. I was having my doubts over what he could have done to survive.

"Now, only eight of you survive. Usually, a one-on-one match would be ideal, but not today." We got handed a sealed file each, "don't open them yet, we have a break of an hour, take some rest, and get cleaned up. Those injuries will be healed. the second half will start after the break."

I took the file to the changing room, which was almost repaired. I took a shower and changed into casual clothes for the time being. I ordered some food and opened the file.

I sat down to read it, and at the same time, my food arrived. First was a basic form, what we needed for the match, and some insurance work. Next was the list of players along with rules.

[List of finalists]

[Amber]

[Emma]

[Eve]

[Harry]

[Irene]

[Ray]

[Robin]

[Tom]

The final match will start thirty minutes after the break is over. The format will be battle royale with the essence of an Air Battle, defense and attack will be in hands of a single player.

[Rules of the Game]

[1. Each player will be given a pair of flags and a castle. one flag is to be placed in the castle, the

other is meant to be carried at all times.]

[2. losing the flag that is meant to be carried, means losing ownership of your castle, i.e., elimination.]

[3. The loss of the castle flag means losing the castle itself. a castle without a flag will collapse.]

[4. The layout and area around the castle can be changed, but it will cost the owner mana.]

[5. The time limit of the match is fifteen minutes.]

[6. positions will be decided by the number of flags the player has after time is up.]

[7. The only type of weapon allowed are registered weapons that are on the form, and will have to be requested and returned after the match is over.]

I chose a simple dagger and signed the papers. my uniform also got cleaned up, so I changed. The dagger also arrived, I put it on my waistband. I headed to the ground.